Infants

6 weeks to 18 months - 3 to 5 full days from 7:30am to 6:00pm

The first months and years of a child’s life are the most formative in development of mind, body and spirit. Sleep, emotional and physical nourishment and sensory stimulation are more important in infancy than at any other time. The most important need for these children is warm, nurturing care from the adults they depend on, as well as, providing them with secure surroundings and playthings that meet their needs and support their individual development.

The development of language is particularly crucial during the infant-toddler period. Therefore, we will provide many opportunities for your infant to engage in meaningful, experienced-based communication with their caregivers, and have their communications acknowledged and encouraged.

Infants need to play an active role in planning the program curriculum with the caregiver in the role of the facilitator of learning based on the child’s individual needs at each crucial stage of development. Little Pals Preschool/Daycare uses a Responsive Approach to Curriculum Planning for Infants and Toddlers based on recommendations from the Early Childhood Learning Knowledge Center. In a responsive curriculum our staff prepares themselves and the nursery environment using strategies to keep alive children’s internal motivation to learn, and their spontaneous explorations of people and things of interest and importance to them. Our curriculum will change in response to the infant’s developing interests and changing needs.

Our Goals are to:

To provide a safe, loving, nurturing and engaging environment.
To establish and maintain trusting relationships as a basis for exploration of their environment.
To ensure that your young infant learns that people respond when they are in need.
To ensure that your mobile infant learns that people protect them when they explore their environment.
To ensure that your toddler learns that it is okay to try to do things independently of others.