As you think about curriculum for the infants and toddlers in your care, try to use their interests as the focus of your planning. After you read the following pages, describe how you might use a child’s interests to plan developmentally appropriate experiences.

All of the following excerpts are based on the NAEYC article “Following a Child’s Lead: Emergent Curriculum for Infants and Toddlers” compiled by Susan Friedman and Michelle Soltero originally available on Young Children on the Web July 2006:

ob回应婴儿幼儿教师让小心servations about each child in their care to understand what ignites a child’s interest, what motivates them, and what their needs and feelings are. Responsive teachers allow each child’s interests and motivations to flourish as they use those interests to guide the curriculum. Observing a child’s interests and being responsive to those interests is crucial particularly for children under age two. When a child’s interests are honored at this life stage, it enables a positive developing sense of self; they learn about the world, guided by their interests, and at the pace at which they develop those interests. They learn that they are active participants in the world and their ideas matter.

What does such an emergent curriculum look like in infant and toddler classrooms? In the illustrative examples excerpted from the article mentioned above, infant/toddler teachers describe how they planned or adjusted the curriculum to follow a child’s particular interest or need. Responsive teachers use observation, knowledge, and creativity to find ways to fill the emotional and learning needs of every child in their care. Read these vignettes:

1. 一个孩子不断推动他的朋友。

   确定行为的原因，并创造一个让孩子以更少的破坏性方式探索他们兴趣的情况。例如，创建一个以较少的破坏性方式再次且再次造成对象的情况。例如：

   杰罗姆有两个具有挑战性的行为：他反复推动他的朋友，并将所有物料推到地板上。杰罗姆的老师，大师老师戈麦斯决定首先伸向杰罗姆的父母，了解他们对这种行为的看法。他们表示他们的儿子真的很喜欢看到事情落下。在这个信息上，Gomez改编了一个外面的游戏区域，以便杰罗姆可以参加他享受的活动，而不是破坏性或伤害。Gomez在攀爬结构顶部放置大量材料，以便杰罗姆可以从高度扔出材料（如球和软块）。第一次杰罗姆看到攀岩结构顶部的材料外面，他立即去了它，并通过反复下降和检索材料与它一起参与。经过两天的持续兴趣，他的利益发生了变化。因为他的兴趣是创造性的，他能够表达他的兴趣，实验，而且因此解决了具有挑战性的行为：他不再将他的朋友推到或推动搁板的材料。

2. A group of children show a natural interest in learning more about snails, bugs, worms, and other small creatures they find outdoors.

   允许研究蜗牛，虫子和其他小型生物，以实现自己的生活。包括活的动物探索，故事和关于与动物和人们温柔的讨论。例如：

   A group of two-year-olds began to show interest in a snail. Some children had no interest in touching the snail, but two-year-old Tessa remarked that said she had a lot of snails outside at home. Tessa showed the other children how to touch a snail. Master Teacher Gomez took note of the children’s growing interest which ultimately supported a semester-long study about a variety of small creatures that live outdoors. A parent became engaged and shared a salamander. The children created habitats for the creatures, offered what food they suspected the creatures might eat, and learned how to gently touch the creatures. Their interest fueled sophisticated learning such as how to make and test their predictions, and how to be gentle with others.

3. An 18-month-old child pinches other children so fiercely that children are afraid to be near.

   Suggest ways of touching other children that don’t hurt. Offer safe pinching materials like the creative solution, “the pinching sock,” or playdough for the child to explore. For example:

   大师老师aldridge观察到那个18个月的克里斯如此努力地捏着其他孩子，所以害怕靠近她。aldridge与其他教师咨询，试图了解克里斯和她的捏。他们确定克里斯表达了两件事。首先，克里斯想了解更多关于她同学的更多信息。其次，克里斯正在探索她的精细运动技能。当克里斯接近另一个孩子时，教师帮助克里斯学会与同学一起与同学进行社交互动。然后，他们将通过制定诸如“你现在站在萨拉旁边的评论来模仿互动。让我们打招呼萨拉。“克里斯然后说，“嗨，嗨。”为了帮助学习软触摸，Aldridge会建议触摸那种不伤害的方法，如“我们应该问Sara，如果我们可以触摸她的手臂吗？” They also talked about how to predict how another child might feel if pinched instead of touched gently. For example, she said, “I remember yesterday you pinched Sara and she cried. Remember how she cried? I also remember how today you patted her arm gently, and she laughed. Let’s try touching her gently again.” The next set of questions, about fine-motor skills, was solved creatively. First, at circle time, a story was told using dolls about how it feels to be pinched. Second, the teachers introduced “pinching socks.” These socks were hung on a piece of twine along the wall, within reach. Each sock contained different material and different textures, soft things like cotton balls, crunchy textures like crinkly paper, etc. The children enjoyed feeling the different textures and listening to the different sound each material made when pinched. This creative solution honored Chris’ interests and needs, and let her know her interest in pinching could continue, only not on people.

4. 一个幼儿探索在他们周围的世界中的污垢和寻找洞的洞。

   Allow children to make safe and choices and explore physical science concepts with teacher support. For example:

   Cooper, a toddler, noticed a gopher hole in a garden patch. The responsive teacher Aldridge talked about who lived in the hole, and when Cooper tried to put his hand in the hole, Aldridge explained that she wasn’t comfortable with that because the gopher might respond with a bite. Cooper solved the problem on his own by experimenting with a long spoon. Aldridge wanted to ward off any possible gopher interaction, so suggested they walk around the yard and find as many holes as Cooper could find. Cooper enjoyed this activity very much as he made discoveries about spatial reasoning, such as ‘what fits into what?. Cooper also learned that teachers are there to help ensure your safety.

5. A child with attachment and separation anxiety.

   Encourage their natural interests. A child’s natural interest can develop in a way to help them focus less on a need for physical contact with the teachers and more on other developing interests. For example:

   Cerna主教师Cerna关心了一个西蒙斯两年。Simone来到中心，有很多情感需求。她出生的早生，并从教师身上不断持续的身体接触。如果Cerna搬走了，Simone会恐慌。Simone很小但能力。Cerna与Simone的优势合作，注意到Simone会拿起一本书并整天携带它。Cerna和其他教师鼓励对书籍的影响。他们注意到，这本书帮助她减少了对物理接触和更多关于新兴趣的需求，导致情绪较少。Cerna在许多方面使用书籍来帮助开发Simone的语言技能，都是口头和标志。Cerna还使用书籍参与Simone在游戏中，这反过来又引起了其他孩子的兴趣。