Selecting Materials

Infants & Toddlers Learning Environments Lesson 4 Learn Selecting Materials Guide	WWW.VIRTUALLABSCHOOL.ORG ACTIVITY ID: 25271 Name Certifier Date
Whether you are purchasing new materials or deciding which materials to rotate into learning and play areas, you should be purposeful about how you make these decisions. Below are several points to consider when selecting materials: Select materials that promote learning and are of interest to the infant or toddler. Materials should: Stimulate a response Encourage social interactions and play Engage more than one of the senses Be durable Promote open-ended discoveries Include materials that support the development of infants and toddlers and are: Challenging but not frustrating Appealing to full range of developmental skills and interests Provide duplicates (same color, size, function) of the same item to: Help reduce conflict Minimize the need for sharing; older toddlers can begin being introduced to turn-taking Support parallel play Choose materials that honor infants’ and toddlers’ families. Materials should: Be representative of infants and toddlers in the program and their families Be inclusive of infants and toddlers with varying abilities Portray the diversity of the program and community (books, puzzles, photos, dolls, pretend food and cookware, posters, music props, and art supplies) Select items used in homes (e.g., kitchen spatulas, strainers, wooden spoons, plastic bowls) to: Provide open-ended play Help create a homelike environment Encourage families in learning new ways to use items from home to support development and learning Offer materials that include a variety of: Textures: smooth, bumpy, squishy, rough, soft, woods, metals, plastics, fabrics Fine-motor skills: grasping, turning, poking, shaking, pushing, pulling, putting together, taking apart, using a pincer grasp Gross-motor skills: climbing, balancing, pulling, pushing, steering Colors Size Shapes Sounds Action: action-reaction (cause and effect) materials Rotate materials when: Infants or toddlers appear to have lost interest They do not meet a child’s developmental needs (too easy or too hard) They have been used for some time—rotate materials periodically unless children are still interested and actively using them

Guide

WWW.VIRTUALLABSCHOOL.ORG

ACTIVITY ID: 25271

Name

Certifier

Date

Whether you are purchasing new materials or deciding which materials to rotate into learning and play areas, you should be purposeful about how you make these decisions. Below are several points to consider when selecting materials:

Select materials that promote learning and are of interest to the infant or toddler. Materials should:

Stimulate a response
Encourage social interactions and play
Engage more than one of the senses
Be durable
Promote open-ended discoveries

Include materials that support the development of infants and toddlers and are:

Challenging but not frustrating
Appealing to full range of developmental skills and interests

Provide duplicates (same color, size, function) of the same item to:

Help reduce conflict
Minimize the need for sharing; older toddlers can begin being introduced to turn-taking
Support parallel play

Choose materials that honor infants’ and toddlers’ families. Materials should:

Be representative of infants and toddlers in the program and their families
Be inclusive of infants and toddlers with varying abilities
Portray the diversity of the program and community (books, puzzles, photos, dolls, pretend food and cookware, posters, music props, and art supplies)

Select items used in homes (e.g., kitchen spatulas, strainers, wooden spoons, plastic bowls) to:

Provide open-ended play
Help create a homelike environment
Encourage families in learning new ways to use items from home to support development and learning

Offer materials that include a variety of:

Textures: smooth, bumpy, squishy, rough, soft, woods, metals, plastics, fabrics
Fine-motor skills: grasping, turning, poking, shaking, pushing, pulling, putting together, taking apart, using a pincer grasp
Gross-motor skills: climbing, balancing, pulling, pushing, steering
Colors
Size
Shapes
Sounds
Action: action-reaction (cause and effect) materials

Rotate materials when:

Infants or toddlers appear to have lost interest
They do not meet a child’s developmental needs (too easy or too hard)
They have been used for some time—rotate materials periodically unless children are still interested and actively using them