Child recognizes and develops the ability to explain how material objects change and how they remain stable.
What educators might observe
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Hides own eyes but leaves parts of their body exposed while playing hide-andseek
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Uses phrases to initiate and identify make-believe play with others (“Let’s pretend…” or “I was just pretending!”)
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Asks about the permanency of their gender and racial identity (e.g., “Will I always be a boy/girl? Will I always have my skin color?)
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Offers magical explanations for change (e.g., says that a fairy puts the moon in the sky every night)
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Uses language about death, without necessarily thinking it is a permanent state
Child uses symbolic thought to represent.
What educators might observe
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Assigns peers, adults, or objects roles as characters in play
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Plans with other children what they are going to pretend before starting to play (e.g, “Let’s play doggies!”)
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Uses objects to make arrangements and represent a storyline; may repeat the story over and over again (e.g., uses blocks to make a house, then uses a toy fire truck to put out a fire in the house)
Child develops the ability to store, retrieve, and share information about past experiences.
What educators might observe
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Uses time-related words and concepts (e.g., first/last, morning/night, yesterday/today), though not always accurately
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Although the child’s birthday was a month ago, they may describe looking forward to their birthday, which they tell an educator “is coming soon.”
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Uses phrases that suggest awareness of the past (e.g., “When I was a baby…”)
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Identifies changes in themselves over time (“I’m bigger now. I don’t wear diapers anymore.”)
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Retells a simple story or event in roughly sequential order (“Gabby took my soccer ball. I took it back. That’s why she’s crying.”)
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In dramatic play, reenacts everyday experiences and events from books, television, or observations
Child becomes a scientific thinker by manipulating objects, asking questions, making observations and predictions, and developing generalizations.
What educators might observe
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Experiments with mixing different materials together (e.g., sand and water)
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Asks many “why” questions (e.g., “Why do we have to put our jackets on?”)
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Makes simple predictions (e.g., says they think the water in the sprinklers will be cold today)
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Observes and wonders (e.g., watches a turtle and asks, “Why is it hiding inside? When is it coming out?”)
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Applies their knowledge to understand observations (e.g., watches a snail and asks, “Which part are the eyes?”)
Child understands and explores the causes and effects of actions and events.
What educators might observe
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Asks “why” questions to show effort at understanding causation
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Explains the effects that simple actions have on objects (“It will be dark when you turn out the light.”)
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Sees themselves at the center of causation (“I have my own moon. I bring it with me wherever I go.”)
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Offers magical explanations of causes (“The frost fairy came in the night and turned the grass white.”)
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Assigns human characteristics to inanimate objects (“The leaves fell off the tree because the wind told them to.”)
Child plans and uses hands, tools, and technology to solve problems with materials.
What educators might observe
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Adjusts plans based on prior experience (e.g., when rolling cars down a ramp, tries a smaller car when bigger ones keep falling off)
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Imitates accepted solutions to problems with materials (e.g., moves hands on laces as if to tie shoes, although they are unable to successfully do so)
Child recognizes some similarities and differences between familiar and unfamiliar people, objects, or experiences.
What educators might observe
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Shows understanding of the words “same” and “different”
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Remarks on physical differences that they notice among members of the community
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Recognizes and labels aspects of an experience (tall, long, fun)
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Identifies categories of objects, for example, knows that dogs, cats, and cows are all animals
Child understands and explores numbers and quantity.
What educators might observe
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Recognizes and names some numerals when pointing to them
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Recognizes that numerals can be written and pretends or attempts to write some
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Verbally counts to 10 with some correspondence, but skips some objects and counts others twice
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Produces sets of three (e.g., “Bring me three paint brushes from the art center”)
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When asked for five of something, counts out three and says, “One, two, five.”
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Changes word order or gives up on one-to-one correspondence to make the answer the one they had predicted or their favorite number (e.g., “one, two, three, four, 100!”)
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Matches small sets (one to four) of different items and shows they are the same quantity
Child develops the ability to identify, describe, extend, and create patterns.
What educators might observe
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Recognizes patterns in their environment (e.g., looks at a striped scarf and says, “It’s a pattern.”)
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Plays with patterns in language (e.g., sings, “La di dee, la dee da, la dee di.”)
Child understands how objects, points, lines, and shapes fit in space.
What educators might observe
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Uses words to indicate direction and position, but not always accurately
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Builds vertical and horizontal components within a block building
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Identifies and names circles and squares
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Calls two shapes the same, if they have similar parts but are not identical (e.g., when both shapes have pointy parts)
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Plays with combining shapes and pulling them apart
