Early experiences have a profound effect on a child’s later development. The first twelve months of life are the most developmentally critical months. Great gains are made in the child’s physical, emotional, social, cognitive, sensory, motor, and language development. This is why we strive to provide a safe, nurturing, stimulating, soothing, and loving environment for your infant. Our caregivers are trained in early childhood development and are aware that no two infants are alike. They provide the proper guidance and set safe limits while respecting your baby’s curiosity. By allowing babies to safely explore, our caregivers are helping your child to develop confidence needed to try new things and develop new skills. An infant’s daily routine includes time each day for holding and rocking, feeding, tummy time, motor skills development, verbal interactions, music, supervised floor play, outdoor walks (weather permitting), diapering, and napping.
Infant care is provided in two different groups, Sleepers and Creepers. Sleepers are the youngest infants, usually 12 weeks old through about 6-9 months old. Sleepers still nap on demand, are bottle fed, and are developing large muscle groups in their necks, shoulders, arms, legs, and torso. While in the Sleepers’ room, infants learn to recognize and respond to their caregivers and other infants, learn to roll over, learn to crawl and pull themselves up, reach for and retrieve objects, begin to eat solid foods, play in an exer-saucer, respond to familiar voices and music, and develop their own personality. When infants are crawling and climbing on things and their curiosity has reached a higher level, they move up to the Creepers group.
The Creepers room has ample space for creeping, crawling, climbing, walking, and exploring. The older infants will be introduced to solid foods, begin developing some fine motor skills, pick up small pieces of food and feed themselves, manipulate toys, mimic sounds or begin speaking, learn to walk, take scheduled naps, and learn to interact playfully with adults and other children.
Somewhere around their first birthday, infants move into the Peepers group. Here the children are introduced to new developmental experiences, simple arts and crafts projects, their very own outdoor play ground, more complex toys, fun games and stories, music and movement activities, and self feeding. The daily routine is consistent and predictable and boundaries are clearly set. Positive behavior guidance techniques are used and the children learn to feel empathy and compassion.