We believe in building strong partnerships with our families for optimal care of infants and toddlers. Each unique family has a child with individual and varying temperaments, rates of development and interests. We see young children as curious, motivated learners who are also dependent upon adults for nurturance, support and guidance. They need to be both respected as learners and protected in their vulnerability. At our agency, we work intently to strike that delicate balance.
Our Program
Our infant/toddler programs implement the philosophical approach of West Ed’s Program for Infant Toddler Care (PITC).This philosophically sound and research based approach provides us with a framework of quality care for how children grow and develop over time. In addition, the framework guides the quality of care we provide in our infant/toddler programs through our primary care teachers, individualized care, small intimate groups, and continuity of care until age 3 years, cultural continuity between the center and family and inclusion of children with varying needs.
Individualized Care Routines
Each child will have his/her own primary care teacher who learns about children’s unique needs such as feeding, toileting, napping and who responds to your child through each stage of learning and development. Our care teachers adapt to your child’s particular pace, cues, needs schedule, rhythms and styles until the child is at least 3 years of age. Working in these small, intimate groups of 3-4 infants or 4-6 toddlers gives us the opportunity to support relationship building and to encourage individual choice, problem solving, and discoveries in the process of learning. Each care teacher comes to know each family’s distinct preferences and concerns in caring for their individual child. This provides us the opportunity to bridge the connection between your home care routines and culture with our center care allowing for continuity and seamless transitions.
Our Staff & Environment
Our nurturing and educated care teachers plan and prepare a learning environment which fosters children’s initiative, active exploration with materials and engagement with other children and care teachers. Our environment offers opportunities for children to busy themselves with work, play and amusement simultaneously. Our care teachers include areas to develop small muscles such as toys they can take apart and put together, things to grasp and hold, pick up and dump out. We also include areas and activities to develop sensory perception such as water play, sticky materials, play dough, things that are soft, hard, and rough and etc. Large muscle opportunities such as outdoor play, things they can run on, jump on and climb as well as materials to support creative expression such as music, dancing, scarves, crayons, and paint.
