## North Carolina Early Learning and Development Progressions: Birth to Five

#### Domain: NC Foundations for Early Learning: Health and Physical Development (HPD)

#### Subdomain: Motor Development

#### Goal: Children develop the large muscle control and abilities needed to move through and explore their environment.

#### Skill Progression: Locomotion: Crawling/walking/running

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List of Skills by Age

1-2 Months

No observable skill

2-4 Months

No observable skill

4-6 Months

Propels self on tummy with legs, steers with arms, goes backward or forward

6-8 Months

Crawls, climbs, transitions through many positions

8-10 Months

Begins cruising, using furniture for support

Climbs up and down from chairs

May begin to crawl on all fours

10-12 Months

Walks with hand held

May take steps; if walking independently, uses wide base of support and uneven steps

May walk as primary means of locomotion

Still crawls to get somewhere fast

12-15 Months

Takes quick short steps on level surfaces

Creeps up stairs on hands and knees

15-18 Months

Walks sideways

Walks while pulling or pushing toys

Begins to run stiffly, but falls easily

Walks up stairs with one hand held

Walks with legs closer together

18-21 Months

Runs and dances

Walks upstairs while holding on

21-24 Months

Walks downstairs while holding on

24-27 Months

Walks upstairs and downstairs alone, both feet on a step

27-30 Months

Runs around obstacles

Walks up and down stairs alternating feet with support

Rises up onto toes and walks

Walks backwards

30-33 Months

Begins walking up stairs without holding on

Walks on a curb without falling off

Walks on tiptoes when dancing or sneaking up on someone

33-36 Months

Runs on toes

Runs without falling

Walks and runs well, changes speed and direction

36-42 Months

Walks downstairs with alternating feet

42-48 Months

Exhibits true running with trunk rotation and arm swing

Walks like an adult

48-54 Months

Begins to hop on one foot and gallop, though may be awkward

54-60 Months

Walks on a curb or balance board without falling

Skips with coordination (alternate step-hop pattern)

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 2015

©2015 by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.