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Curricula/Teaching Approaches For Infant And Toddler Care
Recent research has shown that even the youngest children are capable of learning complex language, concepts, and skills. Well planned, evidence-based curriculum can contribute significantly to positive outcomes for all children. The challenge for infant and toddler caregivers is to determine what children should be taught in the years from birth through age 3 and to incorporate that into a teaching approach that blends child initiative, individualization, and direct instruction with sufficient follow-up to ensure mastery. Curriculum should also be tied to individual assessment, program evaluation, and professional development.
This document provides an overview of research, curricula/teaching approaches for infant and toddler care, and State implementation and training activities related to curricula/teaching approaches for infant and toddler care. Examples from Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Plans for FY 2008-2009 are included to illustrate curricula/teaching approaches and activities. These examples do not include all States, but are meant to represent a range of approaches States have taken to develop/implement curricula/teaching approaches for infants and toddlers. CCDF Plans are available on NCCIC's Web site http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/stateplan/stateplan-intro.html. NCCIC does not endorse any practice, organization, publication, or resource.
Research and Recommendations
From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development (2000), ed.s Jack P. Shonkoff and Deborah A. Phillips, by the Committee on Integrating the Science of Early Childhood Development; Board on Children, Youth, and Families; National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, emphasizes that the development that occurs from birth to 3 lays the foundation for all later learning, and that infant and toddler development is largely relationship and context dependent. To ensure that the development gained in this critical period offers an effective foundation for later development and success, infant and toddler experiences and learning must be designed intentionally to meet the individual needs of each child. The use of a well-planned, individualized curriculum provides a way for programs to be intentional about what babies are learning, and is a hallmark of high-quality programs for infants and toddlers. Because of the unique developmental tasks of infants and toddlers, curriculum for this age group may be thought of as what babies and toddlers experience, and what and how they learn from those experiences. Because infant andtoddler curricula are individualized, the process is inclusive of all infants and toddlers, regardless of the presence or absence of developmental disabilities or delays.
"Infants Have Their Own Curriculum: A Responsive Approach to Curriculum Planning for Infants and Toddlers" (March 2000), in issue 67 of the Head Start Bulletin, by J. Ronald Lally,identifies several considerations for developing an infant and toddler curriculum/teaching approach. The article emphasizes the following:
- Infancy has three distinct developmental stages: Young infant, mobile infant, and toddler.
- Infants learn holistically: Infants do not experience social, emotional, intellectual, language, and physical learning separately.
- Relationships are primary for development: Infants are dependent on close, caring, ongoing relationships for positive physical, social, emotional, and intellectual growth. Infants develop best when they are sure of having trusted caregivers who can read their cues and respond to their needs. Infants develop their first sense of self through contact with others.
- Home culture is an important part of a child's developing identity: Because an infant's sense of self is such a crucial part of a child's make-up, early care must ensure that links with family, home culture, and home language are a central part of program policy.
- Infants are active, self-motivated learners: Environments and activities that keep motivation, experimentation, and curiosity alive must be constructed to facilitate the infant learning process.
- Infants are not all alike: They are individuals with unique temperaments. Because of these differences, staff need to individualize and adapt to each child.
- Language skills and habits develop early: The development of language is particularly crucial during the infant and toddler period. Quality care provides many opportunities for infants to engage in meaningful, experienced-based communication with their caregivers and have their communication acknowledged and encouraged.
- Environments are powerful: Infants and toddlers are strongly influenced by the environments and routines they experience each day. This is particularly true for very young infants who cannot move themselves from one environment to another. The physical environment, group size, daily schedules, plans, and routines must foster the establishment of small intimate groups in which relationships with trusted caregivers can develop.
- Adults exhibit strong emotions and opinions when entrusted with the care of infants: Parents and caregivers of infants and toddlers often experience heightened emotions about how to care for infants and toddlers. Strategies for dealing with conflicts that may emerge between parents and staff must be considered by each program.
This resource is available at www.headstartinfo.org/pdf/finalcurriculum.pdf.
