Review

Scope: The curriculum identifies four developmental domains in the "Scope and Sequence" section of "Baby's/Toddler's Development:" Language and Literacy; Social Emotional Development; Developmental Skills; and Play, Learning, and Cognition. The domain "Developmental Skills" does not clearly identify a particular area of development, but focuses generally on observing and reflecting on new skills that the baby/toddler develops. The "Watch Me Grow!" parent handouts provide a broad introduction to child development under the following four domain categories: Motor, Language, Thinking, and Feeling. The varying naming conventions for domains throughout the curriculum do not allow for a clear connection between the curriculum materials (e.g., parent handouts) and the domains listed in the "Scope and Sequence."

Sequence: Partners for a Healthy Baby provides a sequence of learning experiences that supports children as they build knowledge and skills in each of the ELOF domains, with materials organized by child's age, from 1 to 36 months. For example, in a series of handouts (e.g., "Watch My Motor Skills Grow," "Watch My Thinking Skills Grow," "Watch My Language Skills Grow," "Watch My Social Emotional Skills Grow," and "Watch My Play Skills Grow"), the curriculum includes tips to support children's learning and development at different age levels from birth to 36 months. The curriculum offers multiple, related opportunities for children to explore or learn concepts or skills in the ELOF domains of Approaches to Learning, Language and Communication, and Cognition. However, the curriculum lacks a variety of experiences that provide children with ample opportunities to build skills in the domain of Perceptual, Motor, and Physical Development and in some areas of Social and Emotional Development, such as Relationships with Other Children and Sense of Identity and Belonging. Additionally, the curriculum does not provide clear guidance on how home visitors can use the sequences of learning experiences in ways that allow for flexibility based on the interests, strengths, and needs of children.

Scope: The curriculum includes a clearly identifiable scope for supporting development in the following domains: Approaches to Learning; Self-Regulation; Cognitive, including emergent mathematical knowledge; Language; Physical Health and Development, including gross- and fine-motor development and self-care; and Social and Emotional Development. The activities for each month of age support children's development across these domains. On the bottom of each activity page, the curriculum indicates which domains and specific standards from the Illinois Early Learning Guidelines (IELG) are addressed.

Sequence: The Baby TALK curriculum provides multiple, related opportunities for children to explore concepts and skills with increasing depth in each of the ELOF domains. The curriculum suggests a sequence based on children's developmental progressions through monthly resources and activities, from newborn to 36 months. The Preschool Activities provide ideas for how to extend an activity for older children (e.g., Extension for Older Preschoolers). The general approach of Baby TALK promotes mindful planning and use of curriculum materials based on children's individual development. However, there does not appear to be specific guidance on how to flexibly use the sequence of suggested activities (e.g., 0–3 Developmental Activities, Preschool Activities) or adapt learning experiences to individualize them based on the child's strengths and needs or the family's priorities and concerns.

Scope: Parents as Teachers Foundational 2 Curriculum clearly identifies five developmental domains: Language, Cognitive, Motor, Social and Emotional, and Approaches to Learning. The curriculum materials support these areas of child development through the "Parent Educator Resources," "Parent Handouts," and "Activity Pages." Each "Activity Page" includes specific skills, behaviors, and concepts from the domains that children might be working on as they engage in the activity. The "Milestones" and "Child Development Charts" include these domains as the overarching areas of child development. In addition, Parents as Teachers Foundational 2 Curriculum includes comprehensive sections with information on how parents can support children's development in each of the domains (e.g., "Language Development," "Cognitive Development"). 

Sequence: The curriculum provides a sequence of learning experiences that supports children as they build knowledge and skills in each of the ELOF domains. In a series of handouts ("Your Child's Social-Emotional Development," "Your Child's Cognitive Development," "Your Child's Gross Motor Development," "Your Child's Fine Motor Development," and "Your Child's Language Development"), the curriculum provides specific strategies to support children's learning and development at different age levels (3–4 years old, 4–5 years old, and 5–6 years old). In addition, the "Activity Pages" provide activities at varying levels of development, with multiple related opportunities for children to build knowledge and skills in each developmental domain. The "Step-Up Plans" clearly indicate the "Activity Pages" should be selected based on the child's and family's interests and the child's developmental level.

