Domain: Approaches to Learning Sub-Domain: Emotional and Behavioral Self-Regulation Goal IT-ATL 1. Child manages feelings and emotions with support of familiar adults. Birth to 9 Months: Engages with familiar adults for calming and comfort to focus attention and to share joy. 8-18 Months: Seeks to be close makes contact or looks to familiar adults for help with strong emotions. 16-36 Months: Uses various strategies to help manage strong emotions such as removing oneself from the situation covering eyes or ears or seeking support from a familiar adult. 36 Months: Looks to others for help in coping with strong feelings and emotions. Uses strategies such as seeking contact with a familiar adult or removing oneself from a situation to handle strong feelings and emotions. Goal IT-ATL 2. Child manages actions and behavior with support of familiar adults. Birth to 9 Months: Responds to attentive caregiving by quieting or calming down during physical distress. 8-18 Months: Looks to familiar adults for assistance and guidance with actions and behavior. May try to calm self by sucking on fingers when overly excited or distressed. 16-36 Months: Begins to manage and adjust actions and behavior with the guidance of familiar adults using words or signs such as “Stop” or “No” during conflict with a peer instead of hitting. Let’s adult know when they are hungry or tired. 36 Months: Participates in and follows everyday routines with the support of familiar adults. Communicates verbally or about basic needs. Manages short delays in getting physical needs met with the support of familiar adults. Learns and follows some basic rules for managing actions and behavior in familiar settings such as holding an adult’s hand when crossing the street. Domain: Approaches to Learning Sub-Domain: Cognitive Self-Regulation (executive functioning) Goal IT -ATL 3. Child maintains focus and sustains attention with support. Birth to 9 Months: Develops some ability to filter out distracting sensory stimuli in order to focus on and attend to important people or objects in the environment with support. 8-18 Months: Shows increasing ability to attend to people, objects and activities in order to extend or complete an activity or to join others in a common focus. 16-36 Months: Participates in activities and experiences with people, objects or materials that require attention and common focus. 36 Months: Maintains engagement in interactions with familiar adults and children. Chooses to join in activities or pays attention to tasks and activities that are self-initiated. Maintains focus and attentions on a simple task or activity for short periods of time.
Goal IT -ATL 4. Child develops the ability to show persistence in actions and behavior. Birth to 9 Months: Shows increasing ability to continue interactions with familiar adults or toys for more than just a brief time. 8-18 Months: Shows willingness to repeat attempts to communicate or to repeat actions to solve a problem even when encountering difficulties. 16-36 Months: Shows increasing ability to stay engaged when working towards a goal of solving a problem. Often tries different strategies until successful. 36 Months: Persists in learning new skills or solving problems. Continues efforts to finish a challenging activity or task with support of an adult. Goal IT -ATL 5. Child demonstrates the ability to be flexible in actions and behavior. Birth to 9 Months: Shows repetitive patterns in actions or behaviors but sometimes tries more than one approach to solving a problem or engaging someone in interaction. 8-18 Months: Shows ability to shift focus in order to attend to something else, participate in a new activity or try a new approach to solving a problem. 16-36 Months: Modifies actions or behavior in social situations, daily routines and problem solving such as playing quietly when asked or adjusting to changes in schedule. 36 Months: Adjusts to changes in routines or usual activities when informed ahead of time by adults. Makes common everyday transitions that are a part of a daily schedule. Shows flexibility in problem solving by trying more than one approach. Domain: Approaches to Learning Sub-Domain: Initiative and Curiosity Goal IT -ATL 6. Child demonstrates emerging initiative in interactions, experiences and explorations. Birth to 9 Months: Initiates interactions with familiar adults through expressions, actions or behaviors. 8-18 Months: Points to desired people, objects or places and initiates actions such as looking for a favorite toy or bringing a book to an adult to read. Actively resists actions or items not wanted. 16-36 Months: Prepares for or starts some activities without being directed by others such as getting ready for the next activity or bringing a ball to a new child at the playground. 36 Months: Engages others in interactions or shared activities. Demonstrates initiative by making choices or expressing preferences. Attempts challenging tasks with or without adult help. Shows eagerness to try new things.
