Level 2 Core Competencies

Includes the knowledge and skills of Level 1 plus knowledge and skills commensurate with a Child Development Associate credential, a certificate or diploma in child development, or equivalent training, education, and relevant experience.

On this page:
Content Area I
Content Area II
Content Area III
Content Area IV
Content Area V
Content Area VI
Content Area VII
Content Area VIII

Content Area I: Child Growth and Development: Level 2

• Identifies basic physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and language developmental milestones of children.
• Recognizes individual children’s personalities and variations in development and their effects on children’s needs in the program.
• Matches activities and teaching strategies to children’s variable needs.
• Understands the value of children's constructive errors and does not limit exploration, experimentation, and creativity for the sake of ensuring "right" answers or standardized products.
• Recognizes variations in ability and development that may indicate a need for special attention

Content Area II: Level 2

A: Creating the Learning Environment and General Curriculum

• Maintains and monitors daily routine.
• Participates in providing an interesting and safe environment that encourages play, exploration, and learning.
• Encourages children’s learning through play.
• Arranges effective and appropriate learning centers.
• Selects materials appropriate to the developmental levels of individual children.
• Engages children actively, not passively, in the learning process.
• Gives children opportunities to make meaningful choices.
• Begins to assist in planning learning activities and lessons.
• Shares children’s general progress and achievements with families.

B: Promoting Physical Development

• Acknowledges and supports children’s need to move and be active.
• Introduces sensory experiences to children (explorations of texture, color, sound, size, shape, smell, taste, weight, etc.).
• Uses a variety of equipment, activities, and opportunities to promote the physical development of children.

C: Promoting Language Development and Literacy

• Asks children relevant open-ended questions.
• Encourages play and acts as adult facilitator or partner in play.
• Encourages and supports children’s verbal and nonverbal communication with others.
• Uses conversations to enrich and expand vocabulary.
• Provides clear verbal and pictorial instructions that help children move from simple directions to a more complex sequence of directions.
• Encourages understanding of the relationship between spoken and printed words.
• Provides opportunities for children to chant familiar rhymes and experiment with beginning word sounds.
• Points out the names of things, signs, labels, etc. in learning environments.
• Talks about the meaning of words and writes down dictation of children.
• Encourages children to recognize own name in print and to practice writing letters of their name.
• Provides opportunities for children to draw and print using markers, crayons, etc. on a variety of surfaces.
• Uses a variety of music and sings frequently with children.
• Understands and implements the importance of reading out loud daily with children.
• Shares children’s progress and achievements in language development and literacy with families.

D: Promoting Cognitive Development: Mathematics

• Discusses the sequence of daily and special family or community events.
• Provides opportunities to develop an understanding of space (e.g., filling and emptying, building, observing from different viewpoints).
• Shares children’s progress and achievements in mathematics learning with families.

D: Promoting Cognitive Development: Science

• Encourages children to ask questions and find answers through active exploration of materials in the environment.
• Actively participates in sand and water play with children.
• Shares children’s progress and achievements in science learning with families.

D: Promoting Cognitive Development: Social Studies

• Encourages children to describe and appreciate their own characteristics and those of others.
• Discusses family and community member roles, jobs, and rules.

E: Promoting Personal and Social Development

• Affirms children’s worth and growing identity as individuals.
• Works to ensures continuity of care, especially for infants and toddlers (e.g., each infant is assigned and learns to identify a primary caregiver).
• Shows respectful and matter-of-fact attitude when diapering, undressing, feeding, and nurturing (e.g., instead of using words like stinky, dirty, or messy, say “Let’s get you a fresh diaper” or “We need to wash your hands now”).
• Handles children gently and goes as slowly as circumstances permit during diapering, dressing, feeding, or putting children down for sleep.
• Avoids talking about children to other staff as though children are not present or can’t hear (e.g., does not say “Elana’s being naughty – can you deal with her so I can feed Ben?”).
• Helps children learn to communicate and get along with others.
• Models recognizing, naming, and expressing feelings.
• Models and encourages feelings of empathy and mutual respect among children and adults.
• Helps children through periods of stress, separation, and transition.
• Helps children feel valued as members of the group.
• Emphasizes cooperation in games and activities and provides many opportunities for cooperative play.
• Intervenes when necessary to help children develop socially.
• Is sensitive to varying cultural values and expectations about the child as a member of a family and an ethnic or social group.
• Models curiosity and information seeking.
• Supports children’s sustained efforts at activities and problem solving.
• Tells infants, toddlers, and young children what will happen next (e.g., I’m going to change your diaper now; in a little while we’re going to clean up our toys; it’s almost time to clean up our toys; let’s pick up our toys now).
• Shows support for and acceptance of individual children and their families.

