Infant Room
Our goal in the infant room is to ease the transition from the home environment to the school environment while promoting independence as the children grow from infancy to toddlerhood. We allow for each child to have their own schedule which we follow and understand. Our teachers are trained to fully understand the infant from birth to eighteen months and the environment changes as the child grows and their developments change.
The materials in this room are designed for self discovery and exploration by allowing the infant to use all of their senses. Infants learn by mouthing, feeling, listening and watching things. Realistic animals, textured manipulatives, and in and out toys are examples. The infant room is set up to allow freedom to develop their physical as well as their intellectual skills. There are toys for pushing and pulling, climbing, hand transfers, and room for movement.
As the children begin to eat solids, they are placed in feeding chairs on the child’s level and as their skills progress; they are transitioned to appropriately sized chairs and tables where self feeding skills are fostered. This develops children’s hand eye coordination and fulfills their need to do it themselves.
Infancy is also an important time for the development of language; therefore the teacher will model appropriate skills with the children. In addition, there are many books with realistic pictures, short circle times and musical activities to stimulate proper language development.
When the parent, child and teachers, in communication with each other, feel the child is ready, toilet training will be introduced. For instance, we begin to teach the child to pull and push their pants up and down and begin becoming comfortable sitting on the toilet and washing their own hands.
All of these activities will help the child successfully transition and develop to their next stage of childhood. This is all done in partnership with the parents as we understand this can be a challenging, exciting and wonderful time for parents as the child grows. The Carolina School teachers and staff are there to support our families as their child grows.
