Introduction What’s the Understanding Infants Workbook All About? Welcome to the Winning Ways book Understanding Infants. This book is one of three in the continuing series that includes Understanding Infants, Understanding Toddlers and Twos, and Understanding Preschoolers. You can read all three or work with the one that best helps equip you as an early childhood professional. This workbook is designed to help you i Realize the amazing capabilities of infants i Develop a better understanding of the development and growth of infants i Improve your interactions with infants i Create a more infant-appropriate routine and program Who Are Infants? For the purpose of this book, infants are considered children from birth to twelve months of age. Some professionals believe that infants become toddlers when can walk. Some programs group infants according to age and others adopt a multiage grouping, especially common in family home care and education settings. In cen- ter programs, classroom rosters are often designated by many factors: ratios, size of rooms, availability of space in the next age group, and the developmental needs of the child. There may be children in your infant room who are eighteen months to two years old. Your role as the teacher is to help all children thrive, regardless of their classroom placement. If some infants in your care are becoming toddlers, grab another book in the series, Understanding Toddlers and Twos, to make sure you are creating an experience that is exciting and challenging to them. I 5