Goal IT -ATL 7. Child shows interest in and curiosity about objects, materials or events. Birth to 9 Months: Shows excitement when engaged in learning such as smiling at an adult laughing after batting at a mobile or knocking over a toy. 8-18 Months: Approaches new events, experiences with others or materials with interest and curiosity such as intently listening to a new song or examining new toys or materials. 16-36 Months: Participates in new experiences, ask questions and experiments with new things or materials such as collecting leaves and pinecones in the fall. 36 Months: Asks questions about what things are, how they are used or what is happening. Experiments with different ways of using new objects or materials. Shows awareness of and interest in changes in the environment such as changes in room arrangement, weather or usual activities. Goal IT ATL 8. Child uses creativity to increase understanding and learning. Birth to 9 Months: Uses a variety of ways to interact with other people. Modifies expressions, actions or behaviors based on responses of others. 8-18 Months: Finds new things to do with familiar everyday objects such as using a cooking pot for a hat or a spoon as a drumstick. 16-36 Months: Uses Combines objects or materials in new and unexpected ways. Shows delight in creating something new. 36 Months: Pays attention to new or unusual things. Shows willingness to participate in new activities or experiences. Uses language in creative ways sometimes making up words or rhymes. Goal IT -ATL 9. Child shows imagination in play and interactions with others. Birth to 9 Months: Emerging 8-18 Months: Uses sounds, gestures, signs or words playfully through songs, finger plays or games. 16-36 Months: Uses imagination to explore possible uses of objects and materials. Engages in pretend or make believe play with other children. 36 Months: Uses pretend and imaginary objects or people in play or interactions with others. Uses materials such as paper, paint, crayons or blocks to make novel things.
Domain: Social and Emotional Development Sub-Domain: Relationships with Adults Goal IT -SE1. Child develops expectations of consistent, positive interactions through secure relationships with familiar adults. Birth to 9 Months: Interacts in predictable ways with familiar adults. Responds positively to familiar adults efforts to help with stressful moments. 8-18 Months: Looks to familiar adults for support. Reacts or may become distressed when separated from familiar adults. 16-36 Months: Engages in positive interactions in a wide variety of situations with familiar adults. Looks to or seeks familiar adults for comfort when distressed or tired. 36 Months: Shows emotional connection and attachment to familiar adults. Turns to familiar adults for protection, comfort and getting needs met. Goal IT -SE2. Child uses expectations learned through repeated experiences in primary relationships to develop relationships with other adults. Birth to 9 Months: Shows recognition of familiar adults by turning head toward familiar voice, smiling reaching or quieting when held. May avoid or withdraw from unfamiliar adults. 8-18 Months: Moves or stays close to familiar adults for emotional security when unfamiliar adult approaches. May look at familiar adults to gauge comfort level with unfamiliar adult. 16-36 Months: Often watches from a distance or waits for reassurance from familiar adult before approaching someone new. May engage in positive interactions when meeting new people such as sharing a book with a visitor. 36 Months: Engages in and may initiate behaviors that build relationships with familiar adults. Uses familiar adults for reassurance when engaging with new adults. Goal IT -SE3. Child learns to use adults as a resource to meet needs. Birth to 9 Months: Communicates needs to familiar adults by using a variety of behaviors, such as crying, looking, smiling, pointing, dropping, reaching or banging objects. 8-18 Months: Looks to or seeks help from familiar adults hand and leading them to something the child wants or needs. 16-36 Months: Asks familiar adult for help or assistance when encountering difficult tasks or situations. 36 Months: Seeks assistance from familiar adults in new or difficult situations such as reaching for a toy on a high shelf. Shows preference for familiar adults when in distress.
