Planning Activities From What You Observe

A lot of early childhood plans start from the calendar. It's October, so we do pumpkins. There's nothing wrong with pumpkins, but a plan that starts from the calendar might be too easy for some children, too hard for others, and of no interest to the child who has spent all week lining up toy cars.

A stronger plan starts from the children in front of you. You watch, work out what they're ready for, and then set up the room and your own teaching to meet them there. This is the skill that moves you from running activities to teaching.

What You Will Be Able to Do

• Use the planning cycle to turn observations into action.
• Read your notes for strengths, interests and next steps.
• Write a goal that you can actually see a child reach.
• Build one activity with several levels of challenge.
• Write a weekly plan that covers the whole group and still fits individual children.
• Check whether your plan worked, and change it.

The Planning Cycle

Planning goes in a circle, not a straight line.

Reflecting leads straight back into observing. That's why the plan is never really finished.

Interpreting Your Notes

Start with a dated note, not with a general feeling. Then ask three questions.

1. What can this child do now? List skills, not gaps.
2. What is this child trying to do? Children often show you the next step by reaching for it. A child who keeps trying to zip a coat, and can't, is ready to learn to zip.
3. What does this child care about? Interests are your best tool. A child who won't sit for a counting game may count all afternoon if the things being counted are toy trains.

Then compare with what's typical for the age. CDC milestones, your state's early learning standards, and the Early Learning Outcomes Framework used in Head Start can all help you decide what might come next. Use them to guide your thinking, not to grade a child.

Worked example. Your note reads: "Leo, 3 years 6 months, used scissors at the art table. Held them in two hands, opened and closed them, and tore the paper. Said, 'I can't.' Stayed for 8 minutes."

Your plan could include rolling and snipping play dough, tearing paper strips, and using tongs at the sand table. All of them build the same hand strength. Offer stiffer paper, cut into narrow strips, so that a single snip is enough to succeed.

Writing a Goal You Can See

A vague goal can't guide you, and you can't tell if it's been met. "Maya will learn to share" is a wish. A useful goal says who will do what, with how much help, and in what situation.

Keep it to two or three goals per child at most, and a shorter list for the whole group. Too many goals means none of them gets any real attention.

Choose the next step, not the end point. A goal should be something a child can do with help today, and could do alone soon. If a child can already do it, there's no learning. If they can't do it even with help, they'll just get frustrated.

From Goal to Activity

Worked example: an infant. Your notes show that 8-month-old Mia keeps reaching for a ball that rolls just out of her grasp, and she rocks on her hands and knees. Your plan: place interesting toys slightly out of reach during floor time, get down at her level, and talk about what she's doing. No worksheet or lesson is needed. For infants and toddlers, routines are the curriculum: diapering, feeding and floor time are your planning time.

Worked example: a toddler. Your notes show that 20-month-old Owen keeps filling a cup with blocks and dumping it out. It looks like messing around, but he's exploring in and out, full and empty. Your plan: set out containers, scoops and large pieces to fill and dump, in the sand table or on a mat. As he plays, name what he's doing: "In. Out. All gone. Full." Watch what he does with it.

Worked example: a preschool group. For three days, several children have been rolling cars down a cardboard tube and arguing about which is fastest. Instead of moving on to the planned theme, you follow it. You set out ramps, blocks to prop them up, balls, cars, tape and a chart for recording.

One activity gives you three levels of challenge. That's what individualizing means in a group. You don't need a different activity for each child. You need to know what you're looking for from each one, and how you'll help.

Your Role During the Activity

The plan isn't only the materials. It's also how you'll help. Start with the least help that could work, and add more only if it's needed.

Ask open questions, which have more than one good answer. "What color is it?" stops a conversation. "What do you think will happen?" starts one. Allow several seconds for a reply, especially with a child who's learning English. Rushing in to fill the silence takes that thinking away from the child.

Then step back. As a child gets better at something, take your help away a piece at a time.

Building a Weekly Plan

Plans differ from one program to another, but a working plan has the same parts. Use your program's form and curriculum, if it has them.

