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Early Learning Guidelines

Across all five domains

8–16 months

Stage Infants Toddlers Preschool Early elementary
Age 0–9 months 8–16 months 15–24 months 24–36 months 3-year-olds 4-year-olds 5-year-olds 6-year-olds 7-year-olds 8-year-olds
Domain All domains I. Approaches to Learning II. Physical Well-Being, Health and Motor Development III. Social and Emotional Development IV. Communication, Language, and Literacy V. Cognitive Development
Show Both What educators might observe Ways educators might support the child's development
I

Approaches to Learning

A

Curiosity and Interest

Child approaches the world with curiosity and develops knowledge about specific topics.

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Provide freedom of movement and a safe space within the learning environment. When not engaged in caregiving activities the child may crawl, climb, touch, and tumble, with ample space to accomplish all of these movements.
  • Avoid battery-operated toys, electronic toys, or close-ended materials
  • Provide the child with many opportunities to explore different foods. Describe the different characteristics (e.g., “The cracker is crunchy.” or “The orange is sweet and juicy.”).
  • Provide sensory materials that are safe for babies, such as silicone muffin baking cups, large pot holders, or lightweight metal bowls
B

Initiative

Child pursues their own goals.

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Support the child by using vocabulary that indicates initiative (e.g., “Oh look, yes, you can open the box. What is inside? Scarves. Yes, you are shaking the scarves.”)
  • Follow the child’s lead, taking time to stop and examine objects they are interested in with them
  • Invite and welcome the child’s attempts to assist with routine tasks such as sweeping the floor and washing the tables, as well as picking up toys
C

Persistence and Attentiveness

Child focuses on tasks and perseveres in accomplishing them.

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Create learning environments and schedules that promote the development of focus and attention
    • Regular uninterrupted time for free play
    • Enough space for movement
    • Limited number of materials
    • Limited environmental distractions and intentional use of recorded music (e.g., during nap time, but not as background music during free play)
    • Minimize visual distractions with walls that are simple, neutral in color, and free of commercial materials. Note: In order to supervise children and be present with them, educators should refrain from accessing their personal phones in the learning environment. Photographs and videos of children should be taken with a dedicated device.
D

Creativity and Inventiveness

Child uses their imagination to create and invent.

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Observe and acknowledge children’s creative use of objects
  • Create environments where children can experience freedom of movement, exploring their bodies in space and experiencing what they can do physically
  • Remove screens and electronic toys from the learning environment
  • Sing songs from your own culture and learn songs from the children’s families and cultures
II

Physical Well-Being, Health and Motor Development

A

Large Motor Skills

Child uses and coordinates their large muscle groups.

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Create an indoor learning environment that provides opportunities for children to develop their large motor skills
    • Open spaces where new walkers can practice walking back and forth
    • Different levels so that children are able to pull themselves up on something
    • Mats or rugs for rolling and stretching
    • Large baskets and boxes for crawling in and out of
  • Create schedules in which children are able to move their bodies freely whenever they are not engaged in caregiving routines
B

Small Motor Skills

Child controls the small muscles in their hands and wrists.

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Include materials in the learning environment that foster fine motor skills
    • Nesting toys
    • Linking rings
    • Busy boxes
    • Cloth books
    • Squishy balls
  • Observe and reflect to the child what their hands are doing
  • Provide objects of different textures for the child to hold or bang; describe what the child is doing (“You are holding that spoon so tightly. You opened your fingers and let it go.”)
  • Support the child’s sense of dignity and autonomy by allowing them to choose what to do with their hands; avoid manipulating the child’s hands for them
C

Sensory Integration

The child uses sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, proprioception (deep pressure), and vestibular function (balance) to perceive and respond to the world around them.

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Create a learning environment that provides opportunities for children to develop their senses; consider Including
    • Natural sunlight
    • Time for singing with human, rather than recorded, voices
    • Drums and rainsticks
    • Toys made of natural materials, such as cloth and wood
    • Items with different textures for children to feel
D

Self-Care

Child cares for their physical well-being.

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Actively learn about the caregiving practices of the family
  • Critically assess the degree to which all educator–child interactions, including the basic care procedures such as diaper changing, eating, sleeping, and comforting, are similar or different to those of the child’s home
  • Commit to making changes in your caregiving practices to better align them with the child’s experiences in the home
  • Identify, create, and maintain safe indoor and outdoor environments for the child to explore freely
    • Cover electrical outlets
    • Install gates at top and bottom of stairs
    • Ensure poisons and choking hazards are out of reach
    • Keep hot liquids outside of learning environment
  • Redirect children using positive language and examples. For instance, if a child approaches a baby, show them a gentle touch and say, “Oh, you see her hair! Yes, that’s her hair.”
E

Healthy Sexuality

Child develops a healthy relationship to their body, pleasure, and others. This healthy sense of self is supported and demonstrated through respectful, caring, and loving relationships with families, educators, and other children.