Domain: Social and Emotional Development Sub-Domain: Relationships with other Children Goal IT -SE4. Child shows interest in, interacts with and develops personal relationships with other children. Birth to 9 Months: Looks attentively touches or explores another child’s face. Shows recognition of familiar children through actions or behaviors such as smiling, reaching, touching or making sounds directed to the child. 8-18 Months: Participates in simple back and forth interactions with another child. Interacts with a few children on a regular basis knows some of their names, likes or dislikes. 16-36 Months: Seeks out other children for social interaction including initiating contact and responding to others. Develops friendships and engages in more elaborate play with friends. 36 Months: Shows increasing interest in interacting with other children. Shows preference for particular playmates such as greeting friends by name. Goal IT -SE5. Child imitates and engages in play with other children. Birth to 9 Months: Responds to another child’s actions or sounds during play with a toy by watching attentively touching the other child or reaching for or taking the toy. 8-18 Months: Participates in simple imitation games such as making similar sounds or running after another child. Plays next to other children with similar toys or materials. 16-36 Months: Joins in play with other children by sometimes taking turns, or doing joint activities with a common goal such as building block structures with others or pretending to eat together. 36 Months: Uses multiple strategies such as imitating or responding in order to enter play with other children. Engages in extended play with other children with a common focus. Engages in simple cooperative play with other children.
Domain: Social and Emotional Development Sub-Domain: Emotional Functioning Goal IT -SE6. Child learns to express a range of emotions. Birth to 9 Months: Expresses feelings of comfort, discomfort, enjoyment, fear, surprise, anger or unhappiness by crying, smiling, laughing or through facial expressions, body movements or gestures often to elicit a response from a familiar adult. 8-18 Months: Expresses a variety of emotions and modifies their expression according to the reactions of familiar adults based on the child’s cultural background. 16-36 Months: Expresses a range of emotions including surprise, guilt, embarrassment or pride base on increasing awareness of their effects on others. 36 Months: Expresses a variety of emotions through facial expressions sounds gestures or words. Uses words to describe some feelings or emotions that reflect an awareness of other people’s emotions. Goal IT -SE7. Child recognizes and interprets emotions of others with the support of familiar adults. Birth to 9 Months: Attends with interest when others show they are happy, sad or fearful by their facial expressions, voices or actions. 8-18 Months: Responds to others emotional expressions often by sharing an emotional reaction such as smiling when and adult smiles or showing excitement when other children are excited. 16-36 Months: Shows understanding of some emotional expressions of others by labeling the emotions, asking questions about them or responding in appropriate non-verbal ways. 36 Months: Recognizes feelings and emotions of others. Responds to feelings and emotions of others with support from familiar adults. Describes feelings of characters in a book with support from an adult. Goal IT SE8. Child expresses care and concern towards others. Birth to 9 Months: May cry when another child cries. 8-18 Months: Looks sad or concerned when another child is crying or upset. May seek adults help or offer something such aa a blanket, food or a soft toy. 16-36 Months: Expresses empathy toward children or adults who have been hurt or are crying by showing concerned attentions. May try to comfort with words or actions. 36 Months: Shows care and concern for others including comforting others in distress. Responds to needs of others and tries to help others with simple tasks.
