Infant Toddler Learning & Development Foundations

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
78
Classification
Behaviors leading up to the
foundation (4 to 7 months)
During this period, the child
may:
• Explore toys with hands and
mouth. (3–6 mos.; Parks 2004,
10)
• Bang a toy on the table. (5.5–7
mos.; Parks 2004, 25)
• Touch different objects (e.g.,
hard or soft) differently.
Behaviors leading up to the
foundation (9 to 17 months)
During this period, the child
may:
• Roll a car back and forth on
the floor, then roll a ball. (6–11
mos.; Parks 2004, 26)
• Use two items that go together;
for example, brush a doll’s
hair with a brush, put a spoon
in a bowl, or use a hammer to
pound an object. (9–15 mos.;
Parks 2004, 26–27; by 12
mos.; American Academy of
Pediatrics 2004, 243)
• Put the red blocks together
when the infant care teacher
asks, “Which blocks go together?”
Behaviors leading up to the
foundation (19 to 35 months)
During this period, the child may:
• Point to or indicate the realisticlooking
plastic cow when the
infant care teacher holds up a few
toy animals and says, “Who says,
‘moo’?” (18–22 mos.; Parks 2004;
85)
• Sort three different kinds of toys;
for example, put the puzzle pieces
in the puzzle box, the blocks in the
block bin, and the toy animals in
the basket during clean-up time.
(19–24 mos.; Parks 2004, 77)
• Show understanding of what
familiar objects are supposed to
be used for, such as knowing that
a hat is for wearing or a tricycle is
for riding. (Scaled score of 10 for
23:16–25:15 mos.; Bayley 2006,
93)
• Pick a matching card from a pile
of cards. (Scaled score of 10 for
24:16–25:15 mos.; Bayley 2006,
70)
• Point to or indicate all the green
cups at the lunch table. (26 mos.;
Bayley 2006)
• Call the big animals “mama” and
the small animals “baby.” (27 mos.;
Bayley 2006)
• Help the infant care teacher sort
laundry into two piles: whites and
colors. (28 mos.; Hart and Risley
1999, 95)
• Put the red marker back in the red
can, the blue marker back in the
blue can, and the yellow marker
back in the yellow can when finished
coloring. (Scaled score of 10
for 26:16–28:15 mos.; Bayley 2006,
71)
• Match one shape to another
shape. (26–29 mos.; Parks 2004,
78; 26–30 mos.; Parks 2004)