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Frog Street Toddler Learning Goals

A. PHYSICAL WELL-BEING AND MOTOR DEVELOPMENT

                1. Health and Well-being

                                a. Shows signs of healthy development

                                b. Responds when physical needs are met

                                c. Expresses physical needs nonverbally or verbally

                                d. Participates in physical care routines

                                e. Begins to develop self-care skills

                                f. Begins to understand safe and unsafe behaviors

                                g. Develops increasing awareness of what can harm them

                                h. Begins to demonstrate healthy and safe habits

                                i. Develops positive attitudes towards eating, sleeping, toileting and active movement

                2. Gross Motor Skills

                                a. Develops control of large muscles for movement, navigation, and balance

                                b. Develops increasing ability to change positions and move body from place to place

                                c. Moves body to achieve a goal

                                d. Develops awareness, understanding, and appreciation for their bodies and how they function

                                e. Develops confidence with moving in space, moving to rhythm, and playing near and with others

                                f. Develops an increasing ability to keep a steady beat through chants, dances, and movement to rhythmic patterns

                3. Fine Motor Skills

                                a. Uses hands or feet to touch objects or people

                                b. Develops control of small muscles for manipulation and exploration

                                c. Coordinates eye and hand movements

                                d. Uses tools and different actions on objects

B. SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

                1. Trust and Emotional Security

                                a. Establishes secure relationships with primary caregivers

                                b. Differentiates between familiar and unfamiliar adults

                                c. Shows emotional connections and attachment to others while beginning to show independence

                                d. Engages in positive relationships and interactions with adults

                                e. Develops a growing capacity to tolerate and enjoy a moderate degree of change, surprises, uncertainty, and potentially puzzling events

                                f. Develops confidence and ability to express emotional needs without fear

                2. Self Awareness

                                a. Expresses needs and wants through facial expressions, sounds, or gestures

                                b. Develops awareness of self as separate from others

                                c. Shows confidence in increasing abilities

                                d. Shows awareness of relationships to family/community/cultural group

                                e. Begins to develop and demonstrate a positive sense of self, competence, and an identity that is rooted in their family and culture

                                f. Develops an increasing capacity to pay attention, focus, concentrate, and be involved

                                g. Develops increasing ability to identify own emotional responses and those of others

                                h. Develops a feeling of being valued as an important individual who belongs within the group setting

                                i. Develops a comfort level in taking on different roles in their environment (helping others, turning off water, holding the door)

                3. Self-Regulation

                                a. Shows ability to cope with stress

                                b. Develops capacity to predict routines and regular events that make up the day or the session

                                c. Develops an increasing awareness of the impact and consequences of their actions

                                d. Begins to develop and demonstrate control over some of their feelings and behaviors (self- regulation)

                                e. Begins to learn and internalize rules, routines, and directions

                                f. Develops the inclination and ability to communicate, pay attention, and respond appropriately to others

                4. Relationships with Others

                                a. Shows interest and awareness of others

                                b. Responds to and interacts with others

                                c. Recognizes and responds to the feelings and emotions of others and begins to show concern

                                d. Begins to develop personal relationships with peers

                                e. Develops responsive and reciprocal communication skills, such as turn-taking

                                f. Develops emerging skills in caring and cooperation

                                g. Develops an increasing ability to take another’s point of view and to empathize with others C. LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

                1. Listening and Understanding

                                a. Listens with interest to language of others

                                b. Responds to nonverbal and verbal communication of others

                                c. Increasingly understands non-verbal messages and makes non-verbal requests

                                d. Demonstrates receptive language and expressive language skills and communication strategies in their home language/s 

                                e. Begins to understand the rules of conversation

                                f. Develops increasing knowledge in syntax, meaning, and vocabulary in at least one language

                2. Communication and Speaking

                                a. Uses consistent sounds, gestures, or words to communicate for a variety of purposes

                                b. Imitates sounds, gestures, signs, or words

                                c. Understands and begins to use oral language for conversation and communication

                                d. Develops language skills in structured language contexts, such as through books, finger plays, singing, storytelling, and reenacting

                                e. Develops communication skills for increasingly complex purposes, such as negotiating, predicting, reasoning, and guessing

                3. Emergent Literacy

                                a. Shows interest in songs, rhymes, and stories

                                b. Develops a playful interest in repetitive sounds and words (rhythm, rhyme, alliteration)

                                c. Engages with stories and books

                                d. Develops an expectation that words, books, and pictures can amuse, delight, comfort, inform and excite

                                e. Understands that pictures can represent real things in the environment

                                f. Hears and distinguishes the sounds and rhythms of language

                                g. Develops an understanding that symbols/pictures can be “read” by others

                                h. Develops an interest in creating and using symbols and pictures

                                i. Begins to learn and demonstrate how print works

D. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

                1. Exploration and Discovery

                                a. Pays attention and exhibits curiosity in people and objects

                                b. Uses senses to investigate environment to discover what objects and people do, how things work, and how they can make things happen

                                c. Shows interest in colors, shapes, patterns, and pictures

                                d. Makes things happen and watches for results and repeats actions

                                e. Develops the attitude of an “explorer”—competent, confident learner who asks questions and makes discoveries

                                f. Develops spatial understandings, including an awareness of how two- and three-dimensional objects can be fitted together

                                g. Develops knowledge of the natural environment in the outdoor area of the program

                                h. Matches items that go together

                2. Problem Solving

                                a. Experiments with different uses for objects

                                b. Shows imagination, creativity, and uses a variety of strategies to solve problems

                                c. Applies knowledge to new situations

                                d. Develops the ability to make decisions and choose own materials

                                e. Develops the confidence to explore and make sense of the world through simple problem solving and trial-and-error

                                f. Begins to develop interests and skills related to numbers and counting

                                g. Learns and begins to use math concepts during daily routines and experiences

                3. Memory

                                a. Recognizes familiar people, places, and things

                                b. Searches for missing or hidden objects

                                c. Shows ability to acquire and process new information

                                d. Develops and demonstrates the ability to remember and connect new and known experiences and information

                4. Imitation and Make Believe

                                a. Uses objects in new ways or in pretend play

                                b. Uses imitation in pretend play to express creativity and imagination

                5. Creativity

                                a. Develops skill and confidence with processes of art, such as drawing, collage, painting, and constructing

                                b. Develops an ability to be creative and expressive through a variety of activities, such as pretend play, art, and music

                                c. Develops confidence to sing songs and to experiment with chants and pitch patterns

                                d. Develops familiarity with a variety of types of music, art, drama, and dance

                                e. Develops an expectation that types of music, art, drama, and dance can amuse, delight, inform and excite

E. APPROACHES TOWARD LEARNING

                1. Curiosity

                                a. Demonstrates interest, curiosity, and eagerness in exploring the world around them

                2. Persistence

                                a. Demonstrates persistence in learning and discovery

                3. Attention

                                a. Demonstrates the ability to carry out or follow through simple tasks

                4. Communication

                                a. Learns and uses words to describe what they are thinking and doing

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