Courses of Study : Education and Training

1 ) Understand the principles of child growth, development, and learning for infants and toddlers.

2 ) Provide a safe environment to prevent and reduce injuries of infants, toddlers and adults.

3 ) Follow well-planned and well-organized emergency procedures that includes ensuring all supplies and medicines are stored appropriately.

4 ) Explain the importance that infants and toddlers are attended by authorized adults at all times.

5 ) Teach children appropriate safety practices.

6 ) Identify foods that should not be served to infants or toddlers due to known choking hazards.

7 ) Promote good health and nutrition by providing an environment that contributes to the prevention of illness to infants and toddlers.

8 ) Store appropriately disinfecting and sanitizing solutions.

9 ) Post relevant health information from families of infants and toddlers.

10 ) Apply appropriate hygiene practice to minimize the spread of infectious disease, including using sanitary diapering/toileting procedures.

11 ) Utilize correct hand washing procedures before and after serving food, diapering/toileting and whenever needed.

12 ) Encourage children to properly wash hands, providing assistance when needed.

13 ) Provide activities that teach the importance of good health to children and families.

14 ) Facilitate appropriate mealtime experiences, including the serving of nutritious meals and snacks.

15 ) Create a developmentally appropriate, enjoyable, secure and welcoming environment for infants and toddlers that fosters trust, play, exploration, intervention, stimulation, and learning.

16 ) Arrange environments intentionally to meet the developmental needs of infants and children.

17 ) Utilize a variety of developmentally appropriate instructional materials for infants and toddlers that encourages learning and exploration while simultaneously determining a sufficient number of materials needed to accommodate the group size.

18 ) Develop developmentally appropriate daily schedule(s) and weekly plan(s) for infants and toddlers that meet the needs of children for play, rest, and whole group times, including a variety of experiences and quit times.

19 ) Create a nurturing relationship with each child.

20 ) Demonstrate sound judgment in using a posted Weekly Schedule/Daily Plan.

21 ) Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of transitions.

22 ) Utilize a variety of developmentally appropriate equipment, learning experiences, and teaching strategies to promote the physical development (fine motor and gross motor) of infants and toddlers.

23 ) Use activities and materials that encourage children to develop their senses.

24 ) Provide activities and opportunities that encourage curiosity, exploration, discovery, hands-on experiences, thinking, and problem-solving skills appropriate to the developmental levels of infants and toddlers.

25 ) Interact intentionally with children to build upon their prior knowledge.

26 ) Conduct experiences that support repetition of the familiar for children.

27 ) Communicate with infants and toddlers by providing opportunities and support for children to understand, acquire and to use verbal and nonverbal means of communicating thoughts and feelings.

28 ) Provide developmentally appropriate books/materials for infants and toddlers that promote early literacy and encourage learning and exploration.

29 ) Select developmentally appropriate activities for infants and toddlers that promote language development and writing skills.

30 ) Provide learning experiences for children that encourages listening and the expressing of their ideas effectively.

31 ) Provide activities to support the needs of dual language learners.

32 ) Interact with infants and toddlers to encourage the development of their vocabulary and communication skills, including the reading of developmentally appropriate books/materials and providing developmentally appropriate experiences.

33 ) Demonstrate positive interactions with children by listening and responding appropriately.

34 ) Provide opportunities and materials that encourage infants and toddlers to develop and express themselves through the development of imagination and creativity, including visual arts, dance, and music.

35 ) Facilitate child-directed and process-oriented creative experiences.

36 ) Provide an environment that helps each infant and toddler to develop a positive self-concept, self-identity/worth, and experience success.

37 ) Respect the individuality of each infant and toddler, including showing sensitivity to and acceptance of each child's feelings and needs.

38 ) Encourage infants and toddlers to develop a sense of independence, as well as, promoting each child's growing sense of autonomy.

39 ) Understand that toileting is a developmentally appropriate and positive experience for toddlers.

40 ) Provide opportunities for children to practice cooperation in work and play with harmony within the classroom environment, including encouraging social interactions and assisting infants and toddlers to be harmonious when necessary.

41 ) Provide a non-biased environment for infants and toddlers that reflects diverse activities, materials, curricula and/or events that reflect multiple cultural groups, ethnicities, and family structures.

42 ) Assist children in experiencing sympathy/empathy and respect of others.

43 ) Discuss diversity comfortably when interacting with children.

44 ) Provide a supportive environment utilizing effective strategies to help infants and toddlers learn and practice appropriate and acceptable behaviors.

45 ) Arrange spaces and materials to promote positive interactions and limit disruptive behaviors.

46 ) Provide firm, consistent limits, and expectations by utilizing effective classroom management techniques.

47 ) Demonstrate positive appropriate techniques when addressing negative and challenging behaviors of infants and toddlers.

48 ) Establish a positive, responsive, cooperative relationship with each child's family.

49 ) Provide information and opportunities to help families understand and support the healthy growth and development of their child.

50 ) Research the social services, health, and educational resources of the community, engaging with families when appropriate to provide information.

51 ) Recommend activities families can do at home that support their child's development.

52 ) Determine each infant's and toddler's developmental level through observations, documentation, and evaluation of educational progress.

53 ) Assess multiple sources of evidence in order to plan the curriculum by setting appropriate developmental goals for each infant and toddler.

54 ) Manage all available resources to ensure effective program operation in an infant and toddler setting.

55 ) Adhere to regulatory requirements and program polices for operating in an infant and toddler, setting, including complying with professional mandated reporting requirements related to abuse and neglect.

56 ) Maintain current records on the health, safety and behavior of children.

57 ) Establish effective interpersonal relationships with coworkers, colleagues, volunteers and supervisors.

58 ) Exhibit a professional manner at all times, including protecting the confidentiality of information about children, their families, and the child care program.

59 ) Advocate for the needs of children and families.

60 ) Participate in opportunities for professional and personal development by reflecting, joining professional organizations, and attending professional development meetings, training courses and conferences.