Transitioning from Infant to Toddler Class

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Children ready to advance to an older class show many of the following characteristics:

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Physical

1. Improved walking skills, feet are together, knees flexible (vs. the “new walker” who has a wide-based, legs-apart gait with locked knees).

2. Beginning to imitate/explore a variety of traveling movements – walk, run, jump, etc

3. Can walk up stairs while holding onto rail or hand.

 

Emotional

1. Use gestures and language to deal with frustration (as opposed to just crying or whining).

2. Sustains interest and attention in activity for several minutes. (Note: not wanting to give something up (egg shaker, scarf, etc.) can be a sign of maturation).

 

Cognitive

1. Reliably points to correctly several identified body parts.

2. Can follow two-step direction. “Go get a ______, and put it in the _______.”

3. Understands what “one” means (vs. a handful).

4. Learning to use toys and objects in symbolic ways (moving beyond just enjoyment of sensory properties).

5. Moving beyond play schemes of mouthing, throwing and dumping. Actions becoming purposeful and integrated.

6. Can interact in a directed activity.

7. Able to shift attention with transition.

8. Reliably responds to own name (refers to self by name in secure environments).

 

Language

1. Can express wants and needs symbolically (gestures, words).

2. Has growing vocabulary of roughly 20 words. Receptive language is still stronger than expressive language.

3. Reading with caregiver becomes co-operative. Child will select book, sit, turn pages, relate to the story and interact.

 

Social

1. Interested in what other children are doing.

2. Capable of distal communication (i.e., following verbal instructions from further away).

 

Musical

1. Moves to music, perhaps to steady beat.

2. Responds to rhymes and songs, recognizes familiar ones.

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**You can ALWAYS talk with Michelle about whether or not your child is ready to move up to the next Kindermusik Level.