Directions: Use this checklist to help you become more aware of effective strategies that support infants’ and toddlers’ social-emotional growth. Review and complete the checklist with a coach, trainer, or administrator who can support your professional development.

Infant and Toddler Classroom

Warmth and Responsivity 

• Demonstrate a positive, calm, and supportive tone to the class.
• Stay at the children’s level during interactions almost all the time.
• Use a warm, responsive tone, make eye contact, and smile.
• Show physical affection toward children.
• Greet and acknowledge children warmly upon arrival or entry to activities.
• Show interest and respond to children’s initiations.
• Participate in children’s play and activities.

Working With Families – Social-Emotional Support 

• Provide information to parents about social-emotional milestones.
• Share specific strategies parents can use to support development.
• Collaborate with parents when concerns arise about a child.
• Provide families with info on community resources.
• Work with families and support services as needed.

Working With Families – Communication & Involvement

• Share regular updates with families about the classroom.
• Communicate about children’s daily experiences.
• Use different communication approaches for different families.
• Gather ongoing information from families about home life.
• Use multiple strategies to encourage family involvement.

Responsive Routines, Schedules & Transitions

• Post a clear, visible daily schedule.
• Follow the schedule but adjust for individual child needs.
• Use verbal/visual cues and predictable routines for transitions.
• Support individual children during transitions as needed.
• Prepare toddlers for upcoming transitions appropriately.

Classroom Environment 

• Offer varied toys and play areas to encourage social interaction.
• Design play spaces for use by multiple children.
• Provide “tummy time” space for infants under 12 months.
• Avoid wide-open spaces that promote running indoors.
• Books, materials, and posters are available that help children recognize and appreciate individual differences.

Behavior – Expectations & Feedback 

• Use developmentally appropriate and individualized expectations.
• State expectations positively (what children should do).
• Model expected behaviors for children.
• Acknowledge and reinforce appropriate behaviors.
• Explain natural consequences using simple words.
• Give feedback when behavior doesn’t meet expectations.
• Anticipate conflicts and guide children before escalation.

Behavior – Responding to Distress 

• Stay calm and supportive during distressful situations.
• Respond immediately to a child in distress.
• Provide attention when children are calm and appropriate.
• Use challenging moments to teach emotional awareness.
• Help toddlers problem-solve when appropriate.
• Use redirection or planned ignoring effectively.
• Use individualized calming strategies as needed.

Responding to Emotions & Teaching Feelings 

• Label children’s emotions appropriately.
• Expand on or ask about children's emotional expressions.
• Help children recognize emotions in their peers.
• Use planned activities to teach about feelings.
• Model labeling of your own emotions in real situations.
• Use real-life moments to identify children’s emotions.
• Use classroom situations to help toddlers problem solve.

Peer Interactions

• Encourage children to be aware of and care for peers.
• Support children initiating or maintaining peer interactions.
• Give specific praise for positive peer interactions.
• Comfort children after negative social experiences.
• Model social skills like sharing, gentle touch, and requesting.
• Help children interpret peers’ intentions.
• Use developmentally appropriate methods to promote interaction.

Individualized Teaching for Social-Emotional Skills

• Use a process that includes screening, goal setting, and teaching.
• Identify social-emotional goals for individual children.
• Embed teaching moments in routines, play, and activities.
• Develop individualized instruction plans.
• Collect data to track child progress.

Challenging Behavior – Individualized Interventions

• Understand how trauma can influence challenging behavior.
• Identify the function or purpose of a behavior.
• Know the steps to develop a behavior intervention plan.
• Collaborate with team members to create interventions.
• Work with families on challenging behavior collaboratively.

Source:

National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations. (2023). Pyramid model practices implementation checklist for infant and toddler classrooms. https://challengingbehavior.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Implementation_Checklist_IT.pdf