CHAPTER 2: Development before Birth



CHAPTER 11: Inclusive Curriculum Planning for Infants and Toddlers

Chapter Preview

This chapter focuses on curriculum approaches for infants and toddlers in the context of developmentally appropriate practices. It ties together curriculum and assessment and ways to include infants and toddlers with developmental delays.

Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

• Be aware of program standards and their application in early childhood classrooms.

• Explain different curriculum approaches for infants and toddlers and characteristics.

• Recognize and value developmentally appropriate practice.

• Develop strategies for individualizing learning.

• Understand the implications of Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and how it applies to early childhood classrooms.

• Develop a philosophy for working with infants and toddlers.

Key Terms and Concepts

Continuum of teaching techniques ranges from directive to nondirective techniques with the goal of matching the technique to the material being learned and the infant or toddler who is learning. All educators need all these techniques.

Creative Curriculum is an approach to infant and toddler curriculum, strongly based on developmentally appropriate practices, that focuses on activities and routines for infants and toddlers.

Developmentally appropriate practice has three basic components: (1) knowledge about development and learning; (2) knowledge about individual children; and (3) knowledge about the social and cultural context in which children learn and grow.

Assessment allows educators to make decisions about teaching and learning by providing a means for identifying infants and toddlers who may require focused intervention to support their learning. It provides a way for programs to evaluate their effectiveness.

Educarers is a term coined by Gerber that acknowledges both the educational and caregiving responsibilities. Educarers are respectful of infants. They provide space for infants, focus on the whole child, expect infants to work for what they want, encourage autonomy, and expect infants and toddlers to sooth themselves and solve problems.

Emergent Curriculum uses infants’ and toddlers’ natural curiosity to focus the curriculum. Curriculum is built around infants’ and toddlers’ interests and desires. Educators use creativity to teach necessary concepts using ideas and materials that interest the children.

Energy balance is attained when energy intake is equal to energy expenditure.

Individualized Family Service Plan is a plan developed by the infant’s or toddler’s parents together with a team working with the child. Its purpose is to identify, organize, and facilitate the attainment of a family’s goals for themselves and their infant or toddler. The components of this plan are laid out in Part C of the IDEA.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 is the current reauthorization of the IDEA that provides the rules and regulations for individualizing programming for children with disabilities.

Learning cycle is the process that children use when being introduced to new material. It involves awareness, exploration, inquiry, and utilization.

Levels of involvement focuses on the relationship of the adult and infant or toddler. It includes a stabilizing presence because infants need an adult nearby to ensure their safety; facilitative intervention is when the adult moves in and out of an infant’s or toddler’s play; and shared participation is when adults actively participate in infants and toddlers play.

Multicultural education focuses on and tries to eliminate all the issues infants and toddlers encounter in their lives that create stereotypes and bias including race, ethnicity, disabilities, language differences, class, gender, age, religion, and more. It is part of the entire curriculum and value system.

Part C is the portion of the IDEA that focuses on infants and toddlers from birth to 36 months.

Pikler/Gerber is a curriculum approach for infants and toddlers that emphasizes respectful care, giving infants and toddlers time for uninterrupted play, and giving infants and toddlers choices within a secure framework.

Reggio Emilia is a curriculum approach that focuses on the strengths of infants and toddlers and their role as protagonist, collaborator, and communicator. Space is viewed as being flexible and follows interests of infants and toddlers. Parents are partners in the educational process.

Chapter Outline

Standards and Accreditation in Early Care and Education

Curriculum Approaches in Early Care and Education

Developmentally Appropriate Practice

Curriculum for Infants and Toddlers

Assessment and Record Keeping for Infants and Toddlers

Adult Interactions with Infants and Toddlers

Continuum of Teaching Techniques

Multicultural Education

Including Infants and Toddlers with Developmental Delays

Safety, Health, and Nutrition

Planning and Curriculum for Multiage Groups

Developing a Philosophy of Working with Infants and Toddlers

Recommended Reading

Aronson, S. S., & Spahr, P. M. (2002). Healthy young children: A manual for programs.

Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Bredekamp, S., & Copple, C. (Eds.). (1997). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8 (Rev. ed.). Washington, DC: NAEYC.

Dombro, A. L., Colker, L. J., & Dodge, D. T. (1999). The creative curriculum for infants and toddlers (Rev. ed.). Washington, DC: Teaching Strategies, Inc.

Gandini, L., & Edwards, C. P. (Eds.). (2005) Bambini: The Italian approach to infant/toddler care. New York: Teachers College Press.

National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2006). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8.

National Association for the Education of Young Children (2006). New NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and Accreditation Performance Criteria. .

Petrie, S., & Owen, S. (Eds.). (2005). Authentic relationships in group care for infants and toddlers—Resources for infant educarers RIE: Principles into practice. London and Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Sandall, S., Hemmeter, M. L., Smith, B., & McLean, M. E. (2005). DEC recommended practices: A comprehensive guide for practical application in early intervention/ early childhood special education. Missoula, MT: Division of Early Childhood.

Relevant Web Sites

Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care Programs written by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Public Health Association, and National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education, provides a wealth of information relative to health care requirements for child care programs. This site also provides a variety of other material for early care and education in the area of health and safety.

Institute of Medicine of the National Academies has a Food and Nutrition section Web site that provides links to current projects, events, and reports concerning topics such as food safety, dietary supplements, adequate nutrition, and guidelines for nutrient intake. iom.edu

The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) is one of 17 divisions of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)—the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving educational outcomes for individuals with exceptionalities, students with disabilities, and/or the gifted. DEC is especially for individuals who work with or on behalf of children with special needs, birth through age eight, and their families.

The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administers the nutrition assistance programs of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The mission of FNS is to provide children and needy families with better access to food and a more healthful diet through its food assistance programs and nutrition education efforts. The Web site contains information on the history, regulations, and policies, and research on the federal nutrition programs. fns.

The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) is a national nonprofit organization working to improve public policies and public-private partnerships to eradicate hunger and undernutrition in the United States. FRAC’s Web site provides extensive information on all the federal nutrition programs and strategies to strengthen and expand participation in these programs, as well as on food insecurity and its consequences for low-income households.

The Future of Children journal has a Spring 2006 issue that focuses on childhood obesity and examines prevention and intervention strategies, with a supplemental Policy Brief calling for a strong federal response to the problem.



The National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET) is the only national membership organization dedicated solely to meeting the needs of special education teachers and those preparing for the field of special education teaching.



Illinois State Board of Education has a site devoted to early childhood education. It provides information about their standards for infants and toddlers as well as a tool kit for implementing practices for infants and toddlers.

Teaching Strategies has curriculum materials and parenting resources for infants and toddlers.

The English Learning for Preschooler Project, although designed for preschool children, has some helpful hints about strategies to use with children whose home language is not English.

The Healthy Child Care America (HCCA) program is a collaborative effort of health professionals, child care providers, and families working to improve the health and safety of children in child care. Launched in 1995, HCCA seeks to maximize the health, safety, well-being, and developmental potential of all children so that each child experiences quality child care within a nurturing environment and has a medical home.

The National Professional Development Center on Inclusion (NPDCI) is working with states to create a system of high-quality, cross-agency, accessible, professional development for early childhood personnel.

The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), part of the U.S. Department of Education, is dedicated to improving results for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities ages birth through 21 by providing leadership and financial support to assist states and local districts.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a food pyramid for kids. Even simplified, it is too complex for infants and toddlers, but it can serve as a guide for choosing healthy snacks and or helping parents learn about young children’s nutritional needs.

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