V

Cognitive Development

A

Understanding Stability and Change

Child recognizes and develops the ability to explain how material objects change and how they remain stable.

24–36 months – See this age across all domains Toddlers

What educators might observe

• Is curious about physical objects that appear to be stable but whose properties change, such as ice and sand
• Reacts to puppets and adults in costume as if they were real

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Set up activities such as mixing color stations or watercolors over ice cubes to show how things change properties
• Plant bean or grass seeds and watch them grow
• Notice and respect children’s feelings about puppets and costumes

B

Representing

Child uses symbolic thought to represent.

24–36 months – See this age across all domains Toddlers

What educators might observe

• Uses objects flexibly for symbolic play (e.g., a stick becomes a spoon then a wand; a box is a boat then a house)
• Animates and interacts with objects (puppets, toys, sticks, or dolls) as characters who speak aloud and have feelings
• Talks to self during dramatic play even when no playmates are around
• Completes a series of actions related to a theme in dramatic play, such as listening to a doll’s heart, then giving the doll a shot and a bandage
• -Makes marks on paper and says they represent something (”I drew Mommy.”)

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Provide fabrics and props for the child to use in dramatic play so they can create scenarios
• Encourage child to talk about or point to specific parts of their drawings, paintings, and sculptures by saying, ”Tell me about your…” or “Oh, you are pointing at a red tree!”

C

Memory and History

Child develops the ability to store, retrieve, and share information about past experiences.

24–36 months – See this age across all domains Toddlers

What educators might observe

• Recreates experiences in dramatic play (e.g., after going to the grocery store, pretends to put food in a cart and check out)
• Tells about a significant event they remember from the past, such as a time they jumped in a big puddle
• Shares information about recent experiences with trusted adults (e.g., telling a family member about the bee at the school playground)

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Provide the child with photographs or objects to bring home to inspire family conversations about what the child did at school
• Discuss previous events if the child brings them up, such as a trip to the grocery store or a bus ride to school
• Provide props so that the child may reenact their experiences
• If multiple children are remembering a past experience, acknowledge each story, but also point out details such as the time of day, or who they were with

D

Investigating and Exploring

Child becomes a scientific thinker by manipulating objects, asking questions, making observations and predictions, and developing generalizations.

24–36 months – See this age across all domains Toddlers

What educators might observe

• Makes guesses about what might happen next based on previous experiences (e.g., pushes doorbell and waits for someone to come to the door)
• Asks simple questions about the natural world (e.g., asks “Where did the rainbow go?” or “Why is it wet outside?”)

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Engage in multi-sensory activities that invite investigation
  • Cooking in the classroom
  • Mixing and stirring natural materials in buckets
  • Walks in the neighborhood, woods, or park
  • Floating scarves in the wind
  • Freezing objects in ice and watching them thaw
  • Digging holes
• Ask “wh” questions, such as “What is that?” “Who is that?” “What if...?” “What do you think?” and “What happened?”
• Listen to children’s questions and provide descriptive answers

E

Understanding Cause and Effect

Child understands and explores the causes and effects of actions and events.

24–36 months – See this age across all domains Toddlers

What educators might observe

• Says, “She needs her blanket,” when a peer becomes upset
• Says “shhh” and tiptoes when a child is still sleeping
• When a child has a Band-Aid, other child points at it and asks what happened

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Narrate what may be happening during an event that the child is curious about
• Use the phrases, “I wonder...” and “Let’s see what happens if…”
• Allow child plenty of time and repetition to explore an event or item; add materials to extend learning such as different size balls to roll down a ramp

F

Engineering: Problem-solving with Materials

Child plans and uses hands, tools, and technology to solve problems with materials.

