Creative Curriculum Infant Curriculum

In our Infant programs the staff follow each child’s own individual schedule rather than a set classroom schedule. Therefore, curriculum and schedules happen naturally and differently each day.

• Every infant is on an individualized program according to her needs.
• During “needs something” time staff provide one on one quality attention for the child by meeting basic needs such as feeding, diapering, attachment, napping and communication
• During “needs nothing” time staff are given the opportunity to join a child to explore and experience the environment.
• The infant room does not have a formulated schedule; instead our providers are on the children’s schedule.
• Our rooms have “A No Shoe Policy” in order to keep the environment as clean as possible.
• Children are able to experience the outdoors on buggy rides or on a blanket on the lawn.
• Infants also utilize our attached outdoor deck for large motor skill development.

The following areas of development are enhanced in our program. We encourage children to learn and meet milestones at their own pace in the following areas:

• Physical Development
• Social/Emotional Development
• Language Development
• Cognitive Development

Some examples of the activities you will see are:

• Reading lots and lots of books!
• Cause and Effect Toy exploration
• Music and purposeful movement
• Art exploration with media such as finger paint, fabrics, and tissue
• Soft block building
• Dramatic play with dolls and toys
• Nursery rhymes, finger plays and songs
• Climbing on soft activity foam and structures
• Lots of hugs and attention!

We foster attachment, esteem and development in a number of ways. Communicating with infants is key: we talk with them constantly while diapering, feeding, and going about daily events. We invest quality time in being totally available to the infant. As well, we observe the children to learn their system of communication and facilitate nonverbal clues through some sign language. We also find modeling for infants to be crucial to their development (i.e. how to use the cup, how to build with foam blocks, etc.). Lastly, as infants become interactive, we facilitate problem solving among their peers and/or when they are finding a task difficult and need to master it. At the core of our philosophy is the knowledge that every child is unique.