Goal IT -SE9. Child manages emotions with support of familiar adults. Birth to 9 Months: Quiets or stops crying when held and gently rocked or talked to by a familiar adult. 8-18 Months: Looks to or seeks comfort when distressed and accepts reassurance from a familiar adult or engages in behaviors such as sucking on fingers or thumb to calm self when upset or in new situations. 16-36 Months: Shows developing ability to cope with stress or strong emotions by using strategies such as getting a familiar toy or blanket or seeking contact with a familiar adult. 36 Months: Uses different ways to calm or comfort self when upset. Responds positively to emotional support from adults and other children. Domain: Social and Emotional Development Sub-Domain: Sense of Identity and Belonging Goal IT -SE10. Child shows awareness about self and how to connect with others. Birth to 9 Months: Learns about self by exploring hands, feet, body and movement. 8-18 Months: Experiments with use of hands and body discovering new capacities and how movement and gestures can be used to relate to others. 16-36 Months: Shows awareness of own thoughts, feelings and preferences as well as those of others. Uses different words or signs to refer to self and others. 36 Months: Shows awareness of self, including own body abilities thoughts and feelings. Shows awareness of others as having thoughts and feelings separate from own. Goal IT -SE11. Child understands some characteristics of self and others. Birth to 9 Months: Listens and responds by quieting, smiling or cooing when name is said to child or when it is used in conversation with a familiar adult. 8-18 Months: Responds by looking or coming when called by name. Pays attention when others notice what the child is able to do. 16-36 Months: Identifies obvious physical similarities and differences between self and others. Compares characteristics of self and others. 36 Months: Recognizes own name. Identifies some physical characteristics of self, such as hair color, age, gender or size. Recognizes some similarities and differences between self and others.
Goal IT -SE12. Child shows confidence in own abilities through relationships with others. Birth to 9 Months: Participates in back and forth social interactions through facial expressions, sounds, gestures and responding to the actions of others. 8-18 Months: Expresses desires and preferences. Seeks to draw adult’s attention to objects of interest or new physical skills and attends to adult’s responses. 16-36 Months: Contributes own ideas, skills and abilities to activities and experiences with adults and other children. May call attention to new skills and abilities or seek to do things by self-such as putting on own jacket or pouring juice out of a small pitcher. 36 Months: Shows confidence in increasing abilities. Shows others what they can do. Goal IT -SE13. Child develops a sense of belonging through relationships with others. Birth to 9 Months: Shows awareness of familiar routines by behaviors such as opening mouth for feeding or lifting arms to be picked up. 8-18 Months: Anticipates familiar routines or activities such as getting shoes when it is time to go outside or watching for a parent when it is time to go home. 16-36 Months: Refers to personal or family experiences and events that have happened in the recent past such as when a grandparent came to visit or when there was a family celebration. 36 Months: Identifies self as a member of a family. Points to or names self and other familiar people such as in photos or pictures. Talks about family members, familiar people or friends who may not be present. Domain: Language and Communication Sub-Domain: Attending and Understanding Goal IT-LC1. Child attends to, understands and responds to communication and language from others. Birth to 9 Months: Attends to verbal and non-verbal communication by turning toward or looked at a person. Participates in reciprocal interactions by exchanging facial expressions and language sounds with familiar adults. 8-18 Months: Shows understanding of the meaning of familiar caregiver’s verbal and non-verbal communication and responds with facial expressions, gestures, words or actions. 16-36 Months: Shows recognition of words, phrases and simple sentences. Participates in conversations in ways that show understanding by following comments or suggestions with actions or behavior. 36 Months: Shows understanding of some words and phrases used in conversation, such as by responding to simple questions. Shows comprehension of simple sentences such as by listening to and following one or two step directions.
Goal IT-LC5. Child uses increasingly complex language in conversations with others. Birth to 9 Months: Explores sounds common in many languages such as “ma-ma” or 8-18 Months: Initiates and participates in conversations by babbling and using gestures such as showing or giving or by using words or signs. Communicates mainly about objects, actions and events happening now. 16-36 Months: Participates in conversations with others using spoken or sign language that includes simple sentences, questions and responses. Sometimes describes experiences that have happened in the past or are about to happen. 36 Months: Uses sentences of three or more words in conversation with others. Asks and answers simple questions in conversations with others. Refers to past or future events in conversations with others. Goal IT-LC6. Child initiates non-verbal communication and language to learn and gain information. Birth to 9 Months: Takes turns in non-verbal conversations by using facial expressions, sounds, gestures or signs to initiate or respond to communication. 8-18 Months: Asks simple questions using gestures, such as pointing, signs or words with variations in pitch and intonation. 16-36 Months: Seeks information and meaning of words by asking question in words or signs such as “What’s that?” or “Who’s that?” or “Why?” 36 Months: Asks questions in a variety of ways. Repeats or questions until a response is received. Domain: Language and Communication Sub-Domain: Vocabulary Goal IT-LC7. Child understands an increasing number of words used in communication with others. Birth to 9 Months: Looks at familiar people, animals or objects when they are named such as mama, puppy or ball. 8-18 Months: Looks or points at a person or object that has been named, follows simple directions and responds appropriately to the meaning of words or signs. 16-36 Months: Comprehends an increasing number of words or signs used in simple sentences during conversation and interaction with familiar adults and children. 36 Months: Shows understanding of the meaning of common words used in daily activities. Attends to new words used in conversation with others. Understands most positional words such as on, under, up or down.
