A Practical Guide for Teachers and Providers
Unpacking the Infant–Toddler Pyramid Model
Early Childhood

The highly anticipated follow-up to Unpacking the Pyramid Model, this one-of-a-kind book is the first to provide a comprehensive, step-by-step overview of the widely used Pyramid Model Practices for infants and toddlers from birth to three. With this accessible training guide, teachers and providers will use research-based practices to meet the unique needs of infants and toddlers—and boost their social-emotional development in the critical first years of life.

Contains Companion Materials
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STOCK NUMBER ISBN
58591 978-1-68125-859-1
COPYRIGHT PAGES
2025 208
AVAILABILITY
Available Stock

The highly anticipated follow-up to Unpacking the Pyramid Model, this one-of-a-kind book is the first to provide a comprehensive, step-by-step overview of the widely used Pyramid Model Practices for infants and toddlers from birth to three. With this accessible training guide, teachers and providers will use research-based practices to meet the unique needs of infants and toddlers—and boost their social-emotional development in the critical first years of life.

Created by the Pyramid Model developers and experts with extensive training experience, this book gives readers a complete introduction to the framework, plus in-depth guidance, evidence-based practices, and helpful checklists for implementing all levels of the Pyramid Model: universal, targeted, and individualized. Teachers and providers will learn how to:

  • Address their own well-being to prepare for their important work
  • Build positive partnerships with families and colleagues
  • Develop predictable and responsive schedules, routines, and transitions
  • Promote children’s social skills and emotional competencies
  • Support children’s active engagement with their environment and peers
  • Create an anti-racist and inclusive early care environment
  • Meet the needs of young children who have experienced trauma
  • Understand, prevent, and effectively respond to challenging behavior
  • Provide individualized support for children with persistent needs related to social-emotional development and behavior
  • Use data to monitor Pyramid Model practice implementation and effects

Ideal for use in preservice and inservice training, this book will expertly prepare infant–toddler teachers and providers to give the youngest children a strong foundation of social-emotional competence.

PRACTICAL MATERIALS: Checklists of Effective Practices for each main topic covered; tools for observation, planning, and reflection; vignettes and photos illustrating classroom examples.

About the Downloads

About the Authors

About the Contributors

Foreword

Acknowledgement


Chapter 1 Introduction and Overview

Kathryn M. Bigelow, Amy Hunter, Tweety Yates, Mary Louise Hemmeter, and Lise Fox


Chapter 2 Overview of the Pyramid Model

Mary Louise Hemmeter, Michaelene M. Ostrosky, Amy Hunter, and Kathryn M. Bigelow


Chapter 3 Caring for Yourself to Be Your Best Infant Toddler Teacher

Julia Sayles, Kelli McDermott, and Neal M. Horen


Chapter 4 Creating an Anti-Racist and Inclusive Early Care Environment

Rosemarie Allen and Amy Hunter

Appendix 4.1 Checklist of Effective Practices: Creating an Anti-Racist and Inclusive Early Care Environment

Appendix 4.2 A Family Handout


Chapter 5 Building Positive Relationships with Infants and Toddlers

Lindsay Allard Agnamba and Jennifer Caldwell

Appendix 5.1 Checklist of Effective Practices: Building Positive Relationships with Infants and Toddlers

Appendix 5.2 The Relationship Reflection

Appendix 5.3 Temperament Profiles


Chapter 6 Building Positive Relationships with Families

Kristin Tenney-Blackwell and Gounah Choi

Appendix 6.1 Checklist of Effective Practices: Building Positive Relationships with Families


Chapter 7 Building Positive Relationships with Colleagues

Abby L. Taylor and Tara Lynn

Appendix 7.1 Checklist of Effective Practices: Building Positive Relationships with Colleagues


Chapter 8 Creating and Maintaining Predictable and Responsive Schedules and Routines

Jun Ai, Kathryn M. Bigelow, Mallory M. Eddy, and Dwight W. Irvin

Appendix 8.1 Checklist of Effective Practices: Routines


Chapter 9 Transitions

Crystal S. Williams and Jessica K. Hardy

Appendix 9.1 Checklist of Effective Practices: Transitions

Appendix 9.2 Developmental Skills Chart


Chapter 10 Environments that Support Infants and Toddlers

Alana Schnitz and Sarah Behrens

Appendix 10.1 Checklist of Effective Practices: Environments


Chapter 11 Understanding Behavior

Alana Schnitz, Gospel Kim, Sarah Feldmiller, and Kathryn M. Bigelow

Appendix 11.1 Understanding Behavior


Chapter 12 Teaching Social Skills and Promoting Emotional Competencies

Sarah Behrens, Abby Taylor, Tweety Yates, Marina Velez, and Michaelene M. Ostrosky

Appendix 12.1 Checklist of Effective Practices: Teaching About Feelings and Regulating Feelings


Chapter 13 Supporting Active Engagement with the Environment and Peers

Angel Fettig, Kathryn M. Bigelow, Kathleen Artman-Meeker, and Michaelene M. Ostrosky

Appendix 13.1 Checklist of Effective Practices: Supporting Engagement with the Environment and Peers


Chapter 14 Understanding, Preventing, and Effectively Responding to Challenging Behavior

Ashley MacNish and Erin Barton

Appendix 14.1 Checklist of Effective Practices: Understanding, Preventing, and Effectively Responding to Challenging Behavior

Appendix 14.2 Teacher Observation Card


Chapter 15 Implementing Individualized Behavior Support with Infants and Toddlers with Persistent Challenging Behavior