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Model respect for children’s bodies by telling them what to expect before touching them or picking them up
  • Narrate what you’re doing when you touch them (“I’m going to pick you up now”) so they have a sense that unexpected things don’t just happen to their bodies
  • Express healthy, matter-offact attitudes about children’s bodies and bodily functions; avoid conveying shame or naughtiness about erections, bowel movements, and other toileting activities
III

Social and Emotional Development

A

Trusting Relationships with Adults

Child develops trusting relationships with nurturing adults.

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Schedule regular meetings with the child’s family during which you invite families to raise issues openly, collaboratively discuss the child’s development, and identify ways in which you can work together
  • Meet children at their level; sit or lie down on the floor with them, and use a low stool so that you may sit at the table at their level
  • Interact with individual children during routines and activities (e.g., singing during feeding and diaper changing and using their name)
B

Sense of Belonging

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.

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Affirm the baby’s choice to seek comfort and care from an educator who shares their racial, linguistic, or cultural background
  • Show empathy and acceptance of children’s feelings, and be emotionally close
  • Be open to close physical contact with the child; allow children to hold your hand and sit in your lap
  • Encourage a sense of belonging within the classroom by having homelike touches, including pillows, pictures of the children’s families (at eye level), comfort items, and a place to hold the child’s belongings
C

Sense of Self

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.

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Hang photographs of children and families at child’s level; talk to children about these pictures, especially when they are missing their caregivers
  • Hang a mirror on the wall at eye level; comment lovingly on similarities between the educator’s image and the child’s
  • Acknowledge the child’s choices and preferences (“You really liked that applesauce.”)
  • Intentionally reflect and affirm marginalized aspects of children’s social identities; for example, use books like I See Me , by Margaret Manuel, to highlight the beauty of Okanagan culture and language
D

Empathy

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.

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Talk to families about how empathy is expressed in their culture and community
  • Suggest how children can show empathy; encourage the child to offer a tissue, comfort item, or pat on the back to family members or friends who may be feeling hurt or sad
E

Cooperation and Negotiation

Child navigates friendships with peers through cooperation and negotiation.

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Play back-and-forth games; for example, hand an object to a baby, wait for them to grasp it, and then reach out your hand so they may hand it back to you if they like
  • Invite the baby to roll a ball to another child who rolls it back
  • Provide duplicate or similar toys to avoid conflicts from arising
F

Emotional Self-Regulation

Child expresses and manages their feelings and impulses.

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Ask families what helps their child to feel better when they are upset
  • Respond to child’s displays of pleasure by matching child’s emotions with facial expressions, tone, and words
  • Model facial expressions to express emotions and label emotion (e.g., happy face-smile, sad face-frown, or angry face-scowl)
  • Identify which behaviors are upsetting for you, and develop a new response to those behaviors (e.g., “When children hurt each other, I used to yell at them to stop. Now, I teach them about “gentle touches,” and when they are rough, I say, “Remember, gentle touches.”)
G

Rhythms, Rules, and Routines

Child follows the rhythms, rules, and routines of the learning environment.

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Offer individualized schedules for those children who may need to nap longer or eat earlier than the rest of the group
  • Have a consistent routine throughout the day, and prompt child with verbal cues about what may come next (e.g.,“We’re going to change your diaper and then give you a bottle.”)
  • Use a positive approach with children; tell the child what they can do, rather than what they can’t do
IV

Communication, Language, and Literacy

A

Speaking

Child will develop the ability to speak and/ or sign in increasingly complete, complex, precise, and varied ways.

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Talk with families about what they notice about their children’s language development at home
  • Invite families who speak a different home language to teach you a few key words
  • Learn and sing songs and rhymes in the home languages of the children in your class
  • Play “peek-aboo” and engage in face-to-face play as well as noseto-nose games with giggles, laughs, coos, and babbles that become words
  • Sing throughout the day; incorporate the baby’s babbles and favorite words into songs that you make up
B

Listening and Understanding

Child will develop their ability to listen and understand complete, complex, precise, and varied language.

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • When sounds are heard, point them out to the child (“Hear the car? Beep Beep. Hear the train? Choo Choo.”)
  • Read books multiple times
  • Read books with rhymes and rhythm
  • Read books with few words
  • Use books that engage the child’s responsiveness and participation
  • Play hello and goodbye games; put baby doll or stuffed bear to sleep, saying, “Night night, baby” or “Night night, bear”
C

Social Communication

Child uses language to relate to others according to the social expectations of their family, community, and culture.

