This pilot study conducted an initial evaluation of the Center for Improving the Readiness of Children for Learning and Education (CIRCLE) Infant-Toddler Teacher Training program. The program is unique in three ways: 1) use of an online platform with courses that explain social-emotional, language, and literacy development in young children…

This practical resource explains brain development from prenatal to age 8 with suggestions for activities educators and caregivers can use to foster children's cognitive growth. The authors begin with the basics of brain development, and the issues that affect it, and then provide information specific to infant, toddler, preschool, and…

This research brief explores how emotions and relationships drive learning and are a fundamental part of how our brains develop. The authors explain how emotionally safe and cognitively stimulating environments contribute to brain development; how brain development that supports learning depends on social experiences; and how sensitive periods in…

The Early Learning Guidelines: Nebraska's Birth to Five Learning and Development Standards (hereafter referred to as the Guidelines) is a resource to provide information about young children's learning and development. The Guidelines are intended to assist adults in planning and providing meaningful learning experiences and environments for…

This resource provides parents with widely held expectations for their child's development prior to kindergarten and ways parents can encourage their child's growth. Although a child's growth and development follows a general pattern, all children grow at different rates. Some children will be doing things earlier or later than others. There's no…

Teachers of infants need a large bunch of key ideas and activities of all kinds to unlock in each child the treasures of loving kindness, thoughtful and eloquent use of language, intense active curiosity to learn, willingness to cooperate, and the deep desire to work hard to master new tasks. Teachers can tune in to each child's special…

For very young children, music has power and meaning that go beyond words. First, and most important, sharing music with young children is simply one more way to give love and receive love. Music and music experiences also support the formation of important brain connections that are being established over the first three years of life. This…

Often a young child's challenging behavior results from emotional flooding--being overwhelmed by one's emotions. The authors explain that in children, the "thinking brain," the cerebral cortex, is not fully developed, and children get emotionally overwhelmed more easily than adults because they process their experiences through the "emotional…

Over the course of the past decade, the state of Louisiana has developed several documents to articulate expectations for children's learning and development and provide guidance for early childhood educators. The experiences and skills that children develop during the early years are critically important to their success later in school. What…

This book on the social and psychological development of the infant (0-1 year) is designed for use in a foster parent training program. The book is divided into 5 parts. Part I briefly lists the expected social and psychological behaviors for each 2-month period of the infant's first year, suggests adult responses and guidance techniques…

This orientation manual includes a compilation of activities, curriculum, records, and operating procedures of ongoing infant and toddler group care demonstration projects. The current status of three day care units is described: the Infant Day Care Unit, the Toddler Day Care Unit, and the Toddler Enrichment Unit. The manual serves as a basic…

This newsletter presents five articles focusing on the social development of infants and very young children. The first article, "Sympathetic Behavior in Very Young Children," by Lois Barclay Murphy, gives examples of early sympathetic behavior, traces the development of sympathy, identifies individual patterns of sympathetic response,…

This curriculum program was developed to serve as a guide or reference for those professionals wishing to implement or improve upon a current participation program for parents of 6- to 12-month-old infants. The curriculum program covers such topics as the importance of early stimulation, infants' gross and fine motor development, social/emotional…

This annual report by the Research and Clinical Center for Child Development at Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan contains 10 articles by Japanese and American researchers on various aspects of children's cognitive and affective development. The following articles are presented: (1) "Making the Cut: Early Schooling and Cognitive…

The number of very young children entering center-based child care programs is growing. Now, more than ever, it is important for caregivers to understand the impact they have on the healthy development of the children in their care. "Emotional Connections" translates new research on cognitive, social, and emotional development in the early years…