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Explore ways Head Start infant-toddler programs can support families’ efforts to improve their life circumstances. Find out how programs can help parents be their children’s first and most important teachers.

The foundations for school readiness are set in the earliest years of life. Learn ways infants and toddlers acquire the skills they will need for success in school.

Use this handout with education staff and families to identify interactions with infants and toddlers. Consider how they support development in the Early Learning Outcomes Framework (ELOF) domains and sub-domains.

Learn more about school readiness. Explore these references in The Foundations for School Readiness: Fostering Developmental Competence in the Earliest Years, Technical Assistance Paper No. 6.

Explore this resource to learn how sharing child-level data between Head Start programs and receiving elementary schools can help programs and schools better serve children.

Learn how observing children is a key part of what education staff in Head Start infant toddler programs do daily. Observation involves focus, purpose, and watching and listening to learn about individual children.

Individualizing care and the curriculum, and tracking children’s progress make observation a powerful and informative learning tool. Find out about other important reasons to observe young children.

Observation provides opportunities to take a moment to determine a child’s goal or intention before responding. Education staff and families can use an approach called “Watch, Ask, Adapt” to respond.