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Infant/Toddler Learning & Development Foundations

The California Infant/Toddler Learning & Development Foundations | California Infant/Toddler Learning & Development Foundations (PDF; 2MB) was published by the California Department of Education Press (CDE Press) in February 2009.

A Message from the [Former] State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Available Translations of the Message from the [Former] State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Introduction to the California Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Foundations
Available Translations of the Introduction to the California Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Foundations

Appendix: Summary of the Infant/Toddler Foundations
Available Translations of the Appendix: Summary of the Infant/Toddler Foundations

The purpose of the California Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Foundations is to describe research and evidence-based expectations for the way most infants and toddlers make progress in the major domains of social-emotional, language, cognitive, and perceptual and motor development. By creating a common language to facilitate communication among families, infant care professionals, community members, and policymakers, the foundations build an understanding about the importance of the early years in children’s learning and development.

This publication presents 28 foundations in four domains that describe the competencies that infants and toddlers typically attain in the first three years of life. The descriptions of competencies are enriched with examples of typical behaviors at each age level in each of the four domains as well as behaviors leading up to attainment of those competencies. This publication is a counterpart to the preschool learning foundations and is a companion to the Infant/Toddler Learning & Development Program Guidelines.

  • The California Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Foundations can be purchased from CDE Press by calling the toll-free number at 1-800-995-4099, or by ordering through the CDE Educational Resources Catalog (Item Number 001693). The price of the publication is $19.75.
  • A companion set of DVDs for the California Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Foundations provides visual illustrations for each of the 28 infant/toddler foundations with examples of behavior of young children at 8, 18, and 36 months, as described in the foundations publication. This DVD set can be ordered from CDE Press by calling the toll-free number at 1-800-995-4099, or by ordering through the CDE Educational Resources Catalog (Item Number 001700). The price of the set of DVDs is $32.95.
Questions:   Early Education Division | ELCDPublications@cde.ca.gov | 916-322-6233
Last Reviewed: Tuesday, October 1, 2024
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