Social development is crucial for a child of this age, so, we want to make sure each child is hitting social marks in development. We will assess if each child:

• Labels feelings
• Shows awareness of others’ feelings
• Plays side-by-side with other children
• Initiates social interaction with peers
• Takes turns during play with peers
• Begins to show empathy when someone is hurt or upset
• Participates in loosely structured group games
• Asks simple questions
• Notices differences
• Shows pride in achievements/accomplishment
• Makes choices
• Names emotions

I big part of schooling for children of this age is to make sure they begin to get excited about learning. It’s important to get children prepared and excited for learning so that they can have the best chance for a successful future. So, we track whether a child:

• Shows interest in new and others’ activities
• Tries new ways of doing things and begins to take some risks
• Proposes an idea for an activity
• Completes simple projects
• Listens and participates in story time
• Invents new uses for everyday materials
• Displays understanding of how objects work together
• Uses imagination during play
• Carries toys or objects when walking
• Walks backward
• Jumps in place
• Walks in a straight line
• Runs with balance
• Scribbles with crayons and begins to imitate marks
• Unscrews small lids
• Stacks, sorts, and strings items
• Exhibits eye-hand coordination
• Plays with materials of different textures
• Indicates wet or soiled diaper

Undoubtedly, another major key to learning at this stage of life is to continue developing speech and other ways of communication. So, during our child care programs, we track that children:

• Follow simple verbal direction
• Recall words from simple songs
• Identify at least three body parts
• Use mostly two and three syllable words
• Answer simple questions
• Follow two-step directions
• Can recount an event
• Listen to short and simple stories
• Begin to demonstrate turn-taking in conversation
• Use manners
• Begin to identify letters in own name
• Know the right side of a book
• Use words for pictures
• Can recite familiar words in a book when read to

Finally, we want to make sure all of the children in our child care programs are on track with cognitive development. So, we track if your child:

• Notices and describes how items are the same or different
• Makes choices when given options
• Connects objects and ideas
• Uses active exploration and trial and error to solve problems
• Communicates to request assistance
• Provides a simple description of a person or object that is not present
• Identifies pictures of familiar objects correctly
• Plays make-believe with props
• Counts to at least five
• Imitates rhymes or songs
• Uses size words
• Fills and empties containers
• Identifies at least two geometric shapes
• Creates or copies simple shapes
• Sorts objects by one characteristic
• Asks simple questions
• Explores and investigates the world
• Can state his or her first name
• Enjoys poems, stories, and songs