What Are Developmental Milestones?
Developmental milestones refer to certain skills that most children accomplish within a certain age range. These skills include, but are not limited to how they interact, play, speak, create, move, and learn.
Why Are Developmental Milestones Important?
Developmental milestones give us a general idea of the changes and growth we can expect to see across time. Reaching milestones at the typical ages shows a child is developing as expected. Catching developmental health problems early on allows the child to get the support they need.
How Do We Help Our Preschoolers Reach These Milestones?
To set a solid foundation for children to grow into happy, productive, and healthy adults, we must (1) become familiar with how children grow and what they need at each stage of development, (2) allow them to grow developmentally at their own pace, (3) design activities and acquire materials that fit specific goals and abilities, (4) engage in joyful learning and play-based experiences, (5) provide positive relationships.
1. Become Familiar with How Children Grow and What They Need at Each Stage of Development
When teachers, parents, and caregivers understand how children develop, they are better equipped to meet the child’s needs at different stages of development. The level of understanding as a child gets older becomes increasingly complex.
Take Patterns and Sorting, for example. A 3-year old can be expected to copy a 2-step pattern, while a 4-year old can be expected to create one on their own, and a 5-year old can be expected to create and extend 3- and 4-step patterns.
Here’s another example: Expressing Self Through Writing. A 3-year old can be expected to imitate the act of writing in play, while a 4-year old can be expected to print or copy familiar letters or words, and a 5-year old can be expected to write in a purposeful way to convey meaning.
Keeping track of important milestones can seem overwhelming. That’s why I created two resources to help you understand all of the developmental stages our 3-5-year-olds go through and what milestones to look for along the way…
2. Allow Children to Grow Developmentally at their Own Pace
On the roadmap of childhood development, there are no one way streets. In fact, we are putting A LOT of miles on the minivan, traveling back and forth, all over creation.
Often, if a preschooler is making great cognitive strides, his/her social development may take a back seat or her/his language skills might be at the rest stop for a bit. It is perfectly normal to see a deficit in one domain and acceleration in another.
It is important to note that all children are unique in their developmental journey and will each achieve milestones at different rates. No two children will acquire skills at the same time or in the same order. Charts and checklists such as these are useful guidelines for ideal development but are not to be confused with an absolute timeline.
Back Seat Scenario #1
Let’s say you have a 3-year old, a 4-year old, and a 5-year old in the backseat of the minivan. Before you know it, you hear the 4-year old yell, “Ouch! That hurt when you grabbed the crackers out of my hand! I’m mad at you for that!”
In response, the 3-year old begins to cry. When the 5-year old asks, “Why are you crying?” to which she answers, “Sad,” and then continues crying.
The 5-year-old takes a slow, deep breath before asking the 4-year-old, “Do you need a bandaid for that scratch on your hand?”
As you can see from the Social and Emotional Benchmarks, these three are developmentally right on track for their ages when it comes to recognizing and managing feelings as well as standing up for their own rights.
Back Seat Scenario #2
Later that evening, the kiddos are checking out the rocks they collected. The 3-year old accurately counts 16 rocks, saying a number for every rock she touches. She has met and is excelling at this particular skill.
The 4-year old sweeps his hand over 8 rocks and very quickly counts from 1-10. He is progressing at this skill and needs practice keeping track of the objects counted.
As the 5-year old counts his 20 rocks, he says, “…11, 12, 14, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21.” This is very typical and the student will benefit from more visual cues when working with teen numerals. These Nature Themed Counting Cards should do the trick!
With a wide variety of skills comes the need for different levels of support that will vary over time. A one-size-fits-all approach does not work in any educational setting, and especially not in preschool!
There is so much growth that happens during this age range and it is a disservice to children when we expect the same of each of them. We must be flexible in our expectations and fluid in our support.
3. Design Activities and Acquire Materials that Fit Specific Goals and Abilities
When we use Developmental Milestones to guide our work with preschoolers, it becomes easier to design activities and acquire materials that fit the specific goals and abilities of the children in our care.
This can be especially challenging in a classroom of 3-5 year olds. Their abilities, and therefore their goals, are so varied. The beauty of a multi-age classroom is that we can present the same activities and materials to ALL of our kiddos! Each child will get out of it what they are ready for developmentally.
When it comes to making bracelets at the art table, for example, we need to provide a variety of bead sizes and stringing materials. A child with greater fine motor strength will naturally gravitate toward the smaller beads and yarn. A child with weaker fine motor strength will likely choose a stiff pipe cleaner and larger beads.
However, it is so important to take good notes and keep good records. With every interaction, we need to be cognizant of a child’s skill level and goals in order to effectively challenge and support them, and provide materials and activities that meet their needs.
4. Engage in Joyful Learning and Play-Based Experiences
When we are intentional with our choices about the learning environment, schedule, and daily activities, we are guiding each child’s development across all domains. We want all children to feel safe to explore and discover, take risks, develop relationships, imagine, and be actively involved in his/her learning.
When referring to the science section of The Guide to Early Childhood Development we can see that between the ages of 3 and 5, children are, for example, learning to explore cause and effect. That’s why we cook together and build sandcastles!
We can also see that preschoolers are learning to identify the characteristics, basic needs, function, and patterns of living things. So we get some caterpillars to watch their life cycle before emerging from our sleeping bags…ahem, I mean chrysalis…with wings on!
Play promotes joyful learning that fosters a sense of self-regulation, language, peer-relationships, cognitive, and motor development, as well as creative thinking and problem-solving. Daily, sustained play opportunities are essential for all young children! Play also provides an excellent opportunity for educators to observe children’s development! Read more here for how to get the most out of your observations.
Provide a rich variety of materials, challenges, and ideas that reflect children’s interests. Rotate materials periodically, introducing new materials as well as revisiting older ones to provide opportunities for re-engagement. Check out my FREE Ocean Unit Plan to see what this looks like in action.
5. Provide Positive Relationships
Starting at birth, a child’s brain changes size and shape in response to everyday experiences. Children’s feelings of safety, security, and belonging are essential for healthy brain development.
Here are some ways that you can foster healthy brain development:
- Encourage children to express their feelings;
- Offer validation, empathy, and comfort;
- Listen with your whole body and use eye-contact;
- Engage in one-to-one play, following their lead and interests;
- Give clear expectations and calm support when redirecting;
- Involve children in choosing or creating learning activities;
- Help them establish and achieve goals.
