Infants (6 to 12 months)

We have separated infants into two separate classrooms as the development needs for these children are very different. Each infant room has activities tailored to encourage their individual growth and developmental stage.

Our specially designed infant care rooms are a place where babies feel safe, secure and happy. Personal cribs, separate areas for changing and feeding, and a "no-uncovered-shoes" policy, ensure clean playing, eating and sleeping spaces. Our curriculum is designed to develop and reinforce each infant's individuality. Our infant area is equipped with rocking chairs so when little ones are fed they feel secure. Mirrors, pictures, music and bright colors are also added to stimulate their senses.

Infants I(6 to 9 months)

Dramatic changes occur during this part of the first year of life, as your baby’s physical and intellectual abilities take an immense leap forward. Your 6-9 month old will be learning to sit, stand, and perhaps even crawl. In this period, babies also begin to perform deliberate actions that demonstrate their ability to remember and think. As your baby learns to sit up, roll around and shuffle from one place to another, playful interactions with your infant take place in ways that are sensitive to their interests and level of ability for physical movement, sounds and other stimuli.

Infants II(9 to 12 months)

As babies continue to grow and head towards their first birthdays, they learn and accomplish many new things that set them on their way from infancy to toddlerhood. Between the ages of 9 and 12 months, your infant is likely to utter his/her first words, and may take their first steps. This period is marked by an increasing curiosity about the nature of people and things. These developments allow children to start placing things, people, and actions in categories. To encourage their curiosity, teachers will focus on age appropriate books, while continuing to explore cause and effect games, toys that make noises, and a variety of sorting games.

Areas of Development:

Language and Literacy: Your child is learning to communicate with sounds and facial expressions. Teachers will encourage language development through modeling and constant communication.

Fine Motor Skills: Infants' fine motor skills, which include finger and hand movements, need to be stimulated in many different ways in order for them to improve. Learning Ladder offers a wide variety of fine motor skill activities for your infant, from simply shaking a rattle, to scooping up finger foods, to raking his hands through a container of cornmeal.

Gross Motor Skills: Learning Ladder addresses all of your infant's gross motor skills, which include reaching for objects, kicking, sitting, and walking. Infants are encouraged to lie on their stomachs and look at and reach for books and toys to increase their core muscle strength.

Cognitive Skills: Cognitive skills are the foundation of learning and knowledge. Learning Ladder focuses on infants' explorations of their environment. Your infant will be encouraged to make associations based on prior knowledge and explore the concept of cause and effect by dumping out toys, building and knocking down towers, and manipulating stacking rings.