Open Discussion Forum

  • 1.  Infant and Toddler portfolios

    Posted 02-03-2021 08:45 AM
    Does anyone use portfolios to record development of infants and toddlers?  We use them for our preschoolers and are considering it for the infants and toddlers but are not sure what skills would be appropriate to include.

    ------------------------------
    Brenda TeVogt
    Head Start Mentor Coach
    Minnesota Valley Action Council
    Janesville MN
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Infant and Toddler portfolios

    Posted 02-04-2021 01:26 PM
    I do not enroll children under 2 years old, but I do have to record observations at least 2x per year on my other children to maintain the Quality Step Rating I have earned. What I did since I couldn't find anything premade that I liked was to go into Excel and create my own checklist of sorts. On one tab I listed out the developmental milestones for XYZ age based on the CDC website. They have milestones for ages birth-5 listed. On a second tab I copied/pasted in the learning standards that our public school system (Maine) uses for each age group. You could try starting with a similar method.

    And then you can always look up using keywords on Teachers Pay Teachers to see if there is something you like the looks of.

    ------------------------------
    Courtney-Jo Arrants
    Owner
    Cribs To Crayons Childcare
    Bradford ME
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Infant and Toddler portfolios

    Posted 02-08-2021 12:14 AM
    Although I used to teach students how to create portfolios, I terrible at taking the time to actually create one. However, a colleague made a portfolio for my 1-year-old as part of her training in the Focused Portfolio method.  I've also had students create portfolios for infants. Just remember that the curriculum for an infant is development or as one of my parents said "how to be a person." Focus on development of skills. That is what I concentrate on during parent conferences. I also include this during pickup conversations with parents. So for a very young infant I might note that the child makes eye contact with me and or older children, or responds to me or peers by smiling or vocalizing, or that the infant has begun to reach for toys dangling in front of her or during tummy time. With an older infant I might note that the infant gets distressed when she drops a toy and can't find it. That's a step up from just going on to another toy. I remember telling the parent of a 4 month old how she responded to her name. I was changing another child's diaper and she was looking for me and screaming. I said her name loudly; she then looked toward me and stopped screaming. So she recognizes that the sound of her name is a signal to look at something. Since this occurred during the child's first couple of weeks with me her behavior demonstrated that she was using me as a way to feel safe on the new environment. Essentially, to do a portfolio on a young infant you literally need to be an expert on development, understanding how changes in behavior demonstrate growth/development. But you don't need to use a lot of technical developmental terms. The parent of my 1-year-old who received the portfolio said she prefers simple explanations.

    ------------------------------
    Loraine Dunn
    Provider
    Only Toddlers
    Norman OK
    ------------------------------

    Original Message