Preschool skills checklist by age v0.2.0
A one-page checklist for each age, twos, threes and fours: 72 skills in all, four in each of six areas (social and emotional, language, early literacy, early math, moving, thinking and exploring), with columns for seen, emerging and not yet. Printed blank, in Peabody's own plain words. Not a test or a screening.
To keep notes for each child and print a portfolio and report card from them, use the observations tool: the same skills, kept on your device.
| Area and skill | Seen | Emerging | Not yet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social and emotional | |||
| Plays beside other children | |||
| Shows a feeling with words or a face | |||
| Lets a grown-up comfort them | |||
| Joins a short routine, like washing hands | |||
| Language | |||
| Says two-word phrases | |||
| Points to and names familiar things | |||
| Follows a one-step direction | |||
| Joins in a song or rhyme | |||
| Early literacy | |||
| Turns the pages of a board book | |||
| Points at pictures in a book | |||
| Fills in a word in a familiar book | |||
| Scribbles with a crayon | |||
| Early math | |||
| Says some number words | |||
| Matches two things that are the same | |||
| Fits shapes into a simple sorter | |||
| Notices big and little | |||
| Moving | |||
| Walks and runs | |||
| Climbs onto low things | |||
| Kicks a ball | |||
| Stacks a few blocks | |||
| Thinking and exploring | |||
| Explores new things with hands and eyes | |||
| Pretends with a toy (feeds a doll) | |||
| Looks for a hidden toy | |||
| Tries more than one way to make something work | |||
These are things a grown-up has noticed, not a test or a screening. For questions about development, families can ask their child's doctor or their state's early intervention program (Child Find).
| Area and skill | Seen | Emerging | Not yet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social and emotional | |||
| Takes turns with a little help | |||
| Plays with another child | |||
| Names their own feelings | |||
| Says goodbye and settles in | |||
| Language | |||
| Speaks in short sentences | |||
| Asks who, what and where questions | |||
| Follows a two-step direction | |||
| Tells about something that happened | |||
| Early literacy | |||
| Listens to a short story | |||
| Knows a book is read front to back | |||
| Recognizes some letters, often in their name | |||
| Draws and says what it is | |||
| Early math | |||
| Counts a few things, touching each one | |||
| Sorts by color or shape | |||
| Names a circle, square and triangle | |||
| Uses words like more and less | |||
| Moving | |||
| Jumps with both feet | |||
| Pedals or pushes a riding toy | |||
| Uses child scissors with help | |||
| Holds a crayon with fingers | |||
| Thinking and exploring | |||
| Asks why | |||
| Plays make-believe with others | |||
| Notices what is the same and different | |||
| Finishes a simple puzzle | |||
These are things a grown-up has noticed, not a test or a screening. For questions about development, families can ask their child's doctor or their state's early intervention program (Child Find).
| Area and skill | Seen | Emerging | Not yet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social and emotional | |||
| Shares and takes turns on their own | |||
| Solves a small disagreement with words | |||
| Follows the room's routines | |||
| Shows care for another child | |||
| Language | |||
| Tells a story with a beginning and an end | |||
| Uses describing words | |||
| Answers questions about a story | |||
| Plays with rhyming words | |||
| Early literacy | |||
| Recognizes their own written name | |||
| Names many letters | |||
| Hears the first sound in a word | |||
| Writes some letters, often their name | |||
| Early math | |||
| Counts to 10 or more, one for each thing | |||
| Knows which group has more | |||
| Makes and continues a pattern | |||
| Uses words like first, next and last | |||
| Moving | |||
| Hops on one foot | |||
| Catches a big ball | |||
| Cuts along a line | |||
| Dresses with little help | |||
| Thinking and exploring | |||
| Makes a guess and checks it | |||
| Plans and builds something | |||
| Sticks with a task | |||
| Talks about cause and effect | |||
These are things a grown-up has noticed, not a test or a screening. For questions about development, families can ask their child's doctor or their state's early intervention program (Child Find).
Using the checklist
- Tick what you have seen the child do on their own, more than once. “Emerging” is starting, with help or sometimes.
- Date each tick: the same sheet through the year shows the growth.
- Write first names or initials only, and keep the sheets in your own files.
- “Not yet” is for your planning, not for a report: children grow at their own pace.
Getting ready for kindergarten? The kindergarten readiness checklist is one page for teachers and families.
These checklists print blank. Nothing about a child is typed here or sent anywhere. No account, no ads.