Infant Program
Ages 0 to 2 years
Our infant-toddler program is designed to meet the needs of the children at this important sensory motor period of development. This period of rapid change must provide physical, emotional, social, cognitive, and neurological challenges with love and nurturing.
Some of the important areas of an infant’s development are freedom of movement, language development, and sense of trust.
Freedom of Movement:
Infants learn through their senses by watching and moving freely in the environment. The development of visual senses and tactile experiences provides cognitive and physical challenges. We allow infants to experience their bodies through movement and carefully monitored exploration, and then encourage what they are ready and willing to do. We reinforce their self-initiated activities by paying full attention, while being quietly available.
Language Development:
This is the most powerful absorbent stage. Infants and toddlers are spoken to in the formal language with which they will communicate in the future. We do not use baby talk, but talk regular with a wide vocabulary. We share good literature in the form of rhymes, songs, poetry, and stories, which we believe greatly increases the child's love of language. All of this learning we believe should be kept natural and enjoyable.
Sense of Trust:
An infant’s trust is developed through adults responding appropriately to an infants' need to be loved, respected, and accepted. We consider an infant as a whole person who is affected by the quality of holding and loving as well as the quality of physical care.
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Montessori Environment
The Montessori Infant environment provides a safe, calm, carefully designed setting for optimal learning that nurtures the physical and spiritual being. Sensory, cognitive, language, social, and cultural activities address the natural tendencies of the child’s developmental process.
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The routines of infant care-feeding, bathing, diapering, and comforting are communications of utmost importance to the baby’s cognitive, emotional, social and physical development. It is through these routines that the first human relationships are formed. When they are performed with sensitivity to the infant’s individual rhythms and needs, it is more likely that the individual child will develop healthily.
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1:4 Teacher:Infant Ratio
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Daily Schedule
7:30-8:30 Morning Care, Student Arrival
8:30 Transition into the Classrooms- Greeting
8:45-9:00 Toilet & Diaper Change
9-9:30 Outdoor Play
9:30-10 Short Nap
10-10:30 Circle Time/Reading Activity
10:30-11 Free Play/Art
11:30-11:45 Toilet & Diaper Change
12-2:30 Nap/Rest
2:30-3 Toilet and Diaper Change
3-3:30 Movement Activities
3:30-4 Afternoon Snack
4-4:30 Outdoor Play
4:30-4:45 Toilet & Diaper Change
4:45-5:30 Indoor Work Time
5:30-6 Reading Time/Cleanup/Quite Time
Daily schedule may change depending on weather, classroom environment, children’s needs
and interests.