Infant and Toddler Curricula/Teaching Approaches
The following is a sample of resources covering infant and toddler curricula and teaching approaches listed in alphabetical order by title. Additional resources are available via NCCIC's Online Library, which can be accessed at http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/library/index.cfm?do=oll.search.
Curriculum |
Curriculum Description | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Curricula/Teaching Approaches | ||
| The Creative Curriculum ® for Infants and Toddlers | Teaching Strategies, Inc., offers curriculum resources, training manuals, and parent resource booklets related to infant and toddler care, including the Creative Curriculum for Infants and Toddlers, which emphasizes the importance of early learning in the context of relationships. Creative Curriculum is also available for family child care, with a focus on strategies to provide age-appropriate experiences for mixed-age groups of children, including infants and toddlers. | Teaching Strategies, Inc. Phone: 800-637-3652 Web site: www.teachingstrategies.com |
| The High/Scope Curriculum for Infants and Toddlers | The Infant-Toddler Curriculum is based on the principle that children learn best through direct, hands-on experiences with people, objects, events, and ideas. During this active learning process, infants and toddlers are encouraged to discover the world around them by exploring and playing. Learning and development are anchored by long-term, trusting relationships with caregivers who are close at hand to support children as they play. Adults scaffold further learning as they interact with children throughout the day. | High/Scope Educational Research Foundation Phone: 734-485-2000 Fax: 734-485-0704 Email: info@highscope.org Web site: www.highscope.org |
| Innovations Series | The Innovations series is a comprehensive curriculum for infants and toddlers. It focuses on the elements of caregiver observation and assessment, child development theory, interactive experiences, adult-child interaction, parent partnerships, and environments. The series includes two curriculum books (one for infants, another for toddlers), a book about infant and toddler development, and guides for teachers and trainers. | Gryphon House, Inc. Phone: 301-595-9500 Web site: www.gryphonhouse.com |
| Montessori Infant/Toddler Curriculum | These curricula guides provide information for curriculum implementation, classroom start-up, normalization, assessment, observation, and classroom management for children birth to 3. The North American Montessori Center (NAMC) also offers distance-learning opportunities and certification with the Montessori approach. | NAMC Phone: 877-531-6665 Web site: www.montessoritraining.net/ |
| The Program for Infant/Toddler Caregivers (PITC) Curriculum | The PITC Curriculum was developed by WestEd's Center for Child and Family Studies in collaboration with the Child Development Division within the California Department of Education. It is a comprehensive training system developed to assist caregivers of children younger the age of 3 to provide infants and toddlers with healthy, emotionally secure, and intellectually rich experiences in care. The training covers four modules: social-emotional growth and socialization; group care; learning and development; and culture, family, and providers. | WestEd PITC Phone: 415-289-2300 Web site: www.pitc.org |
| Resources for Infants and Toddlers Curricula/Teaching Approaches | ||
| Active Learning | The Active Learning Series from the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, published by the Pearson Learning Group, devotes a volume to each specific age group, including infants and toddlers, as well as children with disabilities. Each volume contains more than 300 clearly formatted activities that have been carefully field-tested to ensure their effectiveness in care and education. These materials are intended for use in home visiting programs or center-based early care and education programs. | Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute University of North Carolina Phone: 919-966-2622 Web site: www.fpg.unc.edu/products/product_detail.cfm? apubsID=614 |
| Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System ® (AEPS) for Infants and Children, Second Edition | AEPS links assessment, intervention, and evaluation for children from birth to 6 years who have disabilities or are at risk for developmental delays. AEPS helps identify targets tailored for each child's needs, formulate developmentally appropriate goals, conduct evaluations before and after to ensure that interventions are working, and involve families in the whole process. | Brookes Publishing Company Phone: 800-638-3775 Web site: www.brookespublishing.com/index.htm |
| Beautiful Beginnings: A Developmental Curriculum for Infants and Toddlers | Beautiful Beginnings contains more than 350 reproducible activities that build on each child's natural strengths and interests, recognize and expand emerging developments, and encourage progress in areas of concern. | Redleaf Press Phone: 800-423-8309 Web site: www.redleafpress.org |
