Curriculum & Programming for Infants

Setting Up the Physical Environment Infant Care

Setting Up the Physical Environment: Basic Considerations Infants sleep much of the day When awake, infants learn best from interactions with adults When awake, infants learn from playing with a variety of toys As early as 6 months, infants enjoy interactions with other infants Needs and schedules for infants can change on a daily basis Infants are vulnerable to contagious illness and over-stimulation

Equipping the Infant Room Sleeping area Changing area Feeding area Bouncy chairs and swings Storage areas for infant supplies Play areas

Selecting Learning Materials Shelf toys 3-6 months: Rattles, soft squeak toys, cradle gyms, musical toys, washable dolls, animals 6-9 months: Toy telephones, roly-poly toys, pop-up toys, colorful wheel toys, unbreakable mirrors, washable cuddle toys 9-14 months: “busy boards,” fill and dump toys, rolling toys, push and pull toys, large balls, soft blocks, cloth or cardboard blocks Sensory bin Splashing water, finger painting with pudding, rubbing hands in wet cornstarch Dishpans Music area CD / MP3 player Selecting Learning Materials

Arranging the Infant Room Separation between awake and sleeping babies Changing and feeding areas should be easily accessible from both wakeful and sleeping areas Easy access to running water, refrigeration, covered waste disposal cans, and food warmer Adult look-out spot with full visibility Carpet the floor area Enclose play area Arrange toys and books on shelves and group similar items Music should be accessible to adults not children 2-foot wide walkway at all exits

Sample infant room layout

Some Real Infant rooms

Some Real Infant rooms

Physical Development Infants

Infants’ Physical Development Young infants (0-9 months) Born with all basic movements Turn toward sounds Follow moving objects Practice movements such as lifting the head, supporting oneself with the arms and then rolling over and sitting Increase the ability to explore and discover through mastery of small-muscle skills, such as bringing the hand to the mouth, reaching, swatting, grasping, raking, and using an immature pincer grasp to pick up small objects three-week old reaching for pacifier 5 month old baby reaching

Infants’ Physical Development Older infants (9-14 months) Learn to use motor skills to achieve desired goals Crawl, creep, pull to standing, cruise, walk with help, ride scooting toys, and walk alone in a predictable sequence baby walking Enjoy mastering motor skills and want to share accomplishments Always on the move Use objects to hold, mouth, bang, drop, pick up, turn, and put together baby and laundry

Activities that enhance large-muscle development 0-3 months Change baby’s position Kicking Reaching out tummy time 3-6 months Reaching and grasping Turning from side to side Pull-ups 6-9 months Come and get it Sitting up 9-14 months Pulling up Ball games Walking Feeding Tunnel crawl

Activities that enhance small-muscle development 0-3 months Provide shake toys with handles Provide toys and materials with different textures for feeling 3-6 months Provide toys for handling and mouthing Provide objects for visual tracking, such as mobiles, fish in a tank, soap bubbles, wind-up cars and pendulums 6-9 months Develop hand strength with squeeze toys Activity boards require infants to hold onto, poke at, and pull on things Finger foods Stuffed animals and soft dolls 9-14 months Simple finger plays, like Where is Thumbkin? Blocks and objects for filling and dumping from buckets Sensory experiences like painting and pudding

Cognitive Development Infants

Infants’ Cognitive Development Young infants (0-9 months) Each is unique in terms of temperament, coping ability, and developmental timetable Work hard to make sense of the world by listening, watching and touching Programmed from birth to engage in interactions with adults By 4-5 months of age, can make interesting things happen again Put together sensations and information from different senses Show interest in new information Get accustomed to familiar sights and sounds

Infants’ Cognitive Development Older infants (9-14 months) Learn through exploration and discovery Anticipate new events based on past experiences Recognize that people can affect objects and other people Imitate actions and expressions Empty and fill, open and shut, push and pull, poke and prod Look at objects that the caregiver is pointing to Use simple tools, such as shovels, spoons and drumsticks Show awareness of object permanence pop culture object permanence

Activities that promote problem-solving skills 0-3 months Look & stare - can infants focus their eyes on brightly colored objects? Tracking - first side to side, then vertically, then in circles Grasping - place objects in infants’ hands Sound search 3-6 months Rattle shake - give infants the rattle Banging toys Reaching activities Kicking activities Peek-a-boo Squeaky toy manipulation

Activities that promote problem-solving skills 6-9 months Squeak toy play Cause-and-effect activities (pop up or musical toys) Hidden objects Block towers for the infant to knock down Rianne playing with blocks 9-14 months Rolling balls with play-by-play narration Hidden object games Reaching challenges Emptying treasures from a bin game infant problem solving rings

