Ages and stages
School now becomes an important part of your child’s life. They are learning to be with other children more and they use talking to build new relationships. Other people can usually understand them clearly, though they still may have difficulty putting some sounds together.
By about 5
School now becomes an important part of your child’s life. They are learning to be with other children more and they use talking to build new relationships. Other people can usually understand them clearly, though they still may have difficulty putting some sounds together.
Your child can follow a short sequence of instructions just by listening. They respond to questions and give information.
They are starting to understand sequencing: first and last; next; after. They also understand the meaning of words like ‘might’ and ‘maybe’.
They can talk about how things feel when you touch them - soft, smooth, rough. They like games with sounds and rhymes. They know what words and letters are.
At this age your child is beginning to understand time more clearly, especially what happens on different days; morning, afternoon, day and night. They may start to read the clock.
5 year-olds often like to talk about and explain what they are doing. They can also tell you about what they like or don’t like and how they feel.
Between about 5 and 7
Many children now follow simple stories without pictures. They can tell a story back to you in the right order and answer more detailed questions about stories as well as about what has happened during their day. They can discuss characters and events in stories.
They understand that letters represent sounds. Some children like to pick out words they see around them – on cereal packets, posters, TV. Some children start to read words and sentences during these years, others wait longer before they start to read.
Their drawings are getting more detailed as they are able to use pencils with more skill. Pretend play and dressing-up is still an important part of their creativity and learning. Some children like to play pretend games together.
Children at this age are starting to understand that words can be divided into 2 or 3 parts or syllables. They can learn to count the syllables. When they learn new words they like to try them out when they are talking to you.
They are starting to understand how to take turns in conversation. They express feelings and respond to people and events.
During these years children recognise more shapes in the world around. They like to look out for shapes such as circles, squares or triangles outside or at home. They can add and take away from groups of objects. They recognise and look out for numbers in shops or along the road. They enjoy games that are about counting, adding and taking away.