Infants


6 weeks to 18 months

In this classroom your child will learn in all areas; social, emotional, physical, and academic. While in our center your child(ren) will be taught by a teacher who leads by example, loves on purpose, and motivates with care. The curriculum has been tailored for the development of children from the ages of 6 weeks old through 18 months. Your child will be given a curriculum created to fit their specific stages of learning and growth.

    1 to 3 months
    Motor skills
  • Support head and upper body when on stomach
  • Stretch out legs and kick when on stomach or back
  • Open and shut hands
  • Bring hands to mouth
  • Grab and shake hand toys
  • Swipe and bat at dangling objects
  • Push down legs when on a flat surface
  • Follow moving objects

    • Language skills
  • Make cooing sounds

    • Social/Emotional Skills
  • Smile at familiar faces
  • Enjoy playing with other people

    • 4 to 7 months
    Motor Skills
  • Roll over both ways (stomach to back, back to stomach)
  • Sit up with, and then without, support of his hands
  • Reach for object with one hand using the raking grasp
  • Transfer objects from hand to hand
  • Support whole weight when on legs and held upright
  • Explore objects with hands and mouth
  • Explore objects by banging and shaking

    • Language Skills
  • Laugh
  • Babble consonants (like ba-ba-ba-ba-ba)

    • Social/Emotional Skills
  • Distinguish emotions by tone of voice
  • Find partially hidden objects

    • 8 to 12 months
    Motor skills
  • Get in and out of a sitting position independently
  • Get on hands-and-knees position and crawl
  • Pull self-up to standing position, walk holding on to furniture, stand without support and, eventually, take a few steps without support and begin to walk
  • Use pincer grasp (thumb and first finger)
  • Place objects into container and take them out of container
  • Begin to do more functional activities, such as hold a spoon or turn pages in a book

    • Language skills
  • Say "mama" and "dada" and use these terms specifically referring to a parent
  • Use exclamations such as "oh-oh!"
  • Try to imitate words and may say first word
  • Use simple gestures, such as shaking head for "no" or waving for "bye-bye"
  • Play interactive gesture games, such as pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo

    • Social/Emotional skills
  • Easily find hidden objects
  • Use objects correctly such as holding phone up to ear or drinking from a cup
  • Shy around strangers
  • Cry when mom or dad leaves

    • 12 to 18 months
    Play & Cognitive Skills
  • Initiates turn-taking routines (shares food with parent, repeats action from parent, starts a game of peek-a-boo)
  • Hugs dolls, stuffed animals & people
  • Gives a toy to an adult to play with
  • Recognizes several people outside immediate family
  • Understands pointing
  • Plays ball with an adult
  • Identifies themselves in a mirror
  • Requests assistance from an adult when needed
  • Plays and does more than one action with a single toy (i.e. Feeds the baby, then combs her hair)

    • Language & Speech Skills
  • Follows more directions (with doll, "feed the baby" or with blocks "knock them down"
  • Responds to 'give me'
  • Points to at least 3 body parts
  • Shakes head 'yes' or 'no'
  • Says approximately 10 words
  • Attempts to sing along with songs
  • Imitates new words
  • Imitates at least 3 animal sounds-Answers 'what does a (animal) say?
  • Identifies six body parts or clothing items on dolls
  • Chooses familiar objects from a group when requested from the parent
  • Identifies objects by categories (ie. Places all blocks together, all food items in a separate place)
  • Says at least 15 words
  • Asks for "more"
  • Asks "what's that?"
  • Articulates and produces at least these sounds: p, b, m, t, d, n, h with a variety of vowels-Shows understanding of concepts (i.e. In, out, up, down, off, on, hot)

    • Fine & Gross Motor Skills
  • Stands without support
  • Walks
  • Bends and picks up objects from a standing position
  • Climbs stairs, furniture, even toys
  • Stands on toys to reach other toys
  • Begins to scribble
  • Enjoys messy activities, finger paints, etc.-Pulls and drags a stringed toy
  • Climbs up stairs better
  • Takes shoes off and on
  • Scribbles with crayons
  • Carries objects while walking-Stacks 3 blocks

    • Other Skills
  • Finds hidden objects
  • Separation Anxiety increases
  • Points to the objects he wants
  • Points to pictures in books
  • Points to objects the parent names
  • Plays with nesting cups and places at least 2-3 inside each other
  • Turns pages in a book
  • Tongue moves side to side
  • Uses a spoon independently-Goes to another room to get a requested object

Scripture

"Let the little children come to me... for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. " 

Matthew 19:14