Free templateChild Development & Programming

Pre-School and Pre-K Progress Report

A two-page progress report for preschool and pre-kindergarten children. Educators rate skills in early literacy, early numeracy, fine motor, gross motor and social & emotional development in January and again in June.

Format: Printable PDF · US Letter
Pages: 2
Best for: Educators · directors
Updated: Sept 2026

Download free template See what’s inside

No sign-up required. Print it and share it with your team — it’s free for any child care program to use.

Preview of the Pre-School and Pre-K Progress Report

What’s inside

Five skill areas, rated in January and June

Child details and legendName, age of child and date complete, beside a legend explaining the na, 1, 2 and 3 ratings.
Early Literacy and Early NumeracyLetter sounds (with an alphabet to mark), phonetic words, printing and interest in books; counting, numerals and quantities, basic addition and subtraction, and shapes.
Fine Motor and Gross MotorPencil and scissor skills, printing a first name, buttons and zippers; throwing, catching, hopping and balance.
Social & Emotional DevelopmentRespect for self and others, independence, expressing feelings, relationships, group participation and following directions.
Jan and June columns, plus CommentsEach skill is rated twice so families can see growth across the year, with a Comments box at the end.

How to use it

Four steps to put it to work this week

1
Gather your observationsPull the last 6–8 weeks of journal entries, photos and lesson-plan notes for the child.
2
Circle a rating for each skillIn the Jan column, circle na, 1, 2 or 3 for the level you have actually seen — not the level you expect. Consistency across educators matters more than generosity.
3
Add commentsUse the Comments box for a concrete example: “Counted 12 blocks aloud while building a tower” tells a family more than “doing well in math”.
4
Repeat in JuneFill in the June column on the same sheet, share it with the family and keep a copy in the child’s file.

Tips from operators

What centers that use this well do differently

Learned the hard way across 3,000 child care spaces — and from the directors and educators who join our Lunch & Learns and Learning Labs.

Draft reports during the week, not the night before

Ten minutes a day across two weeks is far less painful than a weekend of catch-up — and the examples are fresher.

Lead with strengths

When you talk through the report, open each area with something the child does well, then the growth area. Families hear the second point only if they trust the first.

Keep the scale honest

If every child is marked 3 on everything, the report stops meaning anything. It’s fine for most 3-year-olds to be at 1 or 2.

Do it digitally in ChildFriendly Pro

Plan the week in the app — tagged to your framework automatically

Build the same plan in ChildFriendly Pro and every observation you log is tagged to FLIGHT, ELECT, ELF or your own outcomes, added to each child’s portfolio and shared with families in their daily journal.