Take a joyful, activity-based approach to enhancing the development of infants and toddlers with the new edition of this bestselling birth-to-three curriculum. Aligned with ASQ (R); and CDC developmental milestones, this extensive, research-supported curriculum includes more than 350 photocopiable, easy-to-use activity sheets that target eight key developmental areas. Carefully tailored for six different age ranges in the critical first years of life, these engaging experiences build on each child's strengths and interests, expand on emerging developments, and encourage more progress in areas of concern. The Beautiful Beginnings curriculum: Helps children progress in eight areas important to school readiness: Communication, Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Intellectual, Discovery, Social-Emotional, Self-Help, and Pretend Works in a wide variety of settings, including Early Head Start, center-based care, home visiting, and parent education programs Makes it simple and fun to track child progress with a photocopiable Goal Sheet for recording individual child objectives and child development Overviews and Experiences Charts for each age range Promotes parent/professional collaboration as they choose goals for the child and support progress Recognizes each child's individuality by encouraging careful observation and reflection during goal selection Practical Features: Helpful overviews for each six-month age range, with recommendations for health, safety, and environmental preparations Downloadable, printable activity sheets Explicit alignments with CDC, ASQ, and the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework Guidance on variations and adaptations for diverse populations Up-to-date children's book and music list
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.
