TODDLERS Learning Objectives Alignment with MN Early Learning Guidelines Birth to Three PLAYBOOK Toddlers Learning Objectives Social and Emotional Development Form and Maintain Relationships Toddlers develop emotional connections and trust with teachers and parents. Toddlers engage in nurturing relationships during feeding, diapering, sleeping, and playing. Toddlers engage in positive learning experiences with teachers (e.g. songs, movement, literacy, lotion, water table, bubbles, music, songs, activities). Toddlers participate in back- and- forth interactions; turn taking; and sharing with teachers. Toddlers respond to greetings from teachers and parents at beginning and ending of the day. Toddlers seek comfort from familiar adults in unfamiliar situations or with unfamiliar people. Toddlers seek comfort from familiar adults in unfamiliar situations or with unfamiliar people. Toddlers seek comfort from familiar adults in unfamiliar situations or with unfamiliar people. Toddlers use teachers and parents as a secure base from which to explore new situations. MN Childhood Indicators of Progress Social and Emotional Development Trust and Emotional Security Engages in behaviors that build relationships with familiar adults Shows preference for familiar adults Responds to unfamiliar adults cautiously Seeks ways to find comfort in new situations
Toddlers prefer familiar teachers and parents when having positive and negative emotions. Toddlers develop and sustain social and emotional connections with teachers and parents. Toddlers experience positive and joyful relationships with peers in group situations. Toddlers greet other children. Toddlers develop skills to engage with peers and solve simple social problems (e.g. turn- taking, sitting next to another child, parallel play). Attention and Regulation Toddlers sustain attention to people, places and things (e.g. faces, language, books, bubbles, music, songs, lotion, novel situations, learning activities). Toddlers engage sensory experience (e.g. washing hands, finger painting; lotion, textures, water table). Toddlers demonstrate attention, persistence and focus in completing multi- step activities. Toddlers practice delaying gratification (e.g. wait for turn, waiting before eating). Toddlers experience, express, and regulate a full range of emotions. Toddlers express needs and wants with improving efficiency and increasing self- regulation. Toddlers develop abilities to cooperate, follow limits, and make choices in a group setting with increasing independence. Toddlers develop abilities to adapt to changes (e.g. substitute teacher, change of schedule, new activity). Toddlers imitate feeling words when supported by teacher (e.g. I mad. I happy. ). Toddlers practice emotional regulation at beginning and ending of the days and during other transitions. Toddlers play go and stop games. Shows emotional connection and attachment to others Relationships with Other Children Shows interest in and awareness of other children Responds to and interacts with other children Self- Regulation Begins to manage own behavior and show self- regulation Shows increasing independence Understands simple routines, rules or limits
Awareness of Self Toddlers become aware of their bodies and engage in regulating bodily functions (e.g. washing hands, toileting, sleeping). Toddlers develop awareness of their senses through exploration, play, cooking, and learning activities. Toddlers begin to reflect their intentions, actions and motivations. Toddlers make choices and decisions about needs and interests. Toddlers express joy and pride in learning, thinking and discovery. Toddlers build self- awareness through nurturing, movement, lotion, water play and other activities Two- Way Communication and Language Development Toddlers respond and imitate rhythm, pitch, patterns and expression of sounds, language, and music. Toddlers improve listening and auditory discrimination of patterns of language, vowel sounds, vocabulary words and meaning. Toddlers understand language and engage in conversations about activities in which they are engaged (e.g. books, meals, diapering/potty training, playing). Toddlers use social rules of language. Toddlers hear and respond to: simple directions and prompts. Toddlers engage in turn- taking. Toddlers participate in nonverbal and verbal conversations. Toddlers engage in turn- taking. Toddlers are exposed to and learn simple words in American Sign Language. Toddlers participate in nonverbal and verbal conversations. Self- Awareness Expresses feelings and emotions through facial expressions, sounds or gestures Language Development and Communication Listens and Understands Shows interest in listening to sounds Listens with interest to language of others Responds to verbal communication of others Responds to nonverbal communication of others
Toddlers listen and respond to finger games, songs, and learning activities. Toddlers hear vocabulary words including positional vocabulary (e.g. in /out /above /under). Toddlers hear and respond to their names and body parts and those of other adults and peers. Toddlers hear and respond to teachers and parents reflect their emotional experience and expressions. Toddlers express needs, wants, intentions, motivations, and actions with improving abilities to use words and gestures. Toddlers understand language and engage in conversations about activities in which they are engaged (e.g. books, meals, diapering/potty training, playing). Toddlers respond and imitate rhythm, pitch, patterns and expression of sounds, language, and music. Toddlers hear and use language and vocabulary describing their actions. Toddlers hear and use language and vocabulary describing their actions. Toddlers hear and use language and vocabulary describing their actions. Toddlers engage in turn- taking. Toddlers participate in nonverbal and verbal conversations. Language Development Toddlers hear, imitate, and use vocabulary words. Toddlers hear, imitate and use words related to: colors, letters, shapes, weather, names, calendars, nature, animals, body features. Begins to understand gestures, words, questions, or routines. Communicating and Speaking Uses sounds, signs, or actions to express needs and wants Uses consistent sounds, signs, or words to communicate Imitates sounds, gestures, or words Uses sounds, signs or words for a variety of purposes Shows reciprocity in using language in simple conversations Toddlers develop expressive vocabulary to describe discoveries, experiences, thoughts, feelings and needs. Toddlers remember and retell instructions, events, and stories. Toddlers repeat counting, alphabet and other sequences.
