Childhood Map

Discover the amazing things 5-year-olds are learning — from climbing and jumping to friendships, feelings, and first words on a page. Each skill comes with fun activities you can try together.

Physical & Motor 8 › Sensory 8 › Executive 7 › Cognitive 6 › Language 5 › Communication 5 › Emotional 5 › Social 6 › Self-Care 7 › Literacy 4 › Math 5 › Creative & Artistic 5 › World & Science 5 ›
by Robert Pankowecki
Cognitive & Intellectual Development

Thinking, reasoning, problem-solving, and concept formation abilities that underpin academic learning and understanding of the world.

Sources (7)
  • CDC/AAP Milestones
  • ASQ-3 (Problem Solving)
  • Piaget (Preoperational Stage)
  • Montessori (Mathematics, Cultural)
  • HighScope
  • Gardner (Logical-Mathematical, Spatial Intelligence)
  • Teaching Strategies GOLD (Cognitive Domain)
6 Subdomains
Problem-Solving & Reasoning › Symbolic & Representational Thinking › Classification & Concept Development › Memory & Recall › Attention & Focus › Curiosity & Approaches to Learning ›
Attention & Focus

Sustaining, selecting, and shifting attention to support task completion and learning.

Examples & Achievements

  • Listens to a story for 10-15 minutes
  • Focuses on a self-chosen activity for 15+ minutes
  • Ignores distractions to complete a task
  • Shifts attention from one activity to another when prompted
  • Attends to relevant details in a picture or instruction

How to Measure

  • Sustained attention during teacher-led activity (10-15 min observed)
  • Sustained attention during self-directed play (15-20 min observed)
  • Leiter-3 Attention and Memory battery (if clinical assessment needed)
  • Teaching Strategies GOLD Objective 11b (persistence and attentiveness)
Sources (3)
  • NAEYC
  • Teaching Strategies GOLD
  • HighScope

Childhood Map › Cognitive & Intellectual Development

Attention & Focus

Sustaining, selecting, and shifting attention to support task completion and learning.

Examples & Achievements

How to Measure

Sources