Skill
Explores People and Objects with the Senses
Infant or toddler uses senses and actions to investigate people and objects and how they work.
Ages 2–36 months
Why it matters
Active, multisensory exploration is how very young children gather their first data about the world. Mouthing, touching, shaking, and dropping objects, then watching what happens, is the root of all later scientific inquiry.
Builds toward this milestone
- actively explores people and objects to understand self, others, and objects. — Head Start ELOF
What mastery looks like
- Uses several actions on an object to learn about it, such as mouthing, shaking, banging, or dropping.
- Acts intentionally to reach a goal, such as moving one object to get another.
- Experiments with how things work and watches how people and objects react.
How to observe it
- When given a new object, does the child try more than one way to explore it?
- Does the child repeat an action to see if the same thing happens again?
Accessibility
- Offer objects with strong contrast, scent, sound, or texture for children with vision differences.
- Secure objects on a tray or with a tether so children with motor differences can explore without losing them.
Activities
Evidence
- Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework (ELOF) — U.S. Office of Head Start · 2015 · U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Early Atlas