At this age toddlers are little adventurers, scooting down slides, crawling through tunnels, and running around the playground with more style and sturdiness. They’re like tiny gladiators ready for their next obstacle course! They can start and stop, dart in different directions, and alternate between running and walking with relative ease. Even though they’ll spill and tumble every once in a while, their gross motor skills are geared up and ready to shine.

They’re getting better at handling toys with small or interlocking moving parts, like bead mazes or connecting straws. Their scissor skills are also progressing with their ability to place a strong, mature grasp on the handles. They may not be able to move the scissors in a forward motion, but they can master small snips into a sheet of paper.

Creativity continues to flourish during pretend play. You might notice them imitating specific experiences, like placing their teddy bear in time out after they had their own session in time out, or putting a band-aid on a doll’s scraped knee. As they start to process information about the world around them, they utilize pretend play to problem-solve and find solutions to real-life situations.

They’re also beginning to understand how to categorize or organize objects according to weight or size. They may arrange sticks from the longest to shortest, or stack blocks from with the larger ones at the bottom and smaller ones on top. Simple patterns are easier for them to detect as well. For instance, when taking turns during a game, they can point to who’s turn is next.

Around this month language skills are soaring! Little ones are getting better at structuring sentences, using adverbs or adjectives in the appropriate places, and adding 2nd or 3rd person pronouns as the subject of a sentence (She run fast!). They can ask “who,” “when,” and “how” questions, and maybe even answer simple “why” questions. They may also start repeating words or phrases they hear adults say, so choose your words wisely when your talkative toddler is around!

Remember that children are delightfully unique and some of these milestones will happen before or after this month.