Appreciates Similarities and Differences
Child notices ways people and families are alike and different and shows that everyone belongs.
Ages 36–66 months
Why it matters
Recognizing that people share much in common while also being wonderfully different builds empathy, fairness, and respect. Affirming that everyone belongs lays the groundwork for inclusive, caring community membership.
What mastery looks like
- Names one way they are similar to and one way they are different from a friend.
- Talks respectfully about differences in families, foods, languages, or traditions.
- States that everyone belongs in the group regardless of these differences.
How to observe it
- When a peer shares a family tradition, does the child show curiosity and respect rather than judgment?
- Does the child include classmates who are different from themselves in play?
Accessibility
- Use books, dolls, and images that reflect many cultures, abilities, skin tones, and family structures so each child feels seen.
- Frame differences as something to celebrate, never as something that makes a person "less" or "strange."
Activities
Evidence
- Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs (4th ed.) — National Association for the Education of Young Children · 2022 · National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
Early Atlas