4 Year Old

   Sensory and Thinking Skills:
            · Recognize red, yellow, and blue
            · Understand taking turns
            · Understand “big,” “little,” “tall,” and “short”
            · Want to know what will happen next
            · Sort by shape or color
            · Count up to 5 objects
            · Follow 3 instructions given at a time (“put the toys away, wash your hands, and come eat”)
            · More inventive in fantasy play
            · Play “mom” or “dad”
            · Identify situations that would lead to happiness, sadness, or anger
            · Begin to have a clearer sense of time
            · Recall parts of a story
            · Understand the concept of same/different
            · Can stay on topic during conversations
            · More independent
            · Interested in new experiences 

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   Motor/Self-Help Skills:
            · Feed self with little spilling; try to use a fork
            · Sometimes can unbutton; try to buckle/lace
            · Completely undress with simple fasteners
            · Brush teeth with help
            · Pour from a small pitcher
            · Do simple household chores  (help set table)
            · Use the toilet alone
            · Try to skip
            · Catch bouncing ball, kick forward, throw overhand
            · Walk downstairs alternating feet without help
            · Swing by self (start and keep going)
            · Hop and stand on 1 foot up to 5 seconds
            · Move forward and backward
            · Hold a pencil, try to write name
            · Begin to copy some capital letters
            · Draw with arm (not small hand movements)
            · Draw a circle, a face/person with 2-4 parts
            · Try to cut paper
            · Build a tower of 7-9 blocks
            · Put together a simple puzzle of 4-12 pieces

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   Language and Social Skills:
            · Have a large vocabulary; use good grammar
            · Very intelligible in connected speech
            · Speak in sentences of 5-6 words
            · Often talk about action (“go,” “do,” “make”)
            · Enjoy rhyming and nonsense words
            · Use regular past tenses of verbs (“walked”)
            · Use “a,” “an,” and “the” when speaking
            · Ask direct questions (“May I…,” “Would you..”)
            · Want explanations of “why” and “how”
            · Understand “next to”
            · Separate from parent without crying
            · Help clean up toys when asked to
            · Like to play “dress up”
            · Pretend to play with imaginary objects
            · Tell 2 events in sequential order
            · Sometimes cooperate with other children
            · Often prefer to play with other children
            · Change the rules of a game
            · Try to bargain
            · Share when asked
            · Enjoy tag, hide & seek and other simple games
            · Like moderate “rough and tumble” play
            · Like to do things for self
            · Know age and town where he/she lives

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   Red Flags:
            · Cannot jump in place
            · Cannot ride a trike
            · Cannot grasp a crayon between thumb/fingers
            · Has difficulty scribbling
            · Cannot copy a circle
            · Cannot stack 4 blocks
            · Still clings or cries when parents leave him/her
            · Shows no interest in interactive games
            · Ignores other children
            · Doesn’t respond to people outside the family
            · Doesn’t engage in fantasy play
            · Resists dressing, sleeping, using the toilet
            · Lashes out without any self-control when angry
            · Doesn’t use sentences of more than 3 words
            · Doesn’t use “me” or “you” appropriately