Our goal in the infant room is to provide a safe, loving, and stimulating environment where infants can grow and develop at their own rate.
Educational/Intellectual: Cognitive growth begins with language experiences. Caregivers stimulate infant’s interest in communication through continual verbal interaction and communication. This includes responding to babbling, talking with infants, when providing custodial care, singing songs, and providing age-appropriate toys. Infants are taught how to communicate through sign language. Infants are given opportunities to build their cognitive and critical thinking skills by safely exploring, testing, and seeking new challenges.
Social: Through continual interaction with caregivers and other infants, each child learn how to adapt socially to the world around them. Caregivers teach and facilitate sharing and caring through playing, holding, feeding, touching and changing.
Cultural: Infants begin to understand a world in which they are individuals separate from others during their first year. Through exposure to a variety of mediums, such as language experiences, books, pictures, and even foods, infants are encouraged to develop an awareness of differing cultures.
Emotional: Through continual/daily social interaction, caregivers facilitate and encourage the development of language skills. Caregivers show an interest in and respect for all children and their individual rates of growth. Caregivers also show respect and understanding for each child’s emotions and emotional responses, and model and teach appropriate behavior and solutions to problems.
Physical/Recreational: Infants are provided with space in which to grow and the freedom to move safely within that space. Safe and age-appropriate equipment is provided for active play to encourage and enhance developing large motor skills and coordination. Infants be offered a variety of play spaces, away from their cribs, to allow for growing interaction between teachers and other infants. Included are supporting chairs and infant seats, soft blankets and mattresses on the floor, swings, walkers and carriages for walks. Caregivers motivate children to develop such skills as crawling, standing and running by providing opportunities and encouragement. Nap/rest time are carried out by caregivers according to the infant’s own schedules and as requested by parents. Safety is encouraged and emphasized by caregivers.