Mississippi’s Mississippi Early Learning Standards: The official early learning standards framework
Mississippi’s early learning standards are organized under the Mississippi Early Learning Standards for Classrooms Serving Infants through Four-Year-Old Children (2018), administered by the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) Office of Early Childhood. The 2018 edition updated the name from “Guidelines” to “Standards.” They apply to licensed childcare centers, Head Start programs, and Mississippi Building Blocks pre-K programs serving children from birth through age 4.
Mississippi’s Early Learning Standards define developmental expectations across all 8 domains and guide curriculum planning, developmental assessment, and program quality statewide. Programs can view current guidance at the MDE Early Childhood page.
Mississippi’s QRIS is called the Mississippi Child Care Quality Step System, a star-based system funded by state and CCDF Quality funds and implemented by Mississippi State University Early Childhood Institute (MSU ECI). Using a research-based curriculum aligned to Mississippi’s Early Learning Standards supports higher quality step ratings.
Explore by developmental domain
Mississippi’s Mississippi Early Learning Standards domains and Experience Curriculum alignment
Select a developmental domain below to see how Mississippi’s Mississippi Early Learning Standards defines that domain, the key milestones by age group, and exactly how Experience Curriculum activities and skills map to each Mississippi Early Learning Standards indicator.
Social-Emotional Development
Self-regulation, peer relationships, identity, empathy, and emotional expression
Explore Mississippi Social-Emotional Development standards →Language & Literacy
Receptive and expressive language, phonological awareness, early reading and writing
Explore Mississippi Language & Literacy standards →Mathematics & Reasoning
Number sense, patterns, measurement, spatial reasoning, and early problem-solving
Explore Mississippi Mathematics & Reasoning standards →Science
Observation, inquiry, cause-and-effect, and exploration of the natural world
Explore Mississippi Science standards →Social Studies
Community, family, cultural identity, roles, and civic understanding
Explore Mississippi Social Studies standards →Creative Arts
Visual arts, music, movement, dramatic play, and creative expression
Explore Mississippi Creative Arts standards →Physical Development
Gross and fine motor skills, body awareness, health, and self-care
Explore Mississippi Physical Development standards →Approaches to Learning
Curiosity, persistence, initiative, flexibility, and attention
Explore Mississippi Approaches to Learning standards →Curriculum alignment
How Experience Curriculum aligns to Mississippi’s Mississippi Early Learning Standards
Experience Curriculum is formally aligned to Mississippi’s Mississippi Early Learning Standards across all three age bands — Baby (birth to 18 months), Toddler (18 to 36 months), and Preschool (3 to 5 years) — and all 8 developmental domains. The Mississippi Early Learning Standards Alignment PDF documents how every Experience Curriculum activity and skill maps to a specific Mississippi Early Learning Standards indicator.
For Mississippi programs using brightwheel, developmental observations can be logged directly in the app during or after activities, automatically building each child’s portfolio and supporting Mississippi Child Care Quality Step System curriculum documentation requirements.
The Mississippi Early Learning Standards Alignment PDF is a free resource documenting how every Experience Curriculum activity maps to Mississippi’s Mississippi Early Learning Standards indicators — suitable for QRIS review submissions and licensing documentation.
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