Infant Toddler

INFANTS and TODDLERS

INFANT CURRICULUM

Ages 3 months to 1 year (Tribeca only)

No two babies are alike. In our infant program, each child has an individual feeding, play and sleep schedule, determined by the parents’ input and the child’s needs. A warm, loving caregiver assists each infant in sensory development and mastering motor skills like standing and walking. Infants develop a sense of trust and learn to laugh, to give and take affection and begin interactive communication.

Infants and toddlers need a safe environment rich with opportunities for active exploration. As sensory-motor beings, exploring their world and developing motor skills, they require age-appropriate play structures, manipulatives, toys and sensory materials. Our infant program is designed to stimulate development. Our goal is to expose infants to frequent positive language interactions, fostering the development of receptive, and later expressive, language.

Parent participation is a key component of our program. Our staff strives to establish a positive interactive and supportive relationship with parents. Daily updates for parents document each child’s eating, sleeping and diapering, along with a short synopsis of the day’s activities.

TODDLER CURRICULUM

Ages 1 to 2 years (Tribeca only)

As a toddler, your child will become more mobile and will develop into a unique individual through interaction with parents and family, with the BMS teachers, and with other children. The Toddler Program affords many opportunities for learning to share and cooperate in small groups. Children listen to stories, talk with adults and other children, and dramatize daily events with carefully selected play equipment.

Many different teaching opportunities are used to promote toddlers’ exploration, expression and movement, and to create an environment in which learning and friendships can thrive. Physical activities help to develop gross motor skills. Trips to the neighborhood park provide hands-on experiences with nature. Creative play with a wide variety of toys builds problem-solving abilities and fine motor skills, and encourages sharing and self-control. Making and experiencing art and music expands the children’s knowledge and appreciation, and gives them a sense of creative accomplishment.

“Our expectations of the child must be very flexible and varied. We must be able to be amazed and to enjoy, like the children often do. We must be able to catch the ball that the children throw us, and to toss it back to them in a way that makes the children want to continue the game with us, developing, perhaps, other games as we go along. ”

Tiziana Filippini