| Hawaii Early Learning Profile ® (HELP) | HELP (0-3) is a center-based curriculum for children from birth through age 3. It is a curriculum-based assessment used to identify needs and track growth and development. It provides play-based activities and intervention strategies for each of the 685 skills in six developmental domains: cognitive, language, gross motor, fine motor, social, and self-help. It promotes a cross-disciplinary, integrated approach that can be used by physical, speech, and occupational therapists; early childhood educators; infant specialists; psychologists; social workers; and nurses. | VORT Corporation Phone: 650-322-8282 Web site: www.vort.com |
| HighReach Learning ® (HRL) | The HRL curriculum, designed for children ages 12 months to 5 years, emphasizes a blend of teacher-facilitated and child-initiated activities. The curriculum is delivered through monthly theme-based curriculum programs, integrating language, literacy, mathematics, science, creative arts, physical, health, and social-emotional domains while attending to children's approaches to learning and individual learning styles. The curriculum provides training for teachers and materials to facilitate teachers' documentation of student learning. | HRL Phone: 800-729-9988 Web site: www.highreach.com/Scripts/default.asp |
| LearninGames, The Abecedarian Curriculum |
LearninGames has been used as the Abecedarian Project curriculum. It is a home-based, center-based, or parent groups' curriculum for children birth through 5 years. Activities are derived from developmental milestones in the domains of social-emotional development and cognitive/creative development, language, and motor skills. Each game provides caregivers with an example of how to enhance child development. | MindNurture, Inc. Phone: 919-967-0126 Web site: www.fpg.unc.edu/products/ product_detail.cfm?apubsid=522 |
| The Step by Step Program | Children's Resources International (CRI) offers center- and home-based programs information and strategies for supporting infant and toddler development in all areas through planned interactions and daily routines. The program offers hands-on training and activity manuals to help caregivers learn how to observe children, create a safe and responsive environment, and develop close communication with parents and other professionals to ensure a developmentally appropriate, family centered program. | CRI Phone: 202-363-9002 Web site: www.childrensresources.org/stepbystep.html |
How States are Using Infant Toddler Curricula
The following are some examples of State activities related to infant and toddler training and curricula from CCDF Plans for FY 2008 -2009. These examples do not include all States, but are meant to represent a range of approaches States have taken to develop/implement curricula and teaching approaches for infant toddler care and education.
States are using infant and toddler curricula with their State early learning guidelines (ELGs) to promote skill development, school readiness, and program quality. Many States have developed early learning guidelines for children birth to 5:
- Nine States and two Territories have ELGS for children from birth through 5 years (AK, CA, CNMI, IA, IN, KS, KY, NH, PR, TN, WA); and
- Thirteen States and one Territory have ELGs for children from birth through 3 years, and ELGs for children from 3 through 5 years (AR, CT, DE, FL, GA, GU, LA, MD, ME, MI, MN, NE, OH, PA).
In addition, many States are using infant and toddler curricula in a variety of ways that include staff training, mentoring, coaching, and curricula implementation. The following are direct excerpts taken from the CCDF Plans for FY 2008-2009. Minor revisions were incorporated to enhance readability. CCDF Plans are available on NCCIC's Web site at http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/ stateplan/stateplan-intro.html.
Arizona
Child care training is provided that is specific to infants and toddlers and delivered to center and/or home-based providers. This includes training delivery systems that utilizes curriculums such as West Ed's Program for Infant Toddler Care (PITC) and Teaching Strategies Inc.'s Creative Curriculum for Infants, Toddlers, and Twos.
California
The Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC), a comprehensive multimedia training program initially designed for trainers of infant/toddler caregivers, now includes a variety of training activities. The trainer-of-trainer institutes continue to be presented in four separate modules offered in intensive institutes (two modules per institute) for approximately 60 participants per intensive module. These intensive institutes cover the topics of social-emotional development, quality group care, cognitive and language development, and cultural and family issues, as well as training strategies and developing communities of learners.
