Evaluate your preschooler's fine and gross motor skills by asking her to perform simple tasks or observing her in her daily activities. The staff at the Mayo Clinic state that children between the ages of 3 and 5 should be able to walk up and down stairs, stand on one foot for five to 10 seconds, ride a tricycle, throw, kick and catch a ball, dress themselves, build a tower out of blocks, use scissors and perform simple self-care tasks such as brushing their teeth. Preschoolers should also be able to walk backwards, hold a pencil or crayon and put together a 10- to 12-piece puzzle correctly before they reach kindergarten age.
Preschool children at age 3 should have a vocabulary of approximately 250 to 500 words and will progress from speaking three- to four- word sentences to using complete simple, compound and complex sentences as they approach the age of 5. Language skills become more developed as even adults who are not in daily contact with the child are able to understand most spoken words and sentences. Children between the ages of 3 and 5 will also learn to use pronouns, prepositions and even different tenses appropriately. Your preschooler should also be able to state his full name, age, address and telephone number along with his parents' full names.
The Mayo Clinic states that preschoolers are able to take turns with others, imitate and cooperate with their playmates, understand gender differences, desire to make friends and begin to become more independent from parents with a desire for separation. Preschoolers should also be able to express their emotions verbally instead of physically, use polite words such as "please" or "thank you" when interacting with others and wait their turn when necessary.
In an academic sense, preschoolers should be able to identify shapes and colors and sort objects accordingly, name at least six parts of their body, count from one to 10, attempt to write the letters of their own name and be able to recognize their own name when written by others. The Mayo Clinic also states that preschoolers should be drawing a person with two to four body parts clearly shown, develop imaginary stories, print some capital letters, count 10 objects, draw circles and triangles and understand the concepts of time.