One-Year Olds

• Understand and participate in routines such as pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo
• Make a variety of sounds
• Say “mama,” “dada” and several other words

Two-Year Olds

• Can say at least 50 words
• Put two words together
• Use words to communicate their needs
• Understand names of familiar people and objects, simple verbs and adjectives

Three-Year Olds

• Can relate a simple story or event
• Use three to four word sentences with simple grammar
• Can be understood by most adults

Preschoolers

• Usually produce grammatically correct sentences
• Begin to use complex sentences
• Start to talk about past and future events
• Are able to follow classroom instructions

School-Age Children

• Begin to use humor and non-literal language
• Tell stories that contain a logical sequence of events
• Play with/reflect on language (for example: rhyming, antonyms, synonyms, multiple meanings)