Goals for 4-5 Year Old Children

Religion:

• Recognize God as creator of all things
• Know that God loves them always
• Recognize the Bible as God's Word
• Realize that God gives us all that we need in people and things
• Identify Jesus as God and their best friend
• Join in worship activities such as prayer, songs, and spontaneous praise
• Know that they can talk to God through prayer and that He will hear them
• Retell short Bible stories, especially the Christmas and Easter stories
• Show respect and forgiveness
• Know of God's  forgiveness
• Begin to trust God for care and protection

Math:

• Rote count to 20 (verbally count without recognition)
• Count 15 objects using one-to-one correspondence
• Point to, label, and match basic shapes
• Recognize and order the cardinal numerals in sequence
• Understand ordinal positions first through fifth
• Solve simple verbal problems using numbers ("If you have two pieces of candy and I give you one more, how many will you have?")
• Classify objects by color, size, shape, and texture
• Sequence by different size (big, bigger, biggest; small, medium, large)
• Compare objects as to weight (heavy and light)
• Understand concepts of full, half-full, and empty
• Distinguish between concepts of some, most, all
• Understand fractions 1/2, 1/4, whole
• Identify a set as a collection of objects having a common property
• Distinguish between equivalent and non-equivalent sets through matching
• Understand that each number is one more than the preceding number (If you add one more, how many will you have?")
• Understand the concept of zero "0"
• Estimate and measure with blocks to make an enclosed structure 

Language Pre-Reading:

• Show an awareness that print in books tells a story
• Attempt to match telling of a story with print in a book
• Spark desire to know what particular print says
• Recall and dramatize parts of stories
• Retell stories from books with increasing accuracy
• Sequence events
• Recognize first and last name

Art:

• Allow children to respond at their own pace through the normal stages of development in art (scribble stage; shape stage; design stage; pictoral stage)
• Recognize the beauty in his/her work
• Recognize the beauty in others art work
• Express what objects are in their drawings and paintings
• Experiment with mixing colors to get other colors
• Manipulate clay or other materials into forms
• Discover a variety of different ways of accomplishing a project
• Enjoy the process of creating art

Music:

• Enjoy different varieties of music
• Keep the beat of a song by clapping, marching, beating drums, etc.
• Beat drum alternating hands in rhythm to beat
• Experiment with making instruments
• Develop creativity in their movement to music
• Experiment with the tempo of songs - fast, moderate, slow
• Recall words to songs and chants
• Experience music of different cultures
• Recollect and act on directions of singing games
• Take part in group singing
• Show increased desire to listen to music
• Show increased voice control and a closer approximation of pitch and rhythm
• Begin to create songs during play
• Understand different concepts through music - days of the week, working together, colors, counting, etc.

Large Motor:

• Walk with control and confidence in many ways:  forward, backward, sideways, tiptoeing, and striding along
• Walk on a straight line while keeping balance
• Walk on a circular line without losing balance (heel-to-toe for eight feet long)
• Walk both up and down stairs alternating their feet
• Balance on one foot for ten seconds
• Hop on one foot
• Jump over obstacle, landing on two feet
• Run with control over speed and direction
• Skip (although not perfected)
• Climb up and down climbing equipment with ease
• Catch a ball from body with hands only (large ball and small ball)
• Throw a ball or beanbag with direction
• Throw a ball into the air and catch it by self
• Bounce and catch a ball
• Push, pull, and steer wheeled toys
• Manipulate a scarf, hoop, ball, stick or bean bag in their own personal space
• Move and stop movements with control
• Move with other children without colliding with them
• Balance on mats and balance beam