Infant Program.
The Montessori Method focuses on the holistic development of a child, through the right environment and care. We offer the Montessori Infant Program, designed with our youngest learners in mind. Our Infant Programs are modeled after Maria Montessori’s concept of “Nido” or “Nest”. The “Nido” concept inspires the feelings of warmth and safety which encourages the infants in our care to explore their environment confidently.
Our Infant program cares for children ages 6 weeks to 18 months old. It is designed to help curious infants develop their gross motor skills, fine motor skills, and coordination, promote early language skills, encourage social skills, and to foster independence by building up their confidence. Our trained teaching staff create a fun and age appropriate infant curriculum to help the infants in their care reach developmental milestones while feeling loved and secure.
The Prepared Environment.
Maria Montessori attached expressed vital importance to the initial formative years and believed that education starts at birth. An infant experiences everything in their environment through their senses.
During this first year, a child begins experiencing the world around them for the first time, giving rise to their language, movements, and relationships with their surrounding environments and others around them. An infant’s curiosity leads to the growth of coordinated actions involving gross and fine motor skills.
The infant room in our schools is carefully curated with each aspect of the child’s development in mind. A child can freely explore, learn, and grow physically and intellectually in a safe environment. Your child’s natural process of acquiring language is further stimulated with engaging songs, sign language, and stories from the teachers in the classroom. Our team of teachers lead the infant through stimulating activities with the utmost care through verbal cues and modeling behaviors.
So, what is the difference between us and a traditional daycare facility? The difference lies in the educational approach followed in our classrooms. A Montessori Infant environment is specifically designed with materials and furniture placement to encourage brain and movement development.
Ample Classrooms
The rooms are designed with ample space to enable the children to practice gross motor skill movements such as rolling, scooting, crawling, and walking. To promote the advancement of a child’s motor skills, furniture items that restrict activity are eliminated from the classroom, such as walkers and playpens. Instead, we employ various simple techniques to enhance their development.
- Soft floor mats and bolsters cover the floor to ensure safe free movement and gross motor skill development of the children.
- Well-positioned mirrors for self-discovery in a fun way.
- Various safe furniture and walls mounted with low bars to help small ones to stand.
- Educational materials to stimulate curiosity and exploration.
Encourage Inquisition
We have a different set of supportive environments for older infants who have newly discovered their walking or movement ability. We have various means to encourage these highly inquisitive children.
- Cognitive sensorial materials like puzzles, shapes, sorting, and activity walls.
- Various sensory activities involving water play, paint, and items with varied textures.
- Attractive, simple toys to help children practice gross motor movements such as push, pull, etc.
Supportive Environments
We provide a host of amenities in comparison to the other daycare facilities such as:
- Low lying furniture specially designed for young ones to give them a sense of independence when choosing materials to work with.
- A comfortable nap area where children can safely rest.
- A soft-surfaced outdoor play area with numerous attractive pieces of equipment for playing.
- Multi-seat buggies for fun rides in and around the school.
Parent Communication.
Open communication is the best way to become close partners with your infant’s teacher and be an active participant in your child's developmental process.
We aim to create a 'home-like' environment for your child at our school so that they feel safe and comfortable. We utilize all the information you share with us to make the transition from home to school as seamless as possible. This information includes their daily routine, feeding habits, temperament, sleep preferences, and various other essential details.
We provide information about your infant’s day through our LifeCubby app. The LifeCubby app allows us to share snack and meal information, diaper change notifications, nap times, and the ability for parents to send messages and receive responses when appropriate throughout the day. We encourage our parents to be patient while waiting for a teacher’s response through LifeCubby as they are focused on caring for the children in the classroom. If there is an urgent matters are best communicated via phone call.
Under our policy of open communication, we encourage parents to attend all parent-teacher meetings and communicate honestly with the teacher. We understand many of you may be first time parents or may be leaving their infants in someone else's care for the first time. We understand and welcome your phone calls, emails, and messages.
We are honored to be a trusted part of your family’s life and to guide your infant into becoming a happy well adjusted toddler!
An Infant’s Day At Our School.
Every child is unique, and so is their daily routine, which has a more or less fixed time for basic things like eating, sleeping, and playing. Upon enrollment, parents will receive an Infant Needs and Services Plan. This document is to outline the infant's daily routine. Prior to the infant’s first day of school, the parents and teacher will meet to go over the plan and design a program around each child’s specific needs. In this way, the infant’s home and school day will sync for consistent care.
Teacher to Infant Ratios
We believe in providing consistent careful care and attention to each child and follow a 4:1 ratio. In other words, with a maximum of 12 infants, there will be at least 3 teachers in the classroom, one of them being a lead teacher.
Under our policy of transparency, we declare the appropriate ratio in our infant room of 4:1 is followed at all times. A Lead Teacher is in charge of the whole educational process and maintains frequent communications with the parents.
Feeding
Learning to eat independently is a fundamental skill acquired at this age. We support all families through the transition from bottle or breastfeeding to solid food a smooth one.
The Infant classroom is equipped with a refrigerator/freezer, microwave, and bottle warmer to cater to and ensure properly prepared meals. Age appropriate foods, such as finger-foods, jarred meals, homemade purees, formula milk, and even breast milk are prepared according to the parent’s directions.
For infants that are breastfed, we recommend beginning bottle feeding your infant for as soon as possible before starting in the infant class. This will assist your infant in a smoother transition into the program. As some infants are moving past the bottle stage and desire to be more autonomous, our teachers are happy to assist with the transition from bottles to age appropriate cups.
Sleeping
We understand the importance of sleep and strive to provide a peaceful atmosphere in our napping area. We have designed the sleeping area with minimum noise and maximum peacefulness. Infants under the age of 1 year nap in their own designated crib, while infants 1 year and older nap on cots to begin the transition from infant to toddler.
We go a step further by incorporating the techniques you use at home along with the experts' guidance and tips. Our experienced teachers will encourage sleep training by initially allowing pacifiers or by rocking the newly enrolled child. Slowly and gently, your infant will be weaned off of these aids and achieve the security and comfort to fall asleep independently, allowing for a restful sleep.
It is our policy to allow children in all age groups to self regulate their sleeping needs. This includes waking on their own and not being woken up by our teachers. If your infant arrives at school and is asleep, our teacher will assess the situation and decide whether it is best to allow the infant to remain in their carrier or place them comfortably into their crib and let them awaken naturally from their sleep. All our efforts are dedicated to helping your child develop the habit of natural sleeping when tired.
Book a Personalized Tour.
Students are admitted on a first-come, first served basis, subject to availability at the selected school. When you tour the school you will have the opportunity to observe children in the classroom. Seeing the classes in session is important and will help you understand how our classrooms work. We will also explain Montessori philosophy and answer any questions you might have.
