Toys are frameworks for exploration and discovery. They support learning best when the experiences they offer are clear and appropriate to a child’s interests and emerging skills.

Managing a productive learning environment is a challenge for any parent. Now, digital photography and the internet let parents share their experiences.

DIGITAL MEDIA can go beyond the simple sharing of play ideas. When records of age, skills, and toys are pooled, the result is new knowledge about how behavior grows. This knowledge can then be used to assess growth and development for individual children.

The discussion of SKILLS TRACKING that follows elaborates on these ideas.