Beautiful Beginnings: A Developmental Curriculum for Infants and Toddlers

Developed by two respected research consultants for Early Head Start, this extensive curriculum takes a joyful activity-based approach to enhancing the development of infants and toddlers. Professionals and parents will get more than 350 photocopiable, easy-to-use activity sheets—divided into six age ranges between birth to three years —that build on each child’s natural strengths and interests, recognize and expand on emerging developments, and encourage progress in areas of concern. This research-supported curriculum

• helps children progress in eight key areas: communication, gross motor, fine motor, intellectual, discovery, social, self-help, and pretend
• promotes parent/professional collaboration as they choose goals for the child and support the child’s progress
• recognizes each child’s individuality by encouraging careful observation and reflection during goal selection
• uses—in many cases—materials readily available in most homes
• makes it simple and fun to track child progress with photocopiable goal sheets for recording objectives, “goal charts†for each age range, and corresponding stickers to celebrate accomplished goals
• is linked with the Ages & Stages Questionnaires® (ASQ®)

Ideal for use in a variety of programs and settings, such as Early Head Start, center-based care, home visits, and parent education programs, this engaging and effective curriculum helps young children meet developmental goals and enhances their school readiness.

The curriculum includes:

• more than 350 photocopiable activity sheets
• goal sheets
• a goal chart for each age range
• six pages of stickers
• CD-ROM with all the activities, goal sheets, and goal charts

Helen H. Raikes, Ph.D., is Professor in the Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. She received her doctorate in child development from Iowa State University. Previously, she has had teaching positions at the University of California, Davis, and at Iowa State University. Among other foci, she has maintained a career-long interest in secure base relationships for infants and toddlers and first created an attachment-based model while Director of Infant Toddler Programs and Director of Research at the SRI/Saint Elizabeth and Gallup Organization Child Development Center in Lincoln, Nebraska. She was also a Society for Research in Child Development Executive Policy Fellow at the Administration on Children, Youth and Families at the time the Early Head Start program began and co-directed the national research for that program. Today, her work focuses on programs for children in poverty, with special emphases on infants and toddlers, children at greatest risk, and optimal timing of intervention as it relates to developmental trajectories, school readiness, and later success, as well as on innovative continuous program improvement efforts using research and evaluation. She is a board member of the Nebraska Early Childhood Endowment Board, the Buffett Early Childhood Fund, and the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation and is a member of the National Forum on Early Childhood Program Evaluation.

Ms. Whitmer is an educator and early intervention and prevention specialist. She holds master's degrees in educational and administration and human development and the family. Ms. Whitmer has taught children of every age, has served as an elementary school administrator, and has traveled extensively to provide training and technical assistance for Early Head Start and Head Start Programs. Today she works primarily with parents and teachers, consulting on a variety of early childhood topics. In addition to curricula, a topic she is particularly passionate about is teacher development and renewal in the area of early childhood education.