24–36 months – See this age across all domains Toddlers

What educators might observe

• Intentionally selects objects to use as tools in play (e.g., chooses a thick stick over a thin one to use as a “spoon” to stir mud in make-believe soup)
• Puts a circular piece into a puzzle without having to try the other areas
• Verbally and physically asks for help from an adult or peer by saying “Help,” grabbing their hand, and leading them over to the problem

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Allow child time to figure out problem for themselves, instead of intervening immediately; for example, build time into the schedule for child to try and get their shoes on before going outside
• Encourage child to try doing a task, or suggest ways that they may be successful, such as getting a stool to reach the sink
• Ask if the child needs help and acknowledge and respect the response

G

Math

1. Comparing and Categorizing

Child recognizes some similarities and differences between familiar and unfamiliar people, objects, or experiences.

24–36 months – See this age across all domains Toddlers

What educators might observe

• Collects a single type of object (e.g., picks up pinecones on a walk in the park)
• Calls a big animal “Papi” (“Daddy”) and a small animal “Bebe” (“Baby”)
• Begins to sort similar items into categories such as color or shape (e.g., retrieves blue ball when asked, “Could you please get the blue one?”)
• Identifies small, medium, and big objects when arranged in a series
• Uses one-to-one correspondence with objects(e.g., puts one straw in each cup.) objects (e.g., puts one straw in each cup)

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Provide puzzles and toys that encourage matching, such as shape sorters
• Incorporate categorization into games with children; for example, make up a story together in the block area about a family of goats and a family of sheep
• Label the same objects in a group in different ways (“mommy, child, baby” and then “big, small, tiny.”)
• Encourage child to group toys and compare similarities and differences between them (e.g., “Let’s find all the toys with wheels.”)

2. Number Sense and Quantity

Child understands and explores numbers and quantity.

24–36 months – See this age across all domains Toddlers

What educators might observe

• Starts counting with “one”
• Says all the number words they know when counting objects, even when the quantity of objects is small
• Reuses the number words they know if the quantity of objects is greater than the number words they know
• Uses “a little” and “a lot” to describe quantity
• When told, “Give me one,” hands educator just one object
• When educator says, “Just take two,” takes only two slices of apple from the bowl
• Demonstrates one-to-one correspondence with objects (e.g., puts one block in each muffin tin)

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Encourage children to set the table for snack or lunch with one cup, one plate, and one napkin at each chair
• Use language to describe quantity throughout the day (“We have a lot of apples for snack! We have many more apples than we can eat.”)
• Incorporate counting into representational play with children (“There are three bears in the house. One, two, three.”)
• Provide egg cartons, ice cube trays, and muffin tins with small blocks so children can practice one-to-one correspondence

3. Patterning

Child develops the ability to identify, describe, extend, and create patterns.

24–36 months – See this age across all domains Toddlers

What educators might observe

• Calls a striped shirt with no repeating unit a “pattern”
• Copies simple repeating patterns (e.g., if the educator squats then stands repeatedly, the child continues this motion)

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Look for patterns in the natural and built environment with the child
• Encourage the child to help set the table at mealtimes
• Engage children in cooking activities where patterns are reinforced (e.g., when taking turns mixing, chant, “Stir, stir, stir, pass! Stir, stir, stir, pass!)

4. Spatial Sense and Geometry

Child understands how objects, points, lines, and shapes fit in space.

24–36 months – See this age across all domains Toddlers

What educators might observe

• Matches shapes with similar sizes and orientations
• Completes three or four piece puzzles
• Stacks rings on a post with the biggest on the bottom and the smallest on the top
• Understands words related to position (e.g., “Please put the basket on the table” or “Please get under the covers.”)
• Understands the words “longer,” “shorter,” “big,” and “little”
• Places blocks on one another to make a stack, lining up the edges

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Outline shapes on the floor using string or tape, and encourage the children to go inside
• Provide different sized boxes, wagons, and wheelbarrows that the children can climb in and out of and can use to move objects or other children
• Talk about the shapes of blocks with children; compare the blocks with one another
• Emphasize words describing where objects are in relation to one another (“beside” and “between”)
• Help the child to find themselves in space (“Where is your pinky finger? Where is your elbow?”)