Many families and educators are concerned with the school readiness skills that children acquire in preschool; however, they do not realize that these skills begin to develop during the infant and toddler years. Infant and toddler caregivers need to recognize the importance of a high-quality infant and toddler learning environment and learn how they can support children while they acquire essential skills for future success.

Sarah Taylor Vanover, EdD, has been working in the field of early childhood education for over eighteen years and has had the opportunity to be a teacher, a director, and a trainer for other early childhood educators. For the past several years she has focused her work and research on assessing quality early childhood programs for health and safety requirements and school readiness skills. She is the author ofFinding Quality Early Childcare: A Step-by-Step Guide for Parents about What Matters Most (2016) andStick Situations: Case Studies for Early Childhood Program Managers (2016).

IntroductionChapter 1: Social and Emotional SkillsChapter 2: The Importance of RoutinesChapter 3: Infant and Toddler Language SkillsChapter 4: Promoting Play SkillsChapter 5: Physical Development of Infants and ToddlersChapter 6: Developing Self-Help SkillsChapter 7: Cognitive Development and Pre-Academic SkillsChapter 8: Assessment and Early InterventionChapter 9: Parent Involvement in the Infant/Toddler ClassroomReferences