Scope: The curriculum clearly identifies five developmental domains: Language, Cognitive, Motor, Social-Emotional, and Approaches to Learning. Each "Activity Page" includes specific skills, behaviors, and concepts from the domains that children might be working on as they engage in the activity. Additionally, the "Milestones" and "Child Development Charts" include these domains as the overarching areas of child development.

Sequence: The curriculum provides a sequence of learning experiences that supports children as they build knowledge and skills in each of the ELOF domains. In a series of handouts ("Your Baby's Social-Emotional Development," "Your Baby's Cognitive Development," "Your Baby's Motor Development," and "Your Baby's Language Development"), the curriculum provides specific strategies to support children's learning and development at different age levels (birth to 36 months). The curriculum offers multiple related opportunities for children to explore or learn concepts or skills in all domains. Additionally, Parents as Teachers gives specific guidance on how to individualize sequences of learning experiences based on children's interests, strengths, and needs (e.g., "Reviewing the milestones, assessments, and previous personal visit record and considering the interests, preferences, and culture of the family allow you to choose an activity page that best suits the family's needs for that visit.").

Scope: The Learning Pods identify six "pre-academic skills" in the introductory materials: Social-Emotional Preparation, Reading Preparation, Math Preparation, Science Preparation, and Writing Preparation. Other sections of the curriculum identify these domains differently. For example, "Why Do This Activity?" includes goals for each activity in the Learning Pods, where additional domains are referenced (e.g., Physical Development). Moreover, the curriculum manual identifies the following domains: Literacy, Peer Relationships, Impulse Control, Math Readiness, Balanced Nutrition, Self-Care, Physical Activity, Problem-solving, and Independent Thinking. While many of the activities support children's development in the domains, the varying naming conventions do not allow for a clear connection between the domains and the activities.

Sequence: The curriculum provides a sequence of learning experiences that supports children as they build knowledge and skills in the domains of Approaches to Learning, Social and Emotional Development, Language and Communication, Mathematics Development, and Perceptual, Motor, and Physical Development. The Learning Pods include one book of activities for 3-year-olds and one book of activities for 4- and 5-year-olds. Both books provide a variety of learning experiences based on children's developmental progressions in these domains. Additionally, the Learning Pods include multiple, related opportunities for children to explore or learn concepts or skills in these domains. However, the curriculum lacks clear sequences of learning experiences that progressively build children's Literacy and Scientific Reasoning knowledge and skills. For example, many of the activities that support children's Scientific Inquiry skills are first presented in the Learning Pods for 3-Year-Olds and are then repeated in the Learning Pods for 4- & 5-Year-Olds, offering the same level of engagement and instruction for children. In the domain of Literacy, while the curriculum offers some progressive supports for children in skill areas such as understanding of narrative structure, other skills such as letter identification have repeating activities across the Learning Pods. In addition, no guidance is offered on how to individualize sequences of learning experiences based on children's interests, strengths, and needs.

Scope: Activities in the curriculum manuals are organized around the following six modules: Basic Care, Social and Emotional Development, Cues and Communication, Physical and Brain Development, Play and Stimulation, and Successes and Next Steps. Each activity identifies a few developmental skills or concepts (e.g., object permanence, use of tools, cause and effect). The activities implicitly support children's development and learning across modules in key domains of development, but there is no explicit correspondence between the activities and the domains. Moreover, the developmental domains are identified differently in other curriculum resources, such as the "Child Development Milestone Charts" (e.g., Language/Communication, Cognitive and Physical, and Social and Emotional), making it difficult to see a clear connection between the domains and the activities.

Sequence: The curriculum provides a sequence of learning experiences that supports children as they build knowledge and skills in each of the ELOF domains. The curriculum manuals are organized by age: birth–12 months, 13–24 months, and 25–36 months. Along with Growing Great Families: A Family Strengthening, Stress Management, and Life Skills Curriculum (Growing Great Families), they provide a variety of learning experiences that are based on children's developmental progressions with multiple, related opportunities for children to explore or learn concepts or skills in each domain. While the curriculum promotes using the modules in the order that suits the family, limited guidance is offered on how to individualize sequences of learning experiences based on children's interests, strengths, and needs.