Domain: Cognition Sub-Domain: Emergent mathematical thinking. Goal IT-C 8. Child develops sense of number and quantity. Birth to 9 Months: Attends to quantity in play with objects such as reaching or looking for more than one object. 8-18 Months: Uses a few basic words to refer to change in the amount of objects such as asking for “more” or saying “all gone” when a plate is empty. 16-36 Months: Uses language to refer to quantity such as using some number words or signs to identify small amounts or using other words referring to quantity such as a little, too much or a lot. 36 Months: Counts small number of objects (2-3) sometimes counting the same object twice or using numbers out of order. Identifies “more” or “less” with a small number of items without needing to count them. Uses fingers to show how old they are. Goal IT-C 9. Child uses spatial awareness to understand objects and their movement in space. Birth to 9 Months: Explores or examines objects and watches objects when they move. 8-18 Months: Explores how things fit together how they fit with other things and how they move through space such as a ball thrown under a table. 16-36 Months: Predicts or anticipates how things move through space, or fit together or inside other things such as putting smaller objects into a small box and larger objects into a large box. 36 Months: Does puzzles with interlocking pieces different colors and shapes. Understands some effects of size or weight when picking up moving objects. Goal IT-C 10. Child uses matching and sorting objects or people to understand similar and different characteristics. Birth to 9 Months: Explores or examines differences between familiar or unfamiliar people of between different types of objects, such as by mouthing or shaking a toy. 8-18 Months: Matches objects by similar or related characteristics such as matching shapes with openings in a shape-sorting box or by putting a toy bottle with a baby doll. 16-36 Months: Sorts objects into two groups based on a single characteristic such as grouping toy animals separately from toy cars, or putting red socks and white socks in different piles. 36 Months: Sorts toys or other objects by color, shape or size. Orders some objects by size. Identifies characteristics of people such as “Mom has black hair like me.”
Domain: Perceptual, Motor and Physical Development Sub-Domain: Perception Goal IT-PMP1. Child uses perceptual information to understand objects, experiences and interactions. Birth to 9 Months: Uses perceptual information to organize basic understanding of objects when given opportunities to observe, handle and use objects including recognizing differences in texture and how things feel. 8-18 Months: Uses perceptual information about properties of objects in matching and associating them with each other through play and interaction with an adult such as using a play bottle to feed a baby doll. 16-36 Months: Observes others making things happen to understand the cause and effect relationship of intention and action such as seeing an adult prepare to go outside and then going to get their own jacket. 36 Months: Combines information gained through the senses to understand objects, experiences and interactions. Adjusts ways of interacting with materials based on sensory and perceptual information such as pressing harder on clay then on play dough to make something. Modifies responses in social situations based on perceptual information especially when meeting new people such as hiding their face from an unfamiliar person. Goal IT-PMP2. Child uses perceptual information in directing own actions, experiences and interactions. Birth to 9 Months: Adjusts balance and movement with the changing size and proportion of own body in response to opportunities in the environments. 8-18 Months: Uses depth perception, scans for obstacles and makes a plan on how to move based on that information while learning to crawl, walk or move in another way. 16-36 Months: Coordinates perceptual information and motor actions to participate in play and daily routines, such as singing songs with hand motions or practicing self-care skills. 36 Months: Adjusts walking or running to the type of surface such as a rocky, sandy or slippery surface. Handles or explores objects or materials in different ways depending on perceptual information about the objects or materials such as fragile, messy or sticky property
