Early Childhood Skill Building Resources

: In 2021, Child Development Centers across the Marine Corps began to implement a new curriculum called Early Learning Matters (ELM) developed by Purdue University.

ELM promotes positive outcomes in all areas of development from birth to age five-years old. Two key components of ELM is its whole child focus on skills that bolster school readiness and life success and the evidence-informed, friendly to use resources for classroom staff and families.  

Below are the foundation skills that ELM focuses on for children ages Birth to 36 months.

ELM foundation skills for children ages 3 to 5 years old:

The ELM Readiness Starts Early handouts are shared with parents as part of the ELM family engagement resources. These handouts provide a set of parenting tips that families can use to reinforce and extend their child’s learning.

Professionals working in Child and Youth Programs (CYP) strive to collaborate with each child’s family to foster children’s development in all settings. To support children’s optimal learning and development, CYP establishes relationships with families based on mutual trust and respect, involve families in their children’s education growth and encourage families to participate fully in the program.