Infants’ Creative Development Creativity a trait that enables children to find new ways to arrange materials, ask questions or solve problems Young infants (0-9 months) Sensitive to sensory information from birth Use new information to learn about the world Distinguish between new and familiar information, and can tune out information that is overwhelming Enjoy listening to different kinds of music, experiencing rhythmic movement, and looking at colorful displays and designs Older infants (9-14 months) Active experimenter, trying out new ways of playing and interacting Try a variety of actions on the same object, such as hitting, banging, shaking, tasting and dropping Try the same actions on a variety of new objects, noticing the ways in which different objects react

Activities that Encourage Sensory Exploration Texture rubs Bubbles 1 c. dishwasher detergent to 1 c. water and 1 tbsp of glycerin Cornmeal play Spaghetti pull Finger painting (older infants) Sand play Different textured paper play Sound exploration baby sensory activities

Activities for Exploring Music Play soothing music for feeding and sleep, upbeat when awake Encourage moving to music Instrument play Action songs Some artists…. Raffi Sharon, Lois & Bram The Wiggles

Language and Communication Infants

Infants’ Communicative Development Young infants (0-9 months) From birth, seek and respond to human contact Capable of communicating feelings, wants and needs through smiles, cries and gestures Initiate “conversations” with others in a back and forth manner, using looks and babbling sounds Signal the need for a break from the conversation by looking or turning away Enjoy cooing, babbling and changing pitch and volume Recognize familiar voices by looking toward the speaker or quieting and seeking eye contact Different sounding cries indicate hunger, distress, and other needs or wants

Infants’ Communicative Development Older infants (9-14 months) Tune into words and phrases like bye-bye, up, and more By 12-13 months, begin to use recognizable words, such as wawa, Mama Use recognizable words and strings of sounds that sound like talking Recognize the difference between playful and soothing words and words that signal disapproval and may stop what they are doing when they hear No or Hot Use language to initiate and maintain contact with parents and caregivers

Activities that promote communication skills 0-3 months Talk with wakeful baby Sing lullabies and songs Turn-taking 3-6 months Face-to-face interaction, following pattern of talk-pause-talk-pause Picture shows 6-9 months Babble some of the sounds you know the baby can make Clapping and waving Smelling flowers Body parts 9-14 months “Show me the…” game “Point to the X” in the picture book Songs, chants and nursery rhymes Family albums or collages

Emotional Development Infants

Infants’ Emotional Development Young infants (0-9 months) Developing a sense of trust and learning to make predictions Learn ways of self-comforting Demonstrate a variety of emotions, including sadness, anger, surprise and happiness Learn to respond to a smile with a smile Show emerging awareness of self by playing with own hands or by touching caregiver’s mouth than her own Develop preferences for certain sights, sounds, ways of being held, objects and activities Enjoy active play but can get overstimulated

Infants’ Emotional Development Older infants (9-14 months) Discover that they are agents who can make things happen Take the lead in initiating interactions Respond to mirror image by smiling and playing with mirror Form special attachments with familiar people Show self-awareness by putting hat on head Demonstrate shyness by hiding behind the caregiver

Activities that promote emotional development Encourage the infant to bond to primary caregiver Be responsive to infant Talk about emotions with infants Collaborate with parents to promote consistency at home and at child care Promote a homelike atmosphere in baby room

Social Development Infants

Infants’ Social Development Young infants (0-9 months) Maintain eye contact from the moment of birth Cry contagiously when another infant cries Enjoy watching another baby Engage in back and forth conversations with parents and other caregivers At 6 or 7 months, may show anxiety when approached by a stranger Older infants (9-14 months) Recognize several different relatives and caregivers and react to them in different ways Can play alone for very brief periods May still show anxiety when approached by a stranger Enjoy being with other children and imitating what they are doing Form attachments to transitional objects like blankets or stuffed animals Is distressed when a special person, like a parent, leaves the room and gives her a special welcome upon her return

Activities that Promote Social Development Young infants (0-9 months) Use a low voice to quiet and comfort the baby and a higher voice to engage the baby in playful interactions Sing and play interactive games with infants, like peek-a-boo Provide infants with opportunities to look at and babble with each other Older infants (9-14 months) Provide many opportunities for social interaction with children as well as adults Play back and forth games that include opportunities for the infant to imitate actions and enjoy interactions Engage babies in two-person and group games that involve music and movement