Infant Program

During this treasured stage of development, infants are establishing trust with those around them, so it is very important to meet their needs in predictable and reliable ways. We are here to provide a “home away from home” environment, giving them a sense of safety and security. Equally important, is to develop an interactive partnership of communication between parents and staff to ensure that we are meeting everyone’s needs.

Although each experience is a learning opportunity, teachers also plan more structured activities for learning:   “The Learning Accomplishment Profile”, by Kaplan 0–36 months, is used as a guide, to individualize activities for each child through each stage of development.

Sensory Exploration:

• Infants are exposed to different textures, colors, patterns, shapes, scents, tastes and sounds.

Language Development:

• We teach infants to sign, providing a means for the child to communicate before the acquisition of language.
• Conversation, reading picture books, puppet play, exploring sounds, naming objects, songs/finger plays, etc., all promote the development of language.

Cognitive Development:

• Activities consider object permanence, spatial relations, and cause and effect.

Math concepts:

• We use words such as “up” and “down”, concepts of quantity such as “more”, heavy/light, big/little, etc.
• We talk “math” with your child as a matter of routine: diapering, meal times.
• Walks, are ideal to count, point out shapes and sizes, talk about patterns, and describe how things are the same and different.

Science:

• Infants experiment all day, as they move through their environment. They manipulate objects, fill and dump buckets, explore the outdoors. These are only a few of the activities in which they participate.

Fine and Large Motor Development:

• Tummy time, rolling over, reaching, grasping, kicking, holding, pulling up/standing, cruising, creeping, crawling in/out, over/under – are all important in developing their muscles, coordination, and growth.

Creative Expression/Art/Music:

• Brain research indicates how important music and movement/dance is to brain development through the early years. Activities include: Singing, following prompts in song, dancing.
• The infants/toddlers will use musical instruments.
• They will use multi-media for art.
• We will imitate and pretend real life experiences.
• We will engage in puppet and doll play.

Independence:

• We encourage and let infants master other skills as they show readiness.