Kelli McDermott, Julia Sayles, and Lise Fox

Appendix 15.1 Checklist of Effective Practices: Implementing Individualized Behavior Support with Infants and Toddlers with Persistent Challenging Behavior


Chapter 16 Putting it All Together: Using Data to Monitor Pyramid Model Practice Implementation and Effect

Kathryn M Bigelow, Dwight Irvin, Alana G. Schnitz, and Judith Carta

Reviews

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Reviews

Patricia Snyder, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor, University of Florida & Emeritus Faculty Member, Pyramid Model Consortium - November 4, 2024
"With a focus on sharing effective and equitable practices that enhance the quality of interactions and caregiving and learning environments for infants and toddlers, Unpacking the Infant-Toddler Pyramid Model is a welcome resource for ECE teachers as they partner with families and other primary caregivers to promote positive social-emotional learning and development."
Marilou Hyson, Ph.D., Consultant, Early Childhood Development and Education - October 16, 2024
"This isn't a book to read once and put down. This one will soon become dog-eared! Teachers, professional development providers, program leaders, and others will repeatedly draw on the book's checklists, practice tips, resource links, and thought-provoking vignettes. Wherever you are in your professional journey, this book will help promote the social-emotional competence of all our smallest children and their families. It's a gem."
Robin Levy, M.A., Pyramid Coordinator, Healthy Child Care Colorado - October 16, 2024
"It all begins somewhere! Social and emotional competence doesn't develop in isolation. This book equips infant and toddler practitioners with the tools to actively promote these skills, giving them the agency to explore the 'how' of fostering social and emotional growth in our youngest citizens and students—our babies. It offers a hands-on guide for caregivers to effectively implement the Pyramid Model, ensuring early foundations of emotional well-being are modeled and built from the start."
Junlei Li, Ph.D., Program Co-Chair, Human Development and Education, Saul Zaentz Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education - October 16, 2024
"With relationship at the heart and foundation of the Pyramid Model, this outstanding team of researcher-practitioners infuse each principle and practice with compassionate care for infants, families, and most importantly, care providers and educators themselves."
Christen Million, M.S., D.T., Assistant Vice President of Early Childhood Mental Health, Rooted in Relationships, Nebraska Children and Families Foundation - October 16, 2024
"Unpacking the Infant–Toddler Pyramid Model will serve as an excellent resource for infant and toddler teachers that are new to the Pyramid Model, as well as experienced teachers looking to deepen their knowledge and skill set around the social-emotional development of infants and toddlers. The social-emotional development in ages 0-36 is arguably the most important part of a child's developmental and life trajectory, and having an easy to understand, practical guide for the educators that are caring for this specific age group will be invaluable…Teachers, families, and children will benefit greatly from the work that was done in creating this book."
Lori Cassidy, M.Ed., Pyramid Model Trainer and Coach, Pyramid 802 Plus, VT - October 16, 2024
"This book is filled with useful information and truly 'unpacks' the Infant-Toddler Pyramid Model Practices. The information in this book will help practitioners dig deeper into the Practices and have a better understanding of how to support the social and emotional development of infants and toddlers…this book will be an invaluable resource, and I'm sure I will be using it as much as I use the Preschool version. Thank you so much for the thought and intentionality that was put into this book."
Marilyn Armstrong, BAHSA, Connecting Canada Project Manager - GRIT Program, Edmonton, Alberta - October 16, 2024
"From understanding the importance of teacher well-being and their impact on brain development in the first three years of life to fostering a sense of belonging for all families, this book has it all! Teachers everywhere will benefit from the evidence-based practices and self-reflection checklists that support the creation of safe and secure environments for our youngest citizens."
Tammy Vittum, M.Ed., NH Pyramid Model Coach - October 16, 2024
"Early education teachers and providers have been eagerly waiting for additional high-quality resources tailored to the unique developmental needs of infants and toddlers. This guide honors the remarkable opportunity individuals and programs have to partner with families in applying research-based practices to meet the needs of all children."
Lucy J. Marose, BSW, M.Ed. - October 16, 2024
"This book is an absolute treasure trove for people who work with infants and toddlers and are invested in helping them get the best possible start in life. It provides clear context and background information necessary for deep insight into the critical importance of social-emotional development in the early years. The true beauty of this book is that it also provides specific, practical, and understandable resources and examples to help ECE professionals put the information into practice. It is a gift that helps caregivers be able to say, 'Now I really understand how to do this job well.'"
Kate Sweeney, MSW, LCSW-C, Assistant Extension Professor, Co-Director, Parent Infant Early Childhood (PIEC), University of Connecticut - October 16, 2024
"This book that speaks practically about strategies that help to operationalize approaches to understand and support the social and emotional needs of infants and toddlers in care is exactly what the workforce needs. As a former Infant Mental Health Consultant in Early Head Start, this would have been in my bag on a daily basis."
Dawn Wimbush, M.S., IMH-E®(II), IFS-ERS, Supervisor of Infant and Toddler Behavior Consultation, Virginia - October 16, 2024
"Unpacking the Infant-Toddler Pyramid Model not only acknowledges the importance of infants and toddlers' social-emotional development and competencies, but it also provides a framework for building an effective workforce which supports quality interactions and fosters positive relationships…Both the novice and seasoned teacher, administrator, or coach will return again and again to this invaluable resource for its practical strategies, checklists, concrete examples, and reflective practices promoting the highest quality of care."
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