To make sure
all toddlers in your early childhood program are participating, learning, and thriving, you need to master the art of choosing and using effective adaptations. Practical solutions are in
CARA's Kit: a guidebook brimming with step-by-step ideas for adapting environments, activities, and materials for children 18 to 36 months.
A follow-up to the bestselling CARA's Kit for Preschoolers, this real-world guide to successful adaptations is aligned with recommended practices in early childhood special education and early intervention. You'll use this complete kit to
- implement adaptations in key areas: environment, daily schedule, activities/routines, materials, and requirements or instruction
- increase engagement and participation for all children, including those with disabilities, challenging behaviors, and other special needs
- create and use adaptations anywhere—in a home, a child care center, or any other type of early childhood setting
- improve every aspect of toddlers' development, including physical, social, emotional, communication, and cognitive growth
- help toddlers make progress toward program standards by creating an environment where all children learn
- make daily activities run smoothly by addressing children's everyday challenges
- select and use the least intrusive adaptations to help a child participate
With CARA's Kit, you'll have a reader-friendly, full-color quick guide with invaluable tips and suggestions, a clear six-step process for planning and implementing adaptations, and dozens of possible solutions for increasing child participation in activities and routines. You'll also get a a suite of downloable materials with everything you need to make adaptations work:
- a how-to audio presentation in English and Spanish
- suggested adaptations for play time, art and sensory experiences, story time, community outings, drop off/pick up, transition between activities, and more
- more than 25 PowerPoint slides for preparing a group to use CARA's Kit
- an instrument to assess activities/routines, and
- printable forms for generating ideas and recording notes on your chosen adaptations and their results.
Great for self-study or professional development group sessions, CARA's Kit is a must for early childhood teams across a wide range of settings. You'll use it year after year to ensure the best possible learning environment for young children with and without special needs.
Philippa H. Campbell, Ph.D., directs all of the research and training projects under the Child and Family Studies Research Programs (CFSRP) at Thomas Jefferson University.
Alexis A. Kennedy, M.S.Ed., coordinates and facilitates trainings and provides consultation for teachers designed to aid in social-emotional development in young children.
Suzanne A. Milbourne, Ph.D., is a social science researcher at the University of Delaware.