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Emphasize names of family members and others when they come in close proximity to the baby
  • Model social cues and skills; say “Hello;” “Goodbye,” and “How are you?”
  • Play social games of peeka-boo, hide-and-seek, blow and pop bubbles, patty cake, or musical games where objects are passed and returned
D

Engaging with Stories and Books

Child enjoys, attends to, understands, and makes meanings from spoken and written language of storytelling and books.

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Look at books with the child sitting on your lap, taking time to talk about the pictures they show interest in
  • Point to the pictures that represent the words that you are saying
  • Read in short spurts if necessary, gradually reading more if the child shows interest
  • Use accessories to engage children in the book or story
    • Puppets
    • Hats
    • Stuffed animals
    • Dolls
    • Little toys
E

Phonological Awareness

Child develops the ability to recognize and manipulate the different sounds in spoken language(s).

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Sing familiar songs and change the lyrics (“The horn on the bus goes beep beep beep; the dogs on the bus go ruff, ruff, ruff”)
  • Sing and chant nursery rhymes
    • This Little Piggy Went to Market
    • Open Shut Them
    • The Itsy Bitsy Spider
    • Down, Down Baby
    • Mr. Foster Came from Gloucester
G

Creating and Interpreting Multimedia Texts

Child views, creates, and makes meaning of visual communication and multimedia documentation, which includes drawings, collections, photographs, videos and displays.

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Ask families before creating visual images of their child; be mindful of cultural and religious prohibition about image-making
  • Create family photo murals and post them at the child’s eye level in the learning environment
  • Use video, audio, and photographs to document skills and experiences the child is interested in, such as rolling, crawling, swinging, and dancing
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.

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Read books like Where’s Spot? and encourage the baby to lift the flaps; share in the baby’s excitement
  • Sing “Where is Thumbkin?” while slowly revealing your hands and fingers and then folding them away
B

Representing

Child uses symbolic thought to represent.

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Provide materials for the child to imitate caregiving routines
    • Doll stroller
    • Brush or comb
    • Bottle
  • P lay games with a script (“Where is Mommy?” “There is Mommy!” “Where is baby?” “There is baby… there you are!”)
C

Memory and History

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

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Create opportunities for repetitious play so that the child will say, “again,” and be willing to play the same game repeatedly
  • Have designated places to put things; include pictures on the shelves to remind children where objects go
  • Document everyday play in pictures and create photo albums or displays at child level; spend time talking with children about the pictures
D

Investigating and Exploring

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

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Identify and create safe spaces and places for exploring new and different experiences
  • Invite children to manipulate objects and feel their texture, weight, and size; this can include pine cones, rocks, leaves, and feathers, for example
  • Join the child in paying attention to sights, sounds, smells, and textures
    • Listen to the birds together
    • Smell the hotdog stand
    • Feel the breeze while swinging
E

Understanding Cause and Effect

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

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Respond promptly to the child’s efforts to initiate an interaction, for example, if the child makes eye contact with the educator and then covers their eyes, the educator may say, “You want to play peek-a-boo.”
  • Push children on a swing so the motion of going away and coming back supports their developing sense of prediction
F

Engineering: Problem-solving with Materials

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

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Create an environment with loose parts that the baby may freely explore
    • Water cooler jugs and balls that children can drop through the top
    • Containers with lids that children can attempt to pry off
    • Buckets, baskets, bags, and purses for carrying materials around
    • Boxes, blocks, and safe bean bags
G

Math

1. Comparing and Categorizing

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

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants
Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Describe objects by their size, color, and shape (“You are rolling the big, red ball.”)
  • Talk about which objects go together during caregiving routines (“I am getting ready to change your diaper. I need a clean diaper, wipes, and gloves.”)
  • Play language games that emphasize speech sounds; for example, repeat the consonant sounds that the baby makes

2. Number Sense and Quantity

Child understands and explores numbers and quantity.

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants
Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Use comparative vocabulary as you interact with children (“Carla has more cars than Shante.”)
  • Slowly count with children throughout the day. How many
    • Steps on the staircase?
    • Keys on a ring?
    • Wheels on a car?

3. Patterning

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

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants
Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Talk to families about the rhythms of their caregiving routines, in order to reaffirm children’s sense of what comes next
  • Play back-and-forth games with children
    • Rolling balls
    • Swinging
    • Handing objects back and forth
  • Use vocabulary related to patterns: “my turn” and “your turn”

4. Spatial Sense and Geometry

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

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants
Ways educators might support the child's development
  • Encourage pointing at objects, and verbally acknowledge the item that is being pointed to
  • Provide materials in the learning environment that support the development of spatial sense
    • Shape sorter
    • Nesting cups
    • Ring stackers
    • Simple knob puzzles
  • Provide collections of objects that are the same shape
    • A collection of cubes, including boxes and blocks
    • A collection of circles, including rings, lids, and round pieces of paper

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