Child develops trusting relationships with nurturing adults.
What educators might observe
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Asks for help in completing projects that they are interested in but that are beyond their physical capabilities (e.g., asks caregiver to tape corners of cardboard construction together)
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Carries out actions to please adults at times (e.g., cleans up at clean-up time)
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Expresses feelings about adults (e.g., “I love Auntie because she always plays with me.”)
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Follows educators’ guidelines for appropriate behavior in different environments
Ways educators might support the child's development
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Talk to the family about their hopes and dreams for the child, and hold that image in your mind
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Notice when the child may need comfort and reassurance and provide support, even when they do not ask for it
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Promote the idea that everyone shares the responsibility for the well-being of children
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Use observation, recording, and reflection to notice the areas in which children are struggling and plan to offer them extra support in those areas
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Ask open-ended questions to sustain conversations with children
Child experiences a sense of belonging in environments that link, extend, and affirm the child’s family and community. Child expresses comfort and joy with human diversity.
What educators might observe
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Identifies self as a member of a group (e.g., refers to our family, our school, our faith, or our culture)
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Begins to show evidence of internalized superiority or internalized oppression based on race, ethnicity, class, gender, religion, ability status, family structure, body size, and/or language
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Adjusts behavior to different settings (e.g., family vs. learning environment)
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Compares similarities or differences of others (e.g., height, hair color, or skin tone)
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Seeks out people and objects in the learning environment that affirm their sense of belonging (e.g., educator who shares their home language, family photo, item from home)
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Develops their own theories about what causes differences in ability, gender, and skin color
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May mask fear of differences with avoidance and/or silliness
Ways educators might support the child's development
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Welcome children’s questions about difference (“You are noticing your skin color is different than mine. What words would you use to say what color my skin is?”)
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Include books and materials within the learning environment that respect and honor differences and those by authors of different backgrounds (e.g., culture, gender, ethnicity, language, and abilities)
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Ask families to send in photos of things that are meaningful to each child, such as foods, celebrations, and family activities; use pictures to make personalized posters, displays, and class books
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Ask families to bring familiar objects from their home, such as music, instruments, household items, clothing, and toys, and encourage children to talk about and use them in the classroom
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In non-parochial schools, refrain from celebrating religious holidays, such as Christmas; instead invite families to visit the class and share their cultural traditions
Child develops a sense of self through noticing and developing their own interests, preferences, and abilities. Child increasingly develops self-awareness, confidence, family pride, and positive social identities.
What educators might observe
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Describes family members and the structure of their family
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Describes self by physical attributes, abilities, and feelings
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Experiments by trying new activities and testing their abilities
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Identifies feelings, likes, and dislikes, and expresses own ideas and opinions; begins to be able to explain why they have them
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Becomes aware of and explores the meaning of their racial, cultural, gender identities; understands that they are a member of various social groups that have names (e.g., White, Black, African American, Dominican, Muslim, boy, transgender, etc.)
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Children begin to internalize gender stereo-types and may begin to conform to society’s gendered expectations for their own behavior and/or express gender biases (e.g., only boys play with blocks or only girls wear dresses)
Ways educators might support the child's development
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Talk to the child’s family to learn about their strengths, knowledge, and experiences
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Home languages
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Traditions
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Friends and family members
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Caregivers and caregiving practices
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Educational activities
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Chores
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Family outings and trips
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Occupations
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Scientific knowledge
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Make the families’ strengths, knowledge, and experiences present in the classroom through materials, curriculum, field trips, and conversation
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Provide paint, markers, crayons, construction paper, and other materials in a range of skin tones that children can utilize in their artwork
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Teach children about some of the different words people use to describe their identities
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Gently intervene when you notice children enforcing rigid gender roles. For example, if you overhear a child saying, “You can’t play with us! Only boys can be firefighters,” you can ask, “Is that true? I don’t think it’s accurate to say that only boys can be firefighters. There are many women firefighters.”
