Infants Program
6 weeks - 12 months
The Infants' classroom is an open, airy space supplied with colorful, engaging toys and cozy cribs. Babies in our program are soothed, cuddled and engaged through all their senses.
Core Care Groups and Ratios
It's a known fact that young children, and especially infants, thrive on repetition. That's why at First Steps Early Childhood Learning Center, your child will have an assigned professional caregiver that will tend to their every need, from feeding to diaper changing to sensory play. Our teachers follow an adult to child ratio of 1:4 in the Infant Classroom.
Curriculum
Young children are very curious about the world around them, and infants certainly are no exception! Our teachers use the State of Missouri approved High Scope Infant & Toddler Curriculum as the basis for activities they develop for each child on their individual weekly lesson plans. You can expect your child to engage in many different sensory experiences each day, as well as exposure to language, books, and music.
Daily Schedule
At First Steps Early Childhood Learning Center we recognize that infants are on different schedules and require unique, individualized care. We work with parents to create a schedule that best fits the infant and needs of the family. Caregivers work to maintain a soothing home like environment that recognizes each baby's natural feeding, sleeping, and play rhythms.The following components are integrated into each infant’s schedule, and allow infants to explore,develop, and grow.
- Morning: Receive the infant from the parents. Recording on the "HiMama App” which includes arrival time, last time fed, quantity of feeding, as well as notification of the last time changed. Based on this information the provider will know how to schedule the infant’s day; i.e. feeding, changing, naps, and etc.
- Personal Needs: Feeding, Diapering, and Napping
- Cuddling, rocking: Creating nurturing relationships is essential in an infant classroom, and teachers take the time to bond with each infant.
- Circle time, finger plays, singing songs: Infants respond to music, movement, and sounds; therefore we ensure that they receive gentle stimulation through songs, finger plays, and small group interactions.
- Exploring age appropriate toys, reading books, art projects: Babies learn by exploring the world around them. We strive to provide a comprehensive curriculum that provides opportunities for infants to explore new toys, discover books, and enjoy projects.
- Floor time: Infants need time to stretch, move, crawl and climb. By incorporating gross motor development with play, infants are motivated to move and explore.
- Language Development: We incorporate High/Scope curriculum, Your Baby Can Read and Baby Einstein videos into our daily routine to promote early language development.
Enrolling an infant at First Steps, read our infant supply list for items you will need to bring to the center. You may also want to read more about First Steps Childcare's Safe Sleeping Practices