Children's Place Co-op Daycare
Infant Program
12 weeks to 2 years old
We believe that infants need to feel safe and loved. Infants learn through play, exploration, repetition, watching others, and by doing hands-on activities.
​Our play space offers play and exploration, the staff sit on the floor and play with the infants. Staff also read books and observe infant play. Immobile infants will be placed in the middle of the group to encourage relationships. At Children’s Place Co-op Inc our infants, preschoolers, and school age children are all encouraged to play and explore together. When other children join the infants in their room it promotes development of communication skills. We find this experience helps the infants with their transition to the preschool group.
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We change our toys and books on a regular basis to ensure that infants stay engaged with their surroundings. Mobiles and pictures are used during diaper changes to promote language and cognitive development. We ask the infant, while they are being changed, to locate different objects to help link objects with language.
Music and singing songs with infants is very important for learning and development. We sing a large number of songs daily that the infants have learned and can ask for. These song times are not mandatory and are always infant-led. The infants choose what order the songs are sung, how many times, and the duration of the period. Some infants may choose not to participate, which is acceptable.
We believe that the infant’s individual routine is more important than the routine of the center. The care giving space is set up to meet individual needs by the infant’s personal schedule. If an infant requires two naps per day these requests are accommodated. We try to follow their home routine as best as possible to make the transition as easy as possible. This can include special comfort toys from home, rocking infants to sleep, and snuggling during bottle times. If infants are sleeping at alternate times from the daycare’s schedule, they are still allowed play and exploration times with other children. This may mean that preschoolers join the infant side or that the infant joins an outdoor preschool exploration.
Representing an infant’s individuality is important. We show infants similarities and differences that exist in society. We use books, pictures, dolls, crafts, and music to show these differences. We attend a cultural Canada Day celebration yearly. We also believe that being part of the community is important. Children’s Place Co-op Inc take the children for walks in the community to explore where we live.
