Ages 6 weeks to 12 months
Our infant program is designed to provide your little one with a loving and nurturing environment that encourages your baby’s social/emotional, language, cognitive and physical development. Caregivers engage your child in play activities that stimulate your baby’s exploration of the world. Outside play occurs daily and will give your infant an opportunity to experience nature and science and develop gross motor skills. Teacher sing and read aloud to infants to encourage their language development. Teachers engage infants in conversation to stimulate their interest in the world about them. Repetitive play activities like peek-a-boo, linking block assembly, and cause and effect toys encourage your child’s cognitive development. Infant play occurs individually and in small groups to promote social development. Caregivers record your child’s progress so they can plan effectively to meet your infant’s developmental needs.
Stimulating Development Through Play
Birth to 6 weeks
- Positioning infant to see faces of teachers and fellow students
- Musical toys for infant to listen to on play mat
- Read to infant while holding her so she can see book
- Hold infant in crook of arm looking out from caregiver’s body
- Place infant on side, stomach and back to observe toys and mobiles
- Stroke infant’s face, arms, legs and back while cooing to and singing to infant
- Talk to infant, repeatedly referring to infant by name
- Put mirror in crib for infant to see when in crib
- Lie down beside infant on play mat and smile and coo to infant
6 weeks to 3 months
- Hold infant in front of mirrors to observe caregiver and self
- Hold brightly colored soft rattles and easily grasped toys within reach of infant
- Place standing gym over baby on mat when lying on back
- Use links to attach black and white cards to swings for infant to see
- Black and white, or colored wrist and foot rattles
- Lie down beside infant on play mat and let him grasp at your face, fingers, hair
- Take infant for walk in stroller in an upright position
3 to 6 months
- Place child on playmat with toys just barely out of reach
- Roll balls in front of infant and to infant
- Talk with infant. Respond to infant’s coos as though they were meaningful sentences
- Hold bottle just out of reach of infant encouraging her to grasp for it
- Begin sitting infant in upright position with support both with and without toys
- Present two toys to infant to choose from
- Read to infant while holding so he can see book
- Play with squeaking and chiming toys
- Infants will become fussier as they attempt to master the following:
- Rolling from stomach to back and back to stomach
- Crawling
- Grasping and releasing objects
- Sitting
- Maneuvering into an all 4’s position
- Give child down time to process stimulation and work on mastering gross motor skills
6 to 9 months
*It is not uncommon to see an infant who has been with you since birth display separation anxiety for the first time around this age. Play should address this by teaching child that things go away and they come back.
- Play “Peek-a-boo”
- Hide and retrieve toys from beneath blanket
- Play with chiming, squeaking or talking toys
- Read to infant while she is sitting up and hold book so she can see
- Experiment with touching different textures
- Wave “Hi” and “Bye-Bye” to each other
- Roll ball to child, encourage him to roll back
- Blow bubbles in front of infant for her to chase after
- Dance while holding infant in arms
- Play clapping games
- Practice blowing kisses
- Have a safe mat area with a pull up bar where the infant can practice pulling up
- Allow child to climb on you
- Make blanket mountains for infant to cross
- Allow child down time in crib to process stimulation
9 to 12 months
- Dance while supporting child in standing position
- Allow child to experiment with edging around furniture
- Make light of falls
- Walk with child inside and outside
- Introduce pull toys for child
- Roll balls and toy cars along floor for child to go after
- Blow bubbles for child to chase
- Large sitting and climbing toys
- Roll on floor with infant, allow child to climb on you
- Sit in front of mirror with infant and talk
- Make game of asking child to give you toys and thank him
- Play stretching games in front of mirror “So Big!”
- Ask child to show you facial parts
- Read books on playmat to child
- Sing songs that incorporate names of children
- Expect to see fussiness as child attempts to master the following:
- Pulling up into a standing position
- Walking (this occurs anywhere from 10 – 15 months of age)
