Developmental Screening for Children Ages Birth to 5
Explore information about developmental screening, selecting screening tools, process, timing, and more.
Education Requirements for Family Child Care Providers
Recruiting qualified family child care providers in Head Start programs can be a challenge. Use this brief to find providers who meet the required knowledge, skills, and competencies.
Education Requirements for Center-based Preschool Teachers
In this brief, explore ways to find and hire the right candidate to fill preschool teaching positions. Learn how to match potential applicants with the required knowledge, skills, and competencies.
Curriculum Basics
Find resources about how to select and implement a research-based curriculum. Learn ways teachers, family child care providers, and home visitors can put research-based curriculum and teaching practices to work.
Playing to Learn: Benefits of Play in Early Childhood
Play is an important part of learning across the early childhood years. In this webinar, learn how play builds critical cognitive and behavioral skills across the birth to age 5 years. Find out what play looks like for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.
Music in Child Development
Not only is music enjoyable for infants and toddlers, but it can also provide a connection to home, opportunities to learn, and a way to connect with caring adults. Explore this useful information for teachers, home visitors, and parents about how music supports development across domains.
Code Switching: Why It Matters and How to Respond
One-third of the children in Head Start programs are dual language learners (DLLs) who are learning English while also learning their home language. Virtually all of these children will code switch. In other words, they mix two or more languages in the same sentence while speaking. It is important that teachers, home visitors, and other staff understand what code switching is, the role it plays in language development, and how to respond to it.
Preschool Teachers
Teachers know and understand the broad range of content areas and the developmental expectations (i.e., social and emotional, cognitive, expressive and receptive language, motor, adaptive, and English language development) appropriate for young children as outlined by the Head Start Early Learning Framework. Teachers consider what they want children to know, understand, and be able to do using the five essential domains.
Making It Work: Implementing Cultural Learning Experiences in American Indian and Alaska Native Early Learning Settings for Children Ages Birth to 5
Making It Work is a resource that can help American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) early education staff meet school readiness goals. Learn how to use it while teaching traditional cultural skills, values, beliefs, and lifeways.
Infant and Toddler Caregivers
For infants and toddlers, school readiness refers to their developing capacity to self-regulate, demonstrate curiosity, communicate effectively, and develop close, secure relationships. Good health and proper nutrition support this developing capacity. This happens within the context of nurturing, culturally responsive relationships with parents, caregivers, extended family, and community.