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Infants & Young Toddlers
(6 weeks – approx. 16 months)

Beginning with very young children, we strive to provide a secure, flexible environment to meet each child's individual needs. We believe that it is important that babies eat when they are hungry and sleep when they are tired. Physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development is fostered by a high level of personal contact and appropriate environmental stimulation, including songs and instrumental music. Indoor and outdoor walks (weather permitting) give babies a change of scenery each day.

We encourage parental visits. We also invite siblings to see their younger brothers and sisters. To help cut down on the incidents of disease and to keep the baby area clean, all visitors to the baby room must remove their shoes. We invite family members to visit the baby room in small numbers and by prearrangement. We encourage• nursing mothers or parents of infants to come to Common Ground at their convenience to feed or play with their babies. We want this earliest "home away from home" experience to be a positive one for both the little ones and their parents. We invite your suggestions as well.

Babies move into the Older Infants room at approximately one year of age. Here they have opportunities to practice gross motor skills and self-help routines such as eating and hand washing and to begin an awareness of basic social skills. At this stage, creative activities with simple art materials are introduced, and there is emphasis on play with a variety of toys. Children learn best by doing, and we encourage them• to do as much as they can. Songs with simple words and tunes, often accompanied by hand and body motions, are sung with the children regularly. Dolls, building blocks, books, and colorful toys help children act out what they have seen others do. Play helps children develop life skills. We encourage children to play in creative ways and to play safely.

General Daily Schedule for Older Infants