Mother Goose Christian School Curriculum
The Infant Program
Our program for infants addresses the needs and unique differences of each child. Our younger infants have a “primary” caregiver who centers her day around the schedules of those for whom she cares. This care, while meeting basic needs for food, diapering and adequate rest, goes beyond that. This keen observer plans and enhances the interactions and activities the infant’s behavior is identifying.
Routines are the curriculum for an infant’s day. Every moment of a young child’s day offers opportunities for learning. The skilled educator catches these moments and helps each baby establish trust, discover and feel good about him/herself, tackled a motor task, realize the power of language, and begin to understand this strange new world from many angles. This is accomplished as each teacher keys into the verbal and non verbal messages the child is sending.
An infant teacher, with the education and understanding of early childhood development, knows that rich verbal interactions with children help them to understand that language is a tool for identifying and expressing their needs, ideas, and feelings in later life. Each of our caregivers knows that infants need to explore the world through mouthing and touching; viewing it as a valuable learning experience. This teacher is alert to the need for proper sanitation measures and follows them consistently and conscientiously. As the trained adult looks at the environment, she views it from the child’s eye and creates a cozy, inviting, and stimulating place for children. She understands that what is made available for children to use depends on who the children are and what their needs are developmentally. This might necessitate such measures as frequent rotation of toys to “keep up” with a growing child, or prompt a teacher to make a toy that focuses on the child’s interest or need.
