Ages 5 Years

Communication Skills

• Says sentences of 5-6 words; uses adult-like
  grammar
• Uses past, present and future tenses
• Knows common opposites
• Understands “same” and “different”
• Can tell a story with a simple plot
• Speech understood 90-100% of the time

Fine Motor Skills

• Holds pencil with 3 fingers
• Draws a person with 6 or more body parts
• May show a preference for left or right hand

Gross Motor Skills

• Enjoys active play on jungle gyms, roller skating,
  jumping rope, riding a bicycle
• Alternates feet when walking down stairs
• Can do a somersault
• Can hop and starting to skip

Personal Social Skills

• Thinks everyone sees the world as he/she does
• Wants to please and be like friends
• Showing more independence
• Can tell what is real and what is make-believe
• Can use toilet without help, but may occasionally
  have accidents

Problem Solving Skills

• Learning to write letters and numbers, but not
  perfectly
• Counts 10 or more objects
• Says name and address

Communication Activities

• Talk about how 2 objects are the same and different
  (bird/airplane, knife/fork, chair/bench)
• Take turns describing/guessing items you see or
  are thinking about
• Pick words and have your child name the opposite
• When in the car, talk about words that rhyme or
  start with the same sound
• Pick or create wordless books and take turns telling
  a story

Fine Motor Activities

• Using plastic droppers and colored water, let child
  create tie-dye creations on coffee filters
• Using a large piece of Styrofoam, golf tees and a
  plastic hammer, allow your child to pound golf tees
• Provide colored paper and hole punches to let your
  child punch holes and glue on paper to create
  pictures

Gross Motor Activities

• Make obstacle course using boxes, chairs and pillows,
  letting child hop and jump to complete the
  course
• Make an adventure path outside using a garden
  hose or chalk to make a “path” that goes under and
  around objects for your child to walk on
• Make homemade bean bags, fill old sock with
  beans and tie closed, use to play catch or “hot
  potato”

Personal Social and Problem Solving Activities

• “Write” and mail a letter to a friend or relative. Child
  can draw picture or tell you what to write down, let
  the child place in envelope, address, stamp it and
  deliver to the post office
• Practice writing numbers and letters in pudding or
  thinned mashed potatoes