Purpose

A Small World Infant & Toddler Center has been established to provide infant and toddler care in a home like environment that will be conducive to the total growth and development of the child. A Small World values diversity and employs teachers trained in Early Childhood Development without regard to race, color, or creed.

Goals

• Help Infants and toddlers grow up in a safe and nurturing environment; at the same time assist them to become self reliant and independent.
• Use age appropriate methods to satisfy each child’s physical, emotional and intellectual needs
• Help Infants and toddlers explore their environment through play.
• Offer Infants and toddlers a home away from home and help them to adapt both socially and intellectually to a broader diverse environment.

Methods

The programs at A Small World Infant & Toddler Center will focus on the developmental needs of a child as a total person – his/her social growth, emotional growth, physical growth and cognitive growth. We offer programs to enhance these growths by providing a variety of stimulating activities designed to meet the needs of the children. We organize activities that introduce students to experiences with art, science, music, stories and movement.

Our programs are child centered reflecting the interests of each child in the classroom. The programs are oriented to capitalize on the child’s interest and encourage active learning to develop curiosity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Each child is allowed to explore and learn at their own pace in a safe and secure environment without fear of failure. There is emphasis on language development, perceptual discrimination, cognition and motor coordination.

We aim to create a supportive and caring atmosphere where a typical child could interact with a child of different ability, can learn more about each other, accept their sameness and differences, respect each other and develop responsibility for their behavior.

The following outlines our groups:

• Infants and beginning crawlers
• Advanced crawlers/Beginning walkers
• Advanced walkers feeding themselves

Advanced crawlers are on individual feeding and playtime schedules. Advanced walkers participate in scheduled eating, napping, and playing times. Children have outside play time when the weather is good.

Additional services for the family will include assistance in securing necessary health services, referral to the agencies, and aid to families in making maximum use of community resources.

Food and nutrition services will form an important element of the facility’s program. We believe eating is an experience out of which a child’s images of the world and his importance in it grows. Food that is eaten pleasantly together remains a great socializing tool all through life.

Days and Hours of Operation

A Small World Infant & Toddler Center will be open Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

Ages of Children Accepted

Acceptable ages of children at A Small World Infant & Toddler Center are 3 to 24 months.

Supplementary Services

Supplementary services will consist of recommendations to parents if children show marked irregularities in their physical or psychological growth or development.