Domain: Perceptual, Motor and Physical Development Sub-Domain: Gross motor Goal IT-PMP3. Child demonstrates effective and efficient use of large muscles for movement and position. Birth to 9 Months: Explores new body positions and movements such as rolling over, sitting, crawling, hitting or kicking at objects to achieve goals. 8-18 Months: Moves from crawling to cruising to walking, learning new muscle coordination for each new skill and how to manage changing ground surfaces. 16-36 Months: Gains control of a variety of postures and movements including stooping, going from sitting to standing, running and jumping. 36 Months: Coordinates movements and actions for a purpose. Walks and runs, adjusting speed or direction depending on the situation. Goal IT-PMP4. Child demonstrates effective and efficient use of large muscles to explore the environment. Birth to 9 Months: Uses each new posture (raising head, rolling onto back, sitting) to learn new ways to explore the environment. For example, sits up to be able to reach for or hold objects. 8-18 Months: Uses body position, balance, and especially movement to explore and examine materials activities and spaces. 16-36 Months: Uses a variety of increasingly complex movements, body positions and postures to participate in active and quiet indoor and outdoor play. 36 Months: Explores environments using motor skills, such as throwing, kicking, jumping, climbing, carrying and running. Experiments with different ways of moving the body such as dancing around the room. Goal IT-PMP5. Child uses sensory information and body awareness to understand how their body relates to the environment. Birth to 9 Months: Responds to sounds and sights in the environment by orienting head or body to understand the information in the event. 8-18 Months: Shows awareness as an accomplished crawler or walker of new challenges or dangers in the environment, such as steep inclines or drop-offs. 16-36 Months: Shows understanding of what size openings are needed for their body to move through. Learns about body size such as doll clothes won’t fit on a child’s body or a child’s body won’t fit on dollhouse furniture. 36 Months: Maintains balance and posture while seated and concentrating such as working with clay, blocks or markers or looking at a book. Adjusts position of body to fit through or into small spaces.
Domain: Perceptual, Motor and Physical Development Sub-Domain: Health, safety and nutrition Goal IT-PMP9. Child demonstrates healthy behaviors with increasing independence as part of everyday routines. Birth to 9 Months: Emerging 8-18 Months: Anticipates and cooperates in daily routines, such as washing hands, blowing nose, or holding a toothbrush with assistance from adults. 16-36 Months: Participates in healthy care routines with more independence such as washing hands, blowing nose, brushing teeth or drinking from a cup. 36 Months: Shows increasing independence in self-care routines with guidance from adults. Puts on or takes off some articles of clothing such as shoes, socks coat or hat. Goal IT-PMP10. Child uses safe behaviors with support from adults. Birth to 9 Months: Emerging 8-18 Months: Emerging 16-36 Months: Accepts adult guidance, support and protections when encountering unsafe situations. Learns some differences between safe and unsafe play behaviors such as not to stand on chairs or tables or not to put small objects in mouth. 36 Months: Cooperates with adults when in unsafe situations such as taking an adult’s hand to cross a street or being cautious around unfamiliar dog. Shows some understanding of safe and unsafe behaviors such as not touching a hot stove. Goal IT-PMP11. Child demonstrates increasing interest in engaging in healthy eating habits and making nutritious food choices. Birth to 9 Months: Emerging 8-18 Months: Shows interest in new foods that are offered. 16-36 Months: Shows willingness to try new nutritious foods when offered on multiple occasions. Sometimes makes nutritious choices about which foods to eat when offered several choices with support from an adult. 36 Months: Expresses preference about foods specifically likes or dislikes sometime based on whether the food in nutritious. Sometimes makes nutritious choices with support from an adult. Communicates to adults when hungry, thirsty or has had enough to eat. (Updated: July 2015)