Early Literacy Engagement in Reading Activities Toddlers show enjoyment and interest while practice listening and attending to stories, rhymes and songs. Toddlers build positive feelings about looking at pictures, books and engaging in reading activities. Toddlers build awareness of and show interest in print concepts of books, photos, and written/drawn materials Toddlers notice connections between pictures and words. Toddlers develop abilities to recognize their own names and/or letters in their names. Toddlers become active in the reading process (e.g. looking at books independently, turning pages, stacking books, noticing cover pages, imitates reading.) Toddlers anticipate literacy activities and show reading ready behaviors Toddlers demonstrate knowledge of stories by using props, making connections, and repeating storylines. Toddlers are exposed to spelling words through songs, finger plays, rhymes and other learning activities. Engagement in Writing Activities Toddlers engage with sensory bags or other sensory experiences that allow for finger movements and writing- like experiences. Toddlers hold writing or painting tool. Toddlers make and notice marks made with writing tools. Toddlers begin to assign meaning to marks, drawings and words. Emergent Literacy Shows interest in songs, rhymes, and stories Shows interest in photos, pictures, and drawings Demonstrates interest and involvement with books and other print materials
Cognitive Development Learns through Exploration, Discovery and Play Toddlers demonstrate positive approach to learning and demonstrate curiosity and motivation. Toddlers are exposed to and attend to details about people, animals, objects, nature, holidays, routines, and events. Toddlers are exposed to information and begin to demonstrate knowledge. Toddlers use sense of sight, sound, touch, taste and smell to explore and learn. Toddlers are exposed to information and begin to demonstrate knowledge. Toddlers attend to concepts of relative size, shapes, colors, one- to- one correspondence, serration and classification. Toddlers are exposed to spatial awareness and perspective taking through learning activities. Toddlers are exposed to and demonstrate emerging capacities to sort, match and classify materials. Toddlers observe and become engaged in science concepts by: observing and learning about nature, weather, and the natural world; and observing changes in physical properties (e.g. mixing ingredients and paint colors). Toddlers are exposed to information and begin to demonstrate knowledge. Toddlers develop memory skills and build knowledge to predict and anticipate actions, retell experiences, and predict and anticipate actions. Toddlers engage and remember multi- step or multi- day projects. Toddlers develop memory skills and build knowledge to predict and anticipate actions, retell experiences, and predict and anticipate actions. Toddlers discover and explore cause and effect and object permanence. Cognitive Development Exploration and Discovery Pays attention to people and objects Uses senses to explore people, objects and the environment Attends to colors, shapes, patterns or pictures Shows interest and curiosity in new people and objects Makes things happen and watches for results or repeats action Memory Shows ability to acquire and process new information Recognizes familiar people, places and things Recalls and uses information in new situations Searches for missing or hidden objects
Problem Solving Toddlers engage in finding alternative solutions to simple problems. Toddlers engage in solving simple problems related to routines, self- care, learning activities. Toddlers explore cause and effect through learning activities, play and social interactions. Toddlers demonstrate understanding of object permanency through learning activities, play and social interactions. Imitation and Symbolic Play Toddlers engage and independently repeat simple and repetitive songs. Toddlers repeat actions of teachers, parents, and peers. Toddlers engage in symbolic play with simple actions (e.g. putting doll to bed). Toddlers represent knowledge of stories by acting out stories (e.g. pretend to be hopping bunny.) Toddlers are exposed and encourage to engage in symbolic play and art. Movement and Coordination Gross Motor/Large Muscle Toddlers coordinate movements with increasing efficiency (kicking, running, jumping). Toddlers coordinate movements with increasing efficiency (kicking, running, jumping). Toddlers practice coordination by pushing, pulling, manipulating, and building with large- scale materials (e.g. boxes, tunnels, bubble wrap). Toddlers practice coordinating large muscle movement and control to achieve goal. Toddlers respond with movement songs, rhythms and stories. Toddlers practice coordinating large muscle movement and control to achieve goal. Toddlers practice movement their bodies on cue (e.g. following the leader, practice stop and Problem Solving Experiments with different uses for objects Applies knowledge to new situations. Imitation and Symbolic Play Observes and imitates sounds, gestures, or behavior Physical and Motor Development Gross Motor Development Moves body, arms, and legs with coordination Demonstrates large muscle balance, stability, control, and coordination Develops increasing ability to change positions and move body from place to place Moves body with purpose to achieve a goal.
go games, and other activities). Fine Motor and Coordination Toddlers practice intentional use and coordination of hands and fingers, including using fingers independently, pointing and engaging in finger play. Toddlers continue to develop and use oral- motor skills to blow and improve articulation by engaging wind instruments, straws and other learning activities. Toddlers practice intentional use and coordination of hands and fingers, including using fingers independently, pointing and engaging in finger play. Toddlers strengthen hand muscles and pincer grasp. Toddlers manipulate materials with hands and fingers and develop eye- hand coordination (e.g. stinging beads, playing with dough, and finger plays). Toddlers explore sensory experiences of touch and visual, working towards coordination. Toddlers become aware of their bodies and engage in regulating bodily functions (e.g. washing hands, toileting, sleeping). Toddlers express needs and wants with improving efficiency and increasing self- regulation. Toddlers engage in nurturing relationships during feeding, diapering, sleeping, and playing. Fine Motor Development Uses hands or feet to make contact with objects or people Develops small muscle control and coordination Coordinates eye and hand movements Physical Health and Well- Being Shows characteristics of healthy development Responds when physical needs are met; Expresses physical needs nonverbally or verbally Participates in physical care routines