In addition to counting, what is another cognitive milestone expected from a 5-year-old?

At around the age of 5, children are typically expected to reach several cognitive milestones that indicate their development in problem-solving, reasoning, and understanding the world around them. Recognizing basic shapes is a significant cognitive milestone for preschoolers. By this age, children can identify common shapes such as circles, squares, and triangles, which are foundational elements in developing spatial awareness and geometry concepts later in life.

Understanding time concepts and counting backwards from 10 may be skills that are introduced or starting to be developed, but they typically are not as firmly established as recognizing shapes. Similarly, while identifying colors is also a skill children work on in early childhood, it is often introduced even earlier than shape recognition. Therefore, identifying basic shapes serves as a strong indicator of cognitive progression in a 5-year-old as they begin to categorize and make sense of their environment more effectively.