A Safe, Loving, Nurturing Environment
Infant Room
General: Realizing that we often have children more hours of the day than the parents, we work hard with your children to age-appropriately develop their social and manipulative skills needed to grow your child. Offering a safe, loving environment that allows your child to discover the world is paramount. Safety is also an important aspect as we strive to have age appropriate toys and manipulatives for your child. We use “no-choke” testing tubes to test the size of our toys, and are alert for sharp or jagged points or surfaces. Infants are fed in the room and parents will supply bottles, milk, formula, and baby food until the child can eat from our menu. We provide a slightly altered menu for infants and toddlers where some items may be substituted for infant and toddler friendly diets. Parents will also need to supply at least one change of clothes, diapers, ointments, and sunscreen when needed for outside time.
Our teachers make the difference. We take great pride in our teachers as they are engaging, patient, loving, and they want to be here. One can easily tell if a caregiver is engaged and happy by the way they interact with the children. Parents are encouraged to observe the classrooms at any time.
Our infant room is divided into two groups, Immobile Infants and Mobile Infants. Although it is not a licensing requirement or rule, we chose to separate the groups by mobility to focus on development and safety. The motor skill development is somewhat different between those who are learning to rollover & crawl than those crawlers who are learning to stand up and walk. This separation also helps to protect the smaller ones from being stepped over by those that have mastered crawling and learning to stand up and walk. We ask that if you need to pick up an older sibling as well, that you pick up your infant first, so there are no children over the age of two in the infant room.
Immobile Infants: Our immobile infant group is for those infants that are 6 weeks in age thru the time that they begin to master crawling. Our teachers spend a lot of time on the floor mats engaged with the children developing the gross motor skills necessary for movement, coordination, strength, communication skills, and the ability to roll over, crawl, and manipulate larger objects. Once the child has mastered crawling and is cognitively ready, we will move the child to the mobile infant group when space is available. Our curriculum is developed to specifically address those skills needed for this group. The lesson plan is posted in the classroom for parents to review.
Mobile Infants: Our mobile infant group is for those infants that are mastering crawling and learning to stand and walk. Our teachers still spend a lot of time on the floor mats engaged with these children to further develop the appropriate motor skills necessary for movement, coordination, strength, communication skills, and the ability to stand, walk, and manipulate large to medium sized objects. Once the child has begun to stand and walk, and cognitively ready, we will move the child to the Toddler room when space is available. Again, our curriculum is developed to specifically address those skills needed for this group and the lesson plan is posted in the classroom.