Although the importance of physical development as an integrated part of early childhood education is well understood, many early childhood teachers lack the specific background and training in this area. To fill this gap, this article presents a framework of recommended practices and a corresponding assessment tool. The Head Start Body Start (HSBS) Recommended Practices Scale comprises 30 discrete teaching strategies organized into five different categories. The framework and tool presented here, developed by a panel of experts and practitioners, have been field tested in hundreds of Head Start centers across the nation and have proven effective in promoting the recommended practices among early childhood teachers. It is suggested that this framework and the corresponding instrument be applied in preservice and inservice training programs and possibly, pending further testing, for research purposes. (Contains 1 figure.)