The infant Program (ages 3 – 24 months)

Our infant environment is a safe, beautiful, and orderly place that provides activities and materials for our youngest children aged 3 to 24 months. Education as an “Aid to Life” begins from the period of pregnancy by assisting the expectant family with helpful information on childbirth, the newborn infant's needs for specific nurturing, and on suitable clothing and environments. We believed that children at this age develop best when provided with appropriate freedom in a safe and carefully prepared environment that respects the needs and desires of the infant as a person.

The infant program is decided to nurture and stimulate the development of infants in a way that promotes independence and self-esteem. Our program is specially prepared to meet the developmental needs of infants. Through simple displays and aesthetic order, the infant room environment is designed to respect, support and respond to the infant’s sensorial development and learning. The trust and sense of belonging gained through the infant’s interaction with caring adults encourages the infant to explore and learn. 

Our primary focus is to address the three basic needs of the infant (which operate on both a physical and psychological level) by creating:

• A safe and caring connection between adult and child.
• An environment that encourages the development of the infant’s growing sense of self and independence.
• Freedom to move so that the infant develops an understanding of his body in space.

The infant room environment is nurturing and home-like to allow the infants to explore, interact and fulfill their needs. The furniture and materials are made to reflect the proportions of children in this age range in order to enable successful development toward independence. The environment and activities are carefully designed to meet their unique needs during this sensitive period.

The comforting, warm and inviting infant room environment is prepared to enhance all aspects of the development of infants through calm and nurturing stimulation. The simplicity of the aesthetic order meets the varying developmental needs of infants. The beautiful furniture and materials are carefully designed to support safe discovery and sensorial development as infants explore the world around them.

Our infant program respects the uniqueness of each child and is designed to meet his/her specific needs. By collaborating with parents, we offer consistent practices and nurturance.

The staff is the key to the environment, and will guide the children, creating a learning opportunity in every moment. Our staff is trained in child development and highly attentive to the individual needs of each infant. Communication with families is extremely important to promote a consistent environment between the home and the school.

Optimal infant development is supported by recognizing and meeting the needs of the young child. Children in our infant program are given freedom to move, eat, sleep, and communicate at will, guided by special materials and furniture to facilitate this development. The guides will work with each family to formulate an individual plan for feeding, rest, toileting, and activities. Observing and respecting each child’s natural rhythms facilitates growth. As children’s interest in communication and movement develops, they begin to seek a broader environment for stimulation and become ready to join our Infant Community.

More learning takes place in the first two years than at any other time in a child’s life. The brain develops rapidly, and this growth is aided by the child’s physical experiences.

Our infant room environment contains various areas that provide purposeful activities.

• Parents will bring diapers for their own children.
• Infants are offered opportunities to sit on the potty or child-sized toilet (with assistance)
• Through frequent changing, the child learns about his/her body function
• As soon as the child begins to crawl, training pants are used with diaper cover to offer ease of movement.

• Infant is held and fed with breast milk or formula provided by the parents by staff.
• Children who begin to be able to sit with support will sit on a child-sized chair at a table during meals and learn to use a spoon and glass with guidance.

• Infants sleep or rest on a crib (3-12 months) or a floor bed/mat (12 months or older).
• Floor beds provide the infant a psychologically and physically comfortable place for resting.
• Floor beds serve as an important point of reference for the adult guide to respect the child’s rhythm.
• All children under the age of one year are initially placed on their backs to sleep for a healthy and safe sleep.
• As the infant learns to roll over, and is at no risk of respiratory distress, adults respect the child’s choice of sleeping position, monitoring for safety.

• Appropriately-sized furniture, movement apparatus, and social interactions, Aids in developing physical precision and confidence.
• The infant is able to move freely in the environment that supports upper body strength.
• Materials are made of natural materials, allows for exploration and connection with the various resources which nature provides.

• Stationary work with mobiles that encourage visual development, offers a variety of appropriately challenging, sensorial experiences to bolster the acquisition of purposeful movement and language.
• Custom made apparatus, encourages grasping, rolling, slithering, scooting, crawling, pulling up to stand, and walking.

• The infant absorbs the world around him/her through his/her five senses, attracts the infant's interest and fulfills his/her natural urge to explore the world.
• A rich environment with beautiful materials, lengthens his/her span of concentration.

• Opportunity to acquire Mandarin by listening to the native speakers in the environment, an optimum time for language acquisition.
• Children are always curious about the world around them and love to know the names of things. They hear, remember and understand -- even when they do not yet speak, constant exposure to meaningful communication leads the infant to naturally use the language of the adults around them when they are ready.
• Young children are in the most sensitive period for acquiring language which helps promote language development.
• Language is enriched through conversations, songs, poems and stories as well as beautiful materials, to enhance the development of self-expression, expanded language materials and use of exacting vocabulary and precise grammar.

Our school community offers a variety of support for families of children in the infant program. We can also recommend websites, books, articles and videos that offer insights into how families can take advantage of the other resources from the community.

• Parents/Guardians of a child in the infant program must complete a Needs & Services Plan Form, to ensure that it meets the infant child’s ongoing needs.
• Updated quarterly or as necessary.