National Resource Center forHealth and Safety in Child Care
and Early Education
Toolkit for Integrating Healthy Physical and Mental Development in Early Learning Guidelines
Version 1
An instrument to strengthen health and safety content in state-/territory-level early learning guidelines
January 2008
Version 1
An instrument to strengthen health and safety content in state-/territory-level early learning guidelines
January 2008
More and more, research tells us that our children’s readiness for school depends on their healthy physical and mental development. Toolkit for Integrating Healthy Physical and Mental Development in Early Learning Guidelines was developed with this in mind!
Early Learning Guidelines (ELGs), or content standards, describe what young children need to know, understand, and be able to do in a variety of learning domains. The Good Start, Grow Smart (GSGS) Early Learning Initiative introduced in 2002 encouraged states and territories to develop guidelines applicable to all care settings and that align with state K-12 standards. (Additional information on GSGS is available on the Web at http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/earlychildhood/sect6.html).
While these guidelines may be voluntary in their implementation, they should be relevant without regard to child care setting or whether or not a child has spent his or her preschool years in the care of a parent. Early learning guidelines differ from instructional guidelines, i.e., guidelines that identify the processes or practices that support development of knowledge, competencies and skills in children” (Child Care Bureau, 2007, p. 19).
The National Resource Center (NRC) for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education has designed this Toolkit to help teams evaluate and supplement their state’s ELG content related to children’s healthy physical and mental development. Teams implementing ELGs can also use the toolkit in education for teachers and families.
The Toolkit is based on Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care, 2nd Edition (CFOC) , “These national guidelines support a safe and healthy environment and developmentally appropriate programs for all children” [Clifford & National Training Institute for Child Care Health Consultants Staff, 2006, p.20].