Children develop holistically
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- Teachers plan daily activities and routines to address aesthetic, emotional, cognitive, language, physical, and social development.
- Teachers integrate learning across the curriculum (e.g., mixing language, physical, and social; combining math, science, and reading).
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Child development follows an orderly sequence
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- Teachers use their knowledge of developmental sequences to gauge whether children are developing as expected, to determine reasonable expectations, and to plan next steps in the learning process.
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Children develop at varying rates
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- Teachers give children opportunities to pursue activities at their own pace.
- Teachers repeat activities more than once so children can participate according to changing needs and abilities.
- Teachers plan activities with multiple learning objectives to address the needs of more and less advanced learners.
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Children learn best when they feel safe and secure
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- Teachers develop nurturing relationships with children and remain with children long enough so children can easily identify a specific adult from whom to seek help, comfort, attention, and guidance.
- Daily routines are predictable. Changes in routine are explained in advance so children can anticipate what will happen.
- There is two-way communication between teachers and families, and families are welcome in the program.
- Children have access to images, objects, and activities that reflect their home experiences.
- The early childhood environment complies with all safety requirements.
- Adults use positive discipline to enhance children's self-esteem, self-control, and problem-solving abilities.
- Teachers address aggression and bullying calmly, firmly, and proactively.
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Children are active learners
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- Activities, transitions, and routines respect children's attention span, need for activity and need for social interaction. Inactive segments of the day are short.
- Children participate in gross motor activities every day.
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Children learn through a combination of physical experience, social experience, and reflection
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- Adults encourage children to explore and investigate. They pose questions, offer information, and challenge children's thinking.
- Children have many chances to document and reflect on their ideas.
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Children learn through mastery and challenge
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- Practitioners simplify, maintain, or extend activities in response to children's functioning and comprehension.
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Children's learning profiles vary
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- Teachers present the same information in more than one modality (seeing, hearing, touching) and through different types of activities.
- Children have opportunities to play on their own and with others; indoors and outdoors; with natural and manufactured materials.
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Children learn through play
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- Teachers prepare the environment, provide materials, observe and interact playfully with children.
- Play is integrated throughout the entire day and within all aspects of the program.
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