Milestones 4 Years
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Physical Development
- Increasingly active and well coordinated
- Increasing fine motor control and manipulation; can trace along a dotted line and colour in pictures relatively tidily
- Marked improvement in gross motor skills and coordination; runs, jumps, swings, and climbs. Growing confidence on outdoor playground equipment
- May learn to skip rope
- Dressing and undressing independently
Intellectual Development
- Naturally curious; eager to learn and asks for answers
- Improving memory and concentration
- Recognizing and differentiating fantasy and pretend play
- Reasoning and classification skills developing
- Beginning to show an interest in letters, sounds and reading
Social Development
- More cooperative play with others; turn taking and sharing
- Often involved in big group play with other children that involves props and 'rules'
- Using play constructively to develop their understanding and mastery of new situations
- Developing friendships with familiar children and adults
- Likes to please; thrives on positive feedback and responses
Emotional Development
- Developing a sense of self
- Quick turns in emotional state; can be quite upset and recover quite quickly
- Still needing reassurance from familiar caregivers to feel safe and secure
- May develop fears; influenced by active imaginations
Language Development
- Loves words and rhymes; often makes up silly words
- Enjoys more complex stories and books
- Using words to express feelings, needs and desires; also able to ask others for about their feelings and needs.
- Developing an understanding of grammar and will add 'ed' to words to make them relate to the past, adds an 's' to words to make them plural and 'er' to indicate a comparison; still not getting it right all of the time. Will use words like 'worser' instead of worst, or 'gooder' instead of better than...