Child forms deep, caring, human connections by imagining what someone else may be thinking or feeling and responding with care. Child recognizes unfairness and understands that unfairness hurts.
What educators might observe
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Expresses how another child might feel (e.g., “I think Tanya is sad because she is crying.”)
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Shows concern about fairness within peer group
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Develops awareness that some racial, cultural, gender, and linguistic identities are unfairly valued more than others in society
Ways educators might support the child's development
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Assist children in acknowledging and understanding how a peer is feeling by pointing out facial expressions, voice, tone, body language, or words the child is using
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Use “I” statements to teach children self-awareness (“I don’t like it when you ignore me. It makes me feel sad.”)
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Using an anti-bias approach, introduce critical thinking (true/not true, fair/not fair) about pervasive stereotypes
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Put a seed in a jar every time a child practices an act of kindness and plant a kindness garden when the jar is full
Child navigates friendships with peers through cooperation and negotiation.
What educators might observe
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Assigns roles in play
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Uses different turn-taking strategies (e.g., bartering, trading, or waiting for a turn)
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Uses simple strategies to solve problems, either individually or in a group
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Negotiates with other children to solve a problem
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States a position with reasons (e.g., “I don’t want to play blocks right now because I want to draw.”)
Ways educators might support the child's development
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Include books about friendship in the learning environment, such as
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Making Friends , by Fred Rogers
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Amos and Boris , by William Steig
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Alexander and the Wind-up Mouse , by Leo Lionni
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If possible, create opportunities for emergent multilingual children who share the same home language to sit and play together
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Use conflict-resolution strategies such as a problem-solving script 1. “I don’t like it when…” 2. “What can I do to make you feel better?” 3. “ You can …”
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Use visual aids to illustrate strategies for problem-solving; for example, allow children to select a picture that depicts how they feel and what will make them feel better
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Provide opportunities for the child to experience the reactions of their peers by not rushing in too quickly to resolve conflicts
Child expresses and manages their feelings and impulses.
What educators might observe
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Tries to express strong feelings verbally, but then may resort to physical expression (e.g., breaking toys)
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Acts out and resolves emotions in dramatic play
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Explains the reason behind their emotions
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Uses vocabulary for complex emotions, such as disappointed, frustrated, embarrassed, or thrilled
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Advocates for what they want and what they like
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Identifies some things that help them feel better when they are upset
Ways educators might support the child's development
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Reflect with colleagues to determine what message children’s feelings, behaviors, and impulses are conveying
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Wait until you are calm before talking to a child about a moment in which they had strong feelings
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When you and the child are both calm, talk to the child about what happened (e.g., “Earlier you cried when Ellen took the toy from you. How do you think you were feeling? What could you have said to tell Ellen how you felt?”)
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Teach children coping strategies for self-regulating/or self-monitoring behaviors
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Avoid stereotyping children’s expression of emotion (e.g., validate boys when they cry, and girls when they get angry)
Child follows the rhythms, rules, and routines of the learning environment.
What educators might observe
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Adapts to changes in daily schedule (e.g., “Today is Wednesday, and we have our art lesson with our visiting artist.”)
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Predicts what comes next in the day, when there is an established and consistent routine (e.g., “After nap we have a snack, then my Mom comes to get me.”)
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Demonstrates understanding of the consequences of own actions on others (e.g., “I gave Anna the toy and so she feels better.”)
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Waits for turn during group activities
Ways educators might support the child's development
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Implement the schedule consistently
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Teach children about the schedule and encourage them to verbally express what comes next
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Teach children the expectations for transition times
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Provide clear verbal and visual warnings prior to transitions
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Follow through with positive acknowledgement of children’s behavior and following of rules
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Provide gentle reminders about rules of different areas, such as the playground and the classroom
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Establish, e xplain, and model simple rules in ways children can understand (e.g., nap time might involve going to the bathroom, seeing the lights go off, getting into bed, and hearing calming music)