F: Promoting Creativity and the Arts

• Encourages and supports children’s use of unstructured materials such as water, clay, paints, and blocks.
• Encourages children to express their creative abilities through language, music, dramatic play, and art.
• Describes, discusses, and accepts the process as well as the product of children’s activities with creativity and the arts.

Content Area III: Assessment and Planning for Individual Needs: Level 2

• Identifies various ways to get to know each child as an individual, including strengths, needs, interests, families, and life situation.
• Contributes to assessments and aids in informal evaluation.
• Collects and organizes information about each child, such as collecting samples of the child’s work and recording anecdotal notes.
• Assists in the reporting of assessment results to families.

Content Area IV: Interactions with Children: Level 2

• Modifies play that is inappropriate for the learning environment.
• Establishes and communicates limits for acceptable behavior.
• Responds to children’s behavior in ways that encourage self-regulation.
• Provides a supportive environment in which children can learn and practice appropriate and acceptable behaviors as individuals and as a group.
• Uses a variety of positive direct and indirect guidance methods and avoids negative methods.
• Provides an environment that helps all children to know, accept, and take pride in their identities and to develop a sense of belonging and inter-dependence.
• Builds a trusting relationship with children, providing physical and emotional security.
• Maintains professionalism and respect for children when communicating with other adults about children’s behavior.
• Reports positively to families about children’s progress and challenges.
• Uses information from parents to inform interactions with children.

Content Area V: Families and Communities: Level 2

• Maintains an open and cooperative relationship with each child's family and communicates daily events.
• Is aware that his/her interactions with children and other adults may be viewed by parents and community members as models for interaction and behaves accordingly.
• Supports the child's relationship with his or her family.
• Respects parents' choices and goals for their children.
• Understands the collaborative role of parents and teachers.
• Respects and supports cultural and linguistic differences and diverse family structures.
• Recognizes stress factors affecting families.

Content Area VI: Health, Safety, and Nutrition: Level 2

Health

• Responds to children’s injuries and documents any injuries, while assuring the comfort and care of other children.
• Monitors children daily for signs of illness and possible signs of abuse and neglect.
• Follows procedures to avoid transmission of communicable diseases.
• Follows instructions for administration of medicine and approved medical treatments, including related documentation.

Safety

• Describes and maintains a safe environment, including equipment and toys, to prevent and reduce injuries.
• Teaches simple safely precautions and rules to children and enforces rules consistently.
• Demonstrates ability to use safety equipment, e.g., fire extinguisher.
• Identifies and reports problems regarding staff to child ratios.
• Verbalizes and adheres to emergency, illness, injury, and sanitation procedures.

Nutrition

• Monitors eating habits to ensure a healthy diet, including the need of children to eat frequently.
• Provides appropriate meals and snacks in a relaxed and social setting with no coercion.
• Guides cooking experiences with children.

Content Area VII: Program Planning and Evaluation: Level 2

• Supports the program mission and purpose.
• Organizes, plans, and keeps records effectively.
• Assists in gathering information for evaluation.
• Values and works to strengthen the program’s team of staff, administrators, and volunteers.
• Is able to give constructive feedback.

Content Area VIII: Professional Development and Leadership: Level 2

• Manages demands of personal and professional commitments.
• Uses problem-solving skills as needed.
• Interacts in a manner reflecting respect for self and others.
• Performs well as a team member.
• Promotes value of quality in early education and care.
• Demonstrates a commitment to NAEYC code of ethics.
• Is aware of professional resources.
• Takes advantage of opportunities to improve competence.
• Accepts advice and constructive criticism to improve practice.
• Participates in one (or more) professional association.