If you check “No” to any of the following questions, contact your Public Health Nurse at 250-850-2110. It’s never too soon to make sure your child is on track.
| NO | ||
| Count to ten and know common colors and shapes? | ||
| Speak clearly in adult-like sentences most of the time? * | ||
| Tell long stories about his own past experiences? * | ||
| Correctly say the words – “sew”, “house”, “zoo”, “buzz”, “chop”, “much”, “jam”, “fudge”, “shoe”, “push”, “look”, “ball?” * | ||
| Walk on a straight line, only stepping off once or twice? | ||
| Stop, start and change direction smoothly when running? | ||
| Throw and catch a ball successfully most of the time? | ||
| Cooperate with adult requests most of the time? | ||
| Hold a crayon or pencil correctly when drawing lines, simple shapes, and a few letters? | ||
| Climb playground equipment without difficulty? | ||
| Hop on one foot? | ||
| Use scissors to cut along a thick line drawn on a piece of paper? | ||
| Dress and undress with little help? | ||
| Usually play well in groups? | ||
| Share willingly with others? | ||
| Work alone at an activity for 20-30 minutes? | ||
| Separate easily from you? | ||
| Play make believe games with others? | ||
| Respond to “hi” and “how are you” by answering back? * | ||
* Starred items may not be common to children in all cultures. Please click here for a discussion of what this star might mean for Aboriginal children.
Activities to Encourage Development:
- Play using letters, numbers and colors (For example, “I spy with my little eye, three things that are red” or “I spy something blue that starts with B”).
- Talk with your child often throughout the day about things that interest him. Ask questions so that he can remember the details of his day from beginning to end.
- Provide opportunities to practice with pencils, crayons, and chalk. Activities such as coloring, drawing, dot-to-dot, mazes, as well as tracing and copying letters, shapes and numbers will help him at school.
- Learn about rules, counting and taking turns with board games. Don’t always let your child win. It’s all right to lose sometimes.
- Tell your child when you notice him doing something good. This will help him to feel good about himself and he will want to do it again.
- Help your child to learn about the feelings of others through stories. Characters in books have feelings and experiences, are afraid, or have problems to overcome.
- Give your child a few simple jobs around the house. This will help him to feel important.