Delaware
Project RELATE, during year two, developed a 60-hour infant and toddler course that builds on the State's core knowledge training, Training for Early Care and Education I and II (a 120 hour learning experience). The curriculum has substantial focus on social and emotional development and developing relationships with the children and their families. The curriculum uses the environmental rating scales for infant and toddler programs and the Delaware Early Learning Foundations as a tool for improving the quality of the program and experiences offered to infants and toddlers. The course has been piloted and will become a regular offering of the professional development system. Center-based teachers, directors, and family child care providers are participating in the course. Participants will get an infant and toddler endorsement recognized through the qualifications review process when they have completed the course.
Maine
A course (Sharing Books with Babies) on pre-literacy for providers working with infants and toddlers has been developed. Train-the-trainer courses have prepared trainers to offer the course around the State. Through a collaboration with Raising Readers, trainers can provide child care professionals with a number of books appropriate for infants and toddlers. The Infant and Toddler Environmental Rating Scale is being used as a pre- and post-indicator of quality interactions.
Massachusetts
Through the Parent Child Home Program (PCHP), a home-based parenting, early literacy, and school readiness program, the Department of Early Education and Care provides grant funding to 26 communities to provide biweekly family literacy activities and coaching to at-risk families with toddlers. In 2005, PCHP extended its services to families with toddlers living in homeless shelters and to family child care providers. PCHP home visitors demonstrate the use of curriculum materials and defined learning objectives for young children who were enrolled in family child care settings. Both the family child care provider and parent receive coaching and information on how to support the child's development through intentional instruction.
Virginia
Child Development Resources (CDR) in Williamsburg, VA, developed a research-based early literacy curriculum for teachers of infants and toddlers through a grant. With funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDR staff developed 12 modules for 1-2-3 READ! as a 20-hour training for child care teachers to learn how to support very young children's literacy skills.
Additional Organizations and Resources
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
http://naeyc.orgNAEYC is a nonprofit professional organization dedicated to improving the quality of care and education provided to young children. NAEYC has more than 100,000 members, teachers, administrators, parents, policymakers, and others committed to bringing high-quality early education and care to all young children. NAEYC resources relating to curriculum include the following:
- Early Childhood Curriculum, Assessment, and Program Evaluation: Building an Effective, Accountable System in Programs for Children Birth Through Age 8 (November 2003), a joint position statement of NAEYC and the National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education, includes the statement of position and recommendations. It also includes an overview of relevant trends and issues, guiding principles and values, a rationale for each recommendation, frequently asked questions, and developmental charts for curriculum, assessment, and evaluation. This resource is available at www.naeyc.org/about/positions/pdf/CAPEexpand.pdf.
- Infant Curriculum: Great Explorations (1993) and Toddler Curriculum: Making Connections (1991) are videos that illustrate the concepts of appropriate practices and active curricula. Additional information is available at www.naeyc.org/shoppingcart/Itemdetail.aspx?Stock_No=847.
Curricula/Teaching Approaches for Early Care and Education (May 2007), by NCCIC, includes information about selected research-based curricula/teaching approaches and guides for providers in child care centers and family child care homes and those providing home visits. It is available at http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/poptopics/curricula-ece.html.
Carolina Curriculum for Infants and Toddlers with Special Needs (2004), 3rd ed., by Nancy M. Johnson-Martin, Susan M. Attermeier, and Bonnie Hacker, published by Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company, is designed for the assessment and teaching of children with mild to severe special needs from birth to 24 months. The volume first takes users step-by-step through the assessment process €”from setting up to scoring and charting assessment results. The curriculum is divided into 24 logical teaching sequences covering five developmental domains: cognition, communication, social adaptation, fine motor development, and gross motor development. Once the initial assessment is complete, professionals select curricular items that correspond to each child's special needs. Additional information is available at www.brookespublishing.com/store/books/johnson-martin/ccitsn.htm.
Updated August 2008
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