infant & first steps
NURTURING THE YOUNGEST LEARNERS
Infants & First Steps Program – 18 Month to 2 Years
A lifelong love of learning starts at the very beginning. In the infant and first steps programs, caring and supportive teachers foster social-emotional development through nurturing relationships with the children, while babies develop physical skills as they learn to move and manipulate toys. More than just infant daycare, these programs are designed to develop children’s…
School-Readiness
• Rolling, crawling and pulling themselves up to explore their environment, which demonstrate executive function skills;
• Beginning to pay attention to people and things by watching, listening and responding to them;
• Using their senses to investigate the world around them;
• Repeatedly performing an action and attempting to achieve the same outcome demonstrate persistence, which is a hallmark of critical-thinking skills.
Career-Readiness
Developing communication skills by reacting to, recognizing and responding to verbal language;
• Making simple vocal sounds and movements to express themselves;
• Vocalizing, babbling and forming consonant and vowel combinations;
• Using fine motor skills and hand movements to hold and manipulate objects intentionally.
Life-Readiness.
Calming and comforting themselves when supported by a parent or caregiver, which demonstrate the development of social-emotional intelligence;
• Responding to and engaging in caretaking routines with a familiar adult;
• Forming and maintaining a secure attachment to a parent or caregiver;
• Attempting new and varied movements in the first steps classroom, including walking across the room, walking backward and marching.
Our infant program guides your baby’s early experiences toward a lifelong love of learning.
Our School teachers spend lots of time cuddling and talking to your baby to instill trust. They provide a healthy early learning environment for movement, exploration, and communication.
Our infant care play area is filled with toys and books to help your baby develop at his or her own pace. Teachers sing songs and read stories to encourage language acquisition, and they pass balls and play games to develop children’s motor skills.
Teachers work with the parents to develop the child’s daily schedule, including nap times, playtimes and feeding times. The First Steps classroom helps the children transition from infancy to toddlerhood as the budding explorers learn new vocabulary and self-help skills. All programs are customized to your child’s progress, needs, and age.