The document outlines developmental indicators focused on fostering curiosity and information-seeking in children from infancy through preschool age within North Carolina's educational framework. It provides specific strategies to support this development, including creating engaging environments, promoting safe exploration, and facilitating meaningful interactions. Suggestions are tailored for different age groups, emphasizing the importance of responsive communication and adapted materials to meet individual needs.

1. Curiosity, Information-
Seeking, and Eagerness
North Carolina Foundations Task Force. (2013). North Carolina
foundations for early learning and development. Raleigh: Author.

2. Developmental Indicators
• Goal APL-1: Children show curiosity and express interest in the world
around them.
• Note the skills that are likely to be observable within each of the general age
ranges.
• Note the sequence of skills that one can expect children to demonstrate as
they develop along the continuum that moves from left to right across the
chart.

3. Developmental Indicators 2
• Goal APL-2: Children actively seek to understand the world around
them.
• Note the skills that are likely to be observable within each of the general age
ranges.
• Note the sequence of skills that one can expect children to demonstrate as
they develop along the continuum that moves from left to right across the
chart.

4. Our Skills
• These developmental indicators can be used to help us
• Assess, observe, and document what the children in our care are able to do
and need to do next (NAEYC 3a, 3b, 3c)
• Communicate with parents and other professionals (NAEYC 3d)
• Design, implement, and evaluate meaningful, challenging curricula for each
child (NAEYC 5c)
• How can you specifically use this information? How might you
document these skills and emerging skills in the children in your care?

5. Curiosity, Information-Seeking, and Eagerness
for Infants and Toddlers
• P. 32 offers 10 suggestions for supporting curiosity, information-
seeking, and eagerness in infants and toddlers
• The suggestions include ideas for creating an inviting environment,
providing challenging and multi-sensory materials and experiences,
enhancing language and communication, encouraging child to child
and adult to child interactions, and modeling skills and thinking
(mental modeling)

6. Infants and Toddlers (cont.)
• Provide safe and inviting classroom
• Have variety of materials and medium that appeal to all the senses
• Avoid overwhelming and over-stimulating children – know their
varying temperaments and personalities – by providing quiet spaces
• Model things to do with materials children show interest in
• Allow children to make choices, support their learning, and follow
their signals
• Be enthusiastic and talk with them about their discoveries. Help
them notice what others are doing

7. More Infant and Toddler Strategies
• Vary experiences available and add new materials and experiences to
the familiar
• Talk about your interests and enthusiasm, use extended vocabulary,
and model curiosity and wonder
• Model problem-solving through mental modeling – talk about the
steps to your thinking as demonstrate figuring out how to do
something.
• Support children’s efforts to communicate with active listening,
extending their efforts to communicate, acknowledging and modeling
body language and facial expressions

8. Curiosity, Information-Seeking, and Eagerness
in Preschoolers
• P. 33 offers 10 suggestions for supporting curiosity, information-seeking,
and eagerness in preschoolers
• The suggestions include similar ideas like those for infants and toddlers.
• Some suggestions include: providing a variety of experiences and
materials, both familiar and new; adapting materials as needed so that all
children can be included in activities; being responsive to children and
their interests; allowing ample time and opportunity for children to extend
their play; encouraging meaningful child to child, child to adult, and adult
to child communication and interactions; providing aesthetic and
multisensory experiences; planning various field trip experiences; sharing
interests, enthusiasm, and mental modeling; practicing good
communication skills.

9. Curiosity, Information-Seeking, and Eagerness
in Preschoolers (cont. 1)
• Provide materials and experiences for extensive exploration and
discovery
• Provide both new and familiar
• Make materials and experiences accessible for independent use and
extended play
• Adapt materials and experiences as necessary for inclusion of all children
• Provide materials that allow children to recreate memories and
experiences (Four Boys Talk About a Garbage Truck) (URL:
http://www2.cde.state.co.us/media/resultsmatter/RMSeries/FourBo
ysTalkAboutAGarbageTruck.asp)

10. Curiosity, Information-Seeking, and Eagerness
in Preschoolers (cont. 2)
• Use active listening and communication with preschoolers
• Provide additional props and pictures to help children with limited vocabulary
or who speak another language at home.
• Allow ample time and opportunity for extended play, both indoors
and outdoors
• Provide reminders as time to transition nears
• Allow children to save projects to complete another day rather than always
requiring everything be put up.

11. Curiosity, Information-Seeking, and Eagerness
in Preschoolers (cont. 3)
• Extend curiosity, information-seeking, and eagerness through asking
open-ended questions and encouraging children to share ideas.
• Provide aesthetic and multi-sensory experiences and materials.
• Provide and call attention to multi-sensory experiences (remember the boys
talking about the stinking trash?)
• Play in the rain and mud
• Provide a variety of substances in the sand and water table throughout the year
• Go on nature walks and discuss the colors, patterns, smells, etc.
• Provide books and pictures that are aesthetically pleasing that are available to
the children

12. • Plan a variety of field trips
• Follow all safety rules and regulations, including car seat laws and having
adequate number of adult helpers.
• Model “love of learning”, curiosity, wonder, and your enthusiasm for
things that interest you.
• Demonstrate mental modeling
• Talk out loud about your thinking through problems
• Use words that help articulate the steps to the process
• Use various means of communication (words, expressions, body
language) and help children communicate their ideas, feelings, and
interests using similar communication strategies.
Curiosity, Information-Seeking, and Eagerness
in Preschoolers (cont. 4)