Infant / Waddler
Our Infant and Waddler Program is designed to enrich, nurture, and respect every baby in our care. Each child is on his/her own individual schedule and our teachers work closely with parents to create a program that fits their child’s pattern for sleeping, eating, playing and learning. Our teachers are there to encourage and enhance every aspect of an infant’s development and growth. The Infant and Waddler Program has a teacher to child ratio of 1 to 4.
The daily activities are designed with a tender, loving philosophy. We provide a rich sensory environment in our infant/waddler classrooms including music – an important tool in speech and language development. As well as recorded music, the infants are sung to, coddled, held and played with throughout the day. These are our highest priorities for your child. Our certified teacher and teacher’s assistant also teach infants simple sign language to help them communicate their needs and minimize frustration.
Children are held frequently and spend both individual and group time with staff. Babies movefrequently throughout the day from being held, sitting in a highchair, swinging, to floor play time . Daily activities include:
- One-on-one quiet time
- Naps
- Feedings
- Tummy time
- Crawl time
- Bouncy swing and stroller time
- Music time
- Small group discovery
- Large group activities
- Large muscle repetitive activities
- Introduction to fine motor activities
As infants grow older, push toys and other age appropriate toys are provided to encourage standing and walking. Outdoor playtime is another important part of our child care program. The children enjoy time outside every day, weather permitting. Special activities include parent/child breakfasts and luncheons, parenting workshops, and holiday activities.
A chart tracking each child’s day (sleeping, diaper changes, feeding, etc.) is given to parents along with the teacher’s comments or notes of daily activities. Our primary goal is to help our infants and waddlers feel secure and happy.