Infant-Toddler Education

-Infant toddler education is not infant stimulation -Infant toddler education is not babysitting - infant toddler education is not a watered down version of a preschool model

-In this text education does not mean stimulation -Stimulation is something that people do to babies; allowing them to have sensory experiences is different because then they have choices about what to take in.

-In group settings over-stimulation may be a larger problem than a lack of stimulation

caregivers benefit from knowing how to manage difficult behaviors, babies whose needs are hard to determine, and babies that lack the behavior to attract adults.

-infants and toddlers need to explore their exploratory urges -Most preschool activities are developmentally inappropriate for infants - Toddlers do not use materials in the same manner as preschool children

-Infant toddler education is built on a curriculum -Infant toddler education is planned for and supported -infant-toddler caregivers have a philosophy and training which incorporates development and learning.

- A plan for learning and development -A plan centered on connections and relationships -A plan that links education and care -A framework for decision making based on a philosophy that guides action

-The curriculum depends on caregivers determining what children need -The curriculum depends on children's interests -There is no way to separate intellectual needs from other needs and interests.

-The curriculum must have goals and outcomes, outcomes generally address these domains -cognitive -physical -social-emotional

An infant-toddler curriculum depends on caregivers who have skills in: -Understanding typical and anti-typical development -Understanding diversity -Observation

Observation is a skill that should be developed and practiced everyday, some useful observation methods include: -Anecdotal and running records -Daily logs and two way journals -Documentation

how a child is doing, a child's need and interests,what a child might need next, how to design individual program.

Infants and toddlers face daily problems including: physical problems(hunger and discomfort), Manipulative problems( grasping objects or balancing blocks) Social and emotional problems(separation)

Allowing children to solve their own problems,Recognizing problems as learning opportunities, not protecting children from all problems,Being actively and receptfully present while children are solving problems.

Determining optimum stress levels-caregivers observe children to learn how much stress is to little or to much optimum stress level is the right amount of stress Providing Attention-Meeting children's need for attentions without manipulative motives Providing feedback-caregivers should provide feedback so infants and toddlers know consequence for their actions Modeling-adults need to have behavior that infants and toddlers can imitate.