1. Review your notes. Spend about 20 minutes at the end of the week, if possible with your co-teacher.
2. Pick a group focus. Choose one or two interests or needs that you've seen in several children.
3. Pick individual goals. Choose two or three children for extra attention this week, rotating through the group.
4. Set up the room. Decide which materials to add, and which to take away. The room does much of the teaching for you.
5. Plan across the areas of development. Check that language, thinking, movement, and social and emotional skills all show up during the week.
6. Balance the day. Include child-led and adult-led time, active and quiet time, and small-group and whole-group time.
7. Decide what you'll watch for. Name the observation you want to make.

Worked example. Here's part of a plan for the ramps interest.

Keep your plan in pencil. If it snows and the whole class is at the window, drop your plan and follow them. Being able to change a plan is a sign of skill.

Planning for Every Child

Children learning two languages. Learn a few key words in the child's home language from the family. Use gestures, photos and real objects, and let the child answer by pointing or acting something out. Research shows that learning two languages doesn't cause a language delay.

Children with an IFSP or IEP. An Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) or an Individualized Education Program (IEP) has goals written for that child. Ask your director how you can see the parts that apply to your work. Then build those goals into normal routines. Sam can practice his two-word phrases at snack and in the block corner. With the family's permission, ask the child's therapist what to try and what to avoid.

Children who need more time. Offer the same activity for longer, in smaller steps, or with less going on around them. A quiet child may join in on the second or third day, after watching for a while.

Families. Ask what a child likes at home and how families do things such as mealtimes. If a child's grandmother makes tortillas with him, you've got an interest to build on. Share what you've seen and what you're working on, and invite their ideas.

Reflecting on the Plan

An activity hasn't really finished until you've looked back at it. Take a few minutes at the end of the day to ask: Who took part? What did they do? Did it meet the goal? What should I change?

Remember that a goal not being met doesn't always mean the child has failed. It more often means that the plan needs changing. If a child still isn't making progress after you've tried several things, talk with your supervisor, because that's when a closer look might be worthwhile.

Keeping Activities Safe

A good activity is one that's right for the youngest child who can reach it.

• Keep small items, such as beads, buttons and marbles, away from children under 3, and away from older children who still put things in their mouths.
• Stay within arm's reach during water play, and empty all tubs and buckets right after use.
• Check allergies before using food in sensory bins, art or cooking. Flour, peanut butter, eggs and milk are all common in these activities.
• Check that paints, glues and other art supplies are non-toxic and suitable for the age.
• Keep to your ratios and your licensing rules for anything new, and tell your director before trying a big change, such as a nature walk.

How This Connects to the CDA

Planning from observation draws on several of the eight subject areas for the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential, including children's physical and intellectual development, social and emotional development, and observing and recording behavior. As of 2026, the Council for Professional Recognition requires 120 clock hours of formal early childhood education, with at least 10 in each subject area, plus 480 hours of experience with children in your setting and age group within three years of applying. A portfolio, family questionnaires and an exam are also part of the process, and the rules have recently changed, so check the Council's website for current requirements. This material isn't part of those training hours. It's a place to learn and practice the thinking.

Common Mistakes

Check Your Understanding

1. Your notes show that four children have been pretending to run a store with blocks. Your plan for the week is a unit on the weather. What do you do?

Follow the interest, at least in part. Add a cash register, price tags, bags and paper for lists to the dramatic play area. You can still work on your goals, such as counting and writing, through the store. Weather can wait, or you can link it in by selling umbrellas and hats.

2. A coworker writes the goal, "Jordan will get better at math." How can it be improved?

Say what you'd see, with what help and when: "Jordan will count out 5 snack items, with an adult nearby, during snack time." Then you can tell whether it's been met, and what comes next.

3. You set up a matching game for a small group. Two children finish in one minute, and one child walks off. What's your reading?

The game is too easy for two children and may be too hard or uninteresting for the third. Add more pairs or a harder rule for the first two. For the third, try fewer cards or a topic that interests them. Then write down what worked.

4. During an activity, a child is struggling to fit a puzzle piece. What do you try first?

Wait, and let the child try. Then try a comment or a hint, such as "I wonder if you could turn it." Add more help only if it's needed. Doing it for them takes away the chance to learn.

Key Takeaways

• Planning is a cycle: observe, interpret, plan, do and reflect.
• Read your notes for strengths, interests and the next step.
• Write goals that say who, what, with how much help, and when.
• One activity can offer several levels of challenge.
• Plan your own role, starting with the least help that could work.
• Treat a failed activity as information, and change the plan.