While some five year old children have already started school, several others will not begin formal schooling until age six. Even if your child has been to preschool, there are developmental skills that he or she should have been exposed to,and mastered by the end of their fifth year. Here is a list of fine motor, large muscle, and verbal skills that a typical five year old child should be able to master:

Can walk up and down stairs, alternating feet.
Walks a balance beam.
Can catch a ball thrown from 3 feet away.
Learns to skip, alternating feet.
Is able to ride a tricycle or bicycle with training wheels.
Balances on either foot with good control for ten seconds.
Is able to build structures with small cubes by copying from a picture or model.
Can execute simple gymnastic moves, such as a somersault.
Demonstrates control-pencil or marker, and can color within the lines.
Cuts on the line with scissors (not perfectly).
Reproduces a wide variety of shapes and lettes.
Is able to name city or town, birthday, and parents' names.
Answers telephone appropriately-calls person to phone or takes a message Speech is almost entirely intelligible.
Uses "would" and "could" appropriately, along with other past tense words.
Has a 1,500 words plus vocabulary.
Tells a familiar story while looking at pictures in a book.
Defines simple words by function, like a bed is to sleep in.
Identifies and names four to eight colors,if not all colors.
Recognizes the humor in simple jokes and shows initiative in making up jokes.
Produces sentences with five to seven words, at least.

If you see that your child is lacking in development in one or several of these skills do make an effort to reinforce them at home. If review and skill practice does not bring your child back on track, consult your family doctor for his or her professional advice.

When working with your child at home there are several good workbooks and skill builders you can use. Here are the best choices: