(6 weeks-18 months)
The Infant Program is designed to provide a nurturing yet challenging environment to our youngest learners. We believe that all children are unique in their developmental paths and our program reflects that. Through observation of play and responsive care, we encourage children to journey through this stage at their own pace all while building independence.
Caregiver relationships is one the primary building blocks of the infant program. Strong, loving attachments are key to development. By keeping our program mixed age, children are able to stay with a primary caregiver over a long time period. Learning takes place best in trusting, responsive relationships. (Gonzalez- Mena, p.175)
Physical milestones are another huge part of infant developmental curriculum at APG. Your child may go from rolling to running during their time in our program. The classroom may go through daily changes to adapt to these needs and transform with the children as well. We believe that reasonable or optimal stress levels stimulate growth, motivation and physical strength within each child. Infants and toddlers are very active learners, gaining knowledge through direct interaction with their surroundings and exploring with their bodies. The physical environment is carefully designed with this in mind. The physical spaces are further adapted to the children based on their interests, current abilities and to help take on new activities.
As the children in our infant program become secure with their caregivers and surroundings, they will begin to explore with social play and interactions preparing them for our preschool program and beyond!
Schedule
This schedule is adjusted to meet the needs of each individual child. Our very young children eat and sleep more often than indicated, and some of our older infants still eat and sleep at irregular intervals. The schedule below is a general outline of what the day may look like but will change based on each child’s needs.
- 8:15-9:30 Drop off/ Open play
- 9:30-9:50 Snack
- 9:50-10:00 Group Time
- 10:00-11:15 Outdoor play
- 11:15-11:45 Lunch
- 11:45-2:00 Nap Time
- 2:00-2:30 Open Play/Outdoor play/ Pick up
Naps
While our older toddlers will typically follow the schedule above, for infants we know the needs of napping are different depending on age. Teachers at APG will observe and respond sensitively when infants need to sleep, we will watch their cues and also pay attention to the amount of time they have been awake between naps. All infants will have their own cribs located in our napping room. We know that creating a calm, quiet, and dim space will help infants get restorative naps.