Which developmental skill is typically seen in children by age three?

By age three, children typically demonstrate the skill to draw recognizable shapes. This developmental milestone indicates their growing fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. At this stage, children often begin to experiment with different materials, making basic representations like circles, squares, and lines, which can be seen as their early attempts at expression through art. Drawing recognizable shapes marks an important transition in cognitive development because it reflects their understanding of the relationship between objects in the real world and their ability to replicate these forms on paper.

In comparison, the other options represent skills that are generally beyond the developmental capabilities of most three-year-olds. Solving complex math problems and a clear understanding of written language typically emerge much later in childhood as cognitive and linguistic abilities mature. Building intricate structures with blocks may be attempted, but the complexity of the structures built would usually be limited at this age, focusing more on simple stacking rather than intricate designs. Thus, drawing shapes is the most appropriate skill to associate with three-year-old children.