Early childhood development milestones help us understand how young children grow. These markers are like a map that shows the typical progression of a child’s abilities across different areas, including how they think, talk, move and interact with others. While development begins at birth, the preschool and early elementary years represent a critical period of growth that shapes a child’s future academic and social success.
Educators interested in specializing in early childhood development can gain highly valued skills and knowledge in Arkansas State University’s (A-State) online Master of Science in Education (MSE) in Early Childhood Education program. Designed for educators who already hold a teaching license, this degree program explores key milestones at each stage of a child’s development during the formative years. Students complete the program prepared to successfully lead in a wide range of early childhood settings.
Preschool Years: Ages 3 to 5 Years
The preschool years are a time of remarkable creativity and expanding social connections. Children’s abilities become more refined and complex.
- Motor Development: Physically, preschoolers gain more control over their bodies. They can run, hop and stand on one foot with increasing balance and coordination. Their fine motor skills improve dramatically as they learn to draw circles and squares, use scissors with growing precision and begin to practice writing letters. These physical developments are essential for future classroom activities and self-care skills.
- Cognitive and Language Development: Language explodes during these years. Children start speaking in full sentences, telling stories and asking endless “why” questions to understand the world better. They can count objects, name colors and shapes, and follow multi-step directions. Their memory improves, allowing them to recall past events and anticipate future ones. Imaginative play becomes more elaborate and detailed, with children creating complex scenarios that demonstrate their growing understanding of the world around them.
- Social-emotional Development: Socially, children begin to cooperate and share with peers more consistently. They learn to take turns, understand the feelings of others and demonstrate early empathy. This is a time when friendships start to form and become increasingly important. Children develop a stronger sense of self and begin to understand social rules and expectations. Educators can support this growth by creating environments that encourage cooperative play, providing rich opportunities for conversation and storytelling, and implementing activities that build both language and social-emotional skills.
Kindergarten: Ages 5 to 6 Years
Kindergarten marks a significant transition as children enter formal schooling. This year bridges the gap between preschool’s play-based learning and the more structured environment of elementary school.
- Motor Development: Children’s physical abilities continue to mature. They can hop on one foot, skip with coordination, catch a ball more reliably and use playground equipment with confidence. Fine motor skills advance to support emerging academic tasks — they can write their names, draw recognizable pictures and manipulate small objects with precision.
- Cognitive and Language Development: Kindergartners experience rapid cognitive growth. They begin to recognize letters and their sounds, often reading simple words by year’s end. Math concepts like counting to 20 or beyond, basic addition and subtraction, and pattern recognition become accessible. Their attention spans lengthen, allowing for more extended learning activities. They ask increasingly complex questions and can follow multi-step instructions with greater reliability.
- Social-Emotional Development: Emotional regulation improves significantly during kindergarten. Children become better at managing their feelings, resolving conflicts with peers and adapting to classroom routines. They develop greater independence in tasks like organizing materials and following classroom procedures. Teachers can nurture these skills by establishing clear routines, teaching problem-solving strategies and creating a classroom community that values respect and cooperation.
Early Elementary: First Through Third Grade (Ages 6 to 9 Years)
The early elementary years build upon the foundation established in preschool and kindergarten. Children’s thinking becomes more logical and organized, and they develop skills that will serve them throughout their academic careers.
- Motor Development: Physical coordination continues to refine. Children in first through third grade can ride bicycles, participate in organized sports and demonstrate increasing control in activities requiring balance and coordination. Their handwriting becomes more legible and consistent, and they can complete increasingly complex art projects and hands-on activities.
- Cognitive and Language Development: Reading fluency emerges as a central achievement during these years. First graders transition from learning to read to beginning to read to learn. By third grade, most children can read chapter books independently, comprehend what they read and make inferences about text. Mathematical thinking advances to include multiplication, division, fractions and problem-solving with multiple steps. Children develop the ability to think more abstractly, understand cause and effect relationships more deeply, and apply learning across different contexts.
- Social-Emotional Development: During the early elementary years, peer relationships become increasingly complex and important. Children develop stronger friendships, learn to work collaboratively on group projects and understand more nuanced social dynamics. They become more aware of their own strengths and challenges, developing self-concepts that influence their approach to learning. They can better regulate emotions, show empathy and perspective-taking, and navigate social situations with growing maturity. Educators in these grades focus on building a supportive classroom community, teaching conflict resolution skills and providing opportunities for both collaborative and independent work.
Make an Impact With an MSE in Early Childhood Education
Understanding early childhood milestones from preschool through third grade gives educators and parents a chance to celebrate each child’s successes and recognize when additional support might be needed. The online MSE in Early Childhood Education from A-State equips educators with the skills and knowledge needed to support children through each stage of their formative years.
This respected online program offers teachers an opportunity to advance to leadership roles in a rewarding, high-growth field. Students graduate ready to make a meaningful impact as educators whose daily work focuses on helping children thrive and on laying the groundwork for a more promising future.
Learn more about Arkansas State University‘s online Master of Science in Education in Early Childhood Education program.