Infant & Young Toddler
As early as six weeks old, your child can be welcomed into our Infant & Young Toddler classrooms by peaceful teams of well-trained educators specialized in the development of children younger than age 2. These teachers strive to connect, predict, and serve each child’s needs and temperament by following your child's natural rhythms, matching both your expectations and their constantly changing needs. Your infant or young toddler's needs will dictate the flow of their day, with teachers adjusting accordingly to ensure all children thrive in this family-like setting. Get in touch with our Admissions Office to learn more about enrolling your baby in this nurturing, engaging program.
Infants and young toddlers are steeped in a safe and secure environment, tailored to their age group, with a classroom set up as a second home—there are areas to explore, play, listen to books, and sing songs. Teachers use rich language and a soft tone to narrate and explain each transition in the day, such as the changing of a diaper or the preparing of a bottle. Specially designed areas for eating promote the child’s freedom of movement and physical development. In place of high chairs, baby rockers allow the infant to be held when drinking a bottle and low weaning seats prepare the child for eating. There is table space for meal times, where teachers sit, assist, and model for the children. Children are also able to rest when tired. Assigned, low beds are available to each child during restful periods of the day, and teachers use various soothing techniques to assure your little one receives necessary sleep.
Cognitively and physically, children are exposed to age-appropriate surroundings and activities. Children spend time outside in a stroller exploring the shade of the trees and enjoying the beauty of the grounds whenever possible. Further learning is established and explored through the use of objects and sensorial, didactic materials designed to stimulate the senses of a young child. Teachers utilize designated portions of the day to practice belly time, rolling, creeping, sitting up, and crawling, all milestones expected for the infant.
As the child transitions from infancy to toddlerhood and begins to achieve the developmental markers that lead to sturdily standing and walking or toddling, they are exposed to more stimulating works and opportunities for developing independence, language, and motor needs. When they show developmental readiness, children begin to operate on a more structured schedule, providing order and security for the young child who is beginning to see themselves as separate from the adult.
