6 weeks to 12 months

INFANT CURRICULUM

(6 weeks - 12 months)

Infants learn through their own experiences, trial and error, repetition, imitation and identification. Teachers will guide and encourage this learning by insuring that the environment is safe and emotionally supportive.

The children will be encouraged to play actively, move and explore. Throughout the day each infant shall receive physical contact, and attention such as being held, rocked, talked to, sung to, and taken on walks inside and outside of the center. Each child shall be allowed to form and follow his or her own pattern of sleep and wake periods. While a non-walking child is awake, the teacher shall change the child's position and location frequently. The non-walking child will be allowed to move freely by creeping and crawling in a safe, open, warm and uncluttered area.

Children and their parents will be greeted warmly and with enthusiasm each morning. Each day will begin with a great deal of adult to child contact. Children will be praised for their accomplishments and helped to feel increasingly confident and in control of themselves. Children's play interests will also be respected.

Staff will respect a child's desire to carry a favored object around with them, to move objects from one place to another, and to roam around or sit and parallel play with toys and objects. Children will be allowed to problem solve independently with limited adult intervention. Staff will respond quickly to infant cries or calls of distress, recognizing that crying and body movements are their means of communicating. Responses are soothing and tender. Staff will engage in many one on one, face to face interactions with the infants. Staff will talk in a pleasant, soothing voice, and use simple language and frequent eye contract. Our infants are placed in one of 6 infant rooms based on individual development. "Infant staff" cares for infants until they are competent walkers.

Through our app, Kid Reports, each parent will be able to view in real time the daily events for each child - diaper changes, meals, nap time, daily activities, medication, etc.