North Carolina Early Learning and Development Progressions: Birth to Five

Domain: NC Foundations for Early Learning: Emotional and Social Development (ESD)

Subdomain: Developing a Sense of Self

Goal: Children demonstrate a positive sense of self-identify and self-awareness.

Skill Progression: Awareness of self through actions

Age: 1-2 Months

Click here to go to all skills for ages 1-2 Months.

Watches own hands

Situations for Observation of Skill

Watch while the infant is lying on his back or in the adult’s arms.

Elicitation Strategy

When the adult is holding the infant, the baby’s arms are brought closer to the front of the body, making it easier to see the hands.

Behavior Observed

The infant will stare at his hands. Looking at the hands is a first step toward recognizing that he can control his movement.

Routines-based Intervention (Embedded Instruction)

Attach a black or white ribbon to the baby’s wrist. This will attract his attention when the hand is in view.

 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 2015

©2015 by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.