Social-Emotional Development: By Entry to Kindergarten

SENSES OF IDENTITY AND BELONGING

EMOTIONAL FUNCTIONING

RELATIONSHIPS WITH A TRUSTED ADULT

RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER CHILDREN

Child recognizes self as a unique individual having own abilities, characteristics, emotions, and interests

Child expresses confidence in own skills and positive feelings about self.

Child has a sense of belonging to family, community, and other groups.

Child expresses a broad range of emotions and recognizes these emotions in self and others.

Child expresses care and concern toward others.

Child manages emotions with increasing independence. 

Child engages in and maintains positive relationships and interactions with a trusted adult.

Child engages in prosocial and cooperative behavior with trusted adult.

Child engages in and maintains positive interactions and relationships with other children. 

Child engages in cooperative play with other children.

Child uses basic problem-solving skills to resolve conflicts with other children. 

Describes self using several different characteristics

Demonstrates knowledge of uniqueness of self, such as talents, interests, preferences, language(s) spoken, or culture.

Begins to demonstrate understanding that smartness, abilities, skills, and talents are developed through effort, hard work, and learning.

Shows satisfaction or seeks acknowledgment when completing a task or solving a problem.

Expresses own ideas or beliefs in group contexts or in interactions with others.

Uses descriptive words to define self that are acceptable within the child’s culture.

Identifies self as being a part of different groups, such as family, community, team, organization, culture, faith, or preschool.

Sometimes relates personal stories about being a part of different groups.

Identifies similarities and differences about self across familiar environments and settings.

Recognizes and labels basic emotions in books, photographs, or other media images.

Uses at least 3–5 words or gestures to describe own feelings, such as happy, sad, mad, or surprised.

Uses at least 3–5 words or gestures to describe the feelings of adults or other children.

Sometimes makes empathetic statements or gestures to adults or other children.

Offers support to adults or other children who are distressed.

Expresses feelings in ways that are appropriate to the situation according to their life experience and cultural beliefs.

Looks for adult assistance when feelings are most intense.

With adult support, uses a variety of coping strategies to manage emotions, such as using words or taking a deep breath.

Interacts with trusted adults.

Sometimes engages in positive interactions with less familiar adults, such as volunteers.

Shows affection and preference for trusted adults who interact with them on a regular basis.

Usually seeks help from adults when needed.

Engages in prosocial behaviors with adults, such as using respectful language or greetings.

Attends to an adult when asked.

Often follows adult guidelines and expectations for behavior.

Often asks or waits for adult permission before doing something when they are unsure.

Engages in and maintains positive interactions with other children at times.

Uses a variety of skills for entering social situations with other children, such as suggesting something to do together, joining an existing activity, or sharing a toy.

Often takes turns in conversations and interactions with other children.

Develops at least one friendship with another child.

Engages in joint play, such as using coordinated goals, planning, roles, and games with rules, with at least one other child at a time.

Shows a willingness to include others’ ideas during interactions and play.

Demonstrates enjoyment of play with other children, such as through verbal exchanges, smiles, and laughter. 

Engages in reflection and conversation about past play experiences.

Often recognizes and describes basic social problems in books or pictures, such as both children wanting the same toy, and during interactions with other children, such as “Why do you think your friend might be sad?”

Uses basic strategies for dealing with common conflicts, such as sharing, taking turns, and compromising some of the time.

Often expresses feelings, needs, and opinions in conflict situations.

Often seeks adult help when needed to resolve conflicts.