Healthy Child Development

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There are several stages of healthy literacy and numeracy development that are marked by key abilities.  

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By 3 months

• Shows interest in contrast between light and dark

• Makes eye contact with pictures in book

• Looks intensely at pictures for several minutes

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By 6 months

• Enjoys music, songs and rhymes

• Reaches for and explores books with hands and mouth

• Sits on lap and holds head up steadily

• Shows preference for photographs of faces

• Uses both hands to manipulate the book to make the pages open and close

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By 12 months

• Shows interest in looking at books

• Holds book with help

• Tries to turn several pages at a time

• Looks at pictures, vocalizes and pats picture

• Sits up without support

• Plays social games with you (e.g., peek a boo)

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By 18 months

• Points at pictures with one finger

• Enjoys tickle, bounce and nursery rhymes

• Identifies pictures in a book (e.g., Show me the baby)

• Able to carry book and turn pages well

• Holds a crayon or pencil in fist and marks paper, scribbles

• Labels a particular picture with a specific sound

• Enjoys being read to and looking at books

• Relates an object or an action in a book to the real world

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By 2 years

• Asks for favourite books to be read over and over again

• Pretends to read

• Names familiar pictures

• Scribbles

• Holds books the right way up and turns pages easily, one at a time

• Relates events in books to his/her own past experiences

• Notices print rather than just the pictures

• Can join in and recite phrases

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By 2 ½ months

• Produces words with two or more syllables or beats: ba-na-na, com-pu-ter

• Recognizes familiar logos and signs - (e.g., stop sign)

• Remembers and understands familiar stories

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By 3 years

• Sings simple songs and familiar rhymes

• Pretends to read familiar books aloud

• Knows how to use a book (holds/turns pages one at a time, starts at beginning, points/talks about pictures)

• Looks carefully and makes comments about books

• Fills in missing words/phrases in familiar books that are read aloud

• Holds a pencil/crayon with pincer grasp and uses it to draw/scribble

• Imitates writing with linear scribbles

• Copies a circle, vertical and horizontal lines when shown

• Talks about past events

• Tells simple stories

• Engages in multi step pretend play – cooking a meal, repairing a car

• Is aware of the functions of print – in menus, signs

• Has a beginning interest in, and awareness of, rhyming

• Requests adult to read or write

• Understands that print carries a message

• Shows ability to participate in routines

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By 4 ½ years

• Tells stories with clear beginning, middle and end

• Matches some letters with their sounds (e.g., Letter “t” says tuh)

• Recites nursery rhymes and sings familiar songs

• Reads a book by memory or by making up the story to go along with the pictures

• Can guess what will happen next in the story

• Retells some details of stories read aloud but not necessarily in order

• Traces circle, triangle, square using templates

• Recognizes signs and symbols in daily environment (e.g., traffic signs, washroom signs)

• Holds a pencil correctly

• Identifies the names of 10 alphabet letters (likely from own name)

• Understands the concept of rhyme; recognizes and generates rhyming words

• Changes a sound in a word to make a new word in familiar games and songs

• Enjoys being read to □ Is motivated to try to read

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By 5 ½ years

• Can match all letter symbols to letter sounds

• Reads some familiar vocabulary by sight (high frequency words)

• Can label pictures quickly □ Knows parts of a book

• Understands the basic concepts of print (difference between letters, words, sentences, how the text runs from left to right, top to bottom, white space between words)

• Knowledge of the basic concepts of print shows in child’s writing (letters instead of scribbles, letter groupings that look like words, invented spelling)

• Points to and says the name of most letters of the alphabet when randomly presented (upper and lower case); recognizes how many words are in a sentence

• Prints letters (by copying, or in her full name, or when attempting to spell words)

• Makes predictions about stories; retells the beginning, middle and end of familiar stories

• Can recall a brief story that has just been heard

• When being read a story, connects information and events to real life experiences

• Can identify the beginning and ending sounds in words e.g., “Pop” starts with the “puh” sound

• Can shift attention from meanings of words to sounds of words

• Draws diagonal lines and simple shapes

• Able to sort objects by size, colour, use, etc.

• Able to understand simple patterning

• One to one correspondence for numbers from 1 through 10

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... If a child is missing one or more of these expected age outcomes, consider this a red flag:

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