L.E.A.P.® Curriculum
for Infants
Our approach to infant development (6 weeks to 1 year old)
During infancy, children develop motor skills, experience tummy time, explore and learn through interaction with their teachers. Our caregivers for infants use this opportunity to work on stretches, leg movements, and ensuring the children are practicing hand-eye coordination in order to prepare themselves for the next stages of early childhood development.
As they reach late infancy, our caregivers work with children to develop those core muscles. They’re learning to crawl, express their emotions, and move their legs and arms. Cognitively, they are learning to identify and recognize family members and caregivers as they walk into the room. They’re even learning to produce those first adorable babbling sounds we love to hear.
What our curriculum for infants includes
- Our infant curriculum starts with regular playtime including belly and music time, exploration, stimulation, as well as nap and feeding times that we keep consistent with your baby’s individual schedule.
- Sign language is introduced to increase early advancement in children’s ability to communicate.
- All infants have their own personal cubby and crib.
- Private and clean nursing rooms equipped with gliders are provided for mothers that wish to nurse at the center.
- A 14-step diaper changing procedure is strictly adhered to.
- Toys, gliders, cribs and changing stations are sanitized daily.
Our programs for infants
American Sign Language
In this program, infants begin to learn early sign language to communicate their needs—including how to ask for “more” or sign that they are “all done” or “sleepy”—to their caregivers in their classroom, and with their parents at home. This is an important because it enables parental child communication before they even learn words, so caregivers and parents are able to provide for them.
Our programs for infants
6:30–8:30 Greeting the Infants
Parent Communication, Collecting Infant Belongings, Free Play
8:30-9:00 Breakfast
(According to Infant’s Needs)
9:00-9:45 Fine Motor Skills
Cause and Effect, Tracking, Grasping, Turning
9:45-10:15 Outside Time
Balls, Push/Pull Toys, Strollers
10:15-10:30 Sensory
Touching, Feely Books, Textures
10:30–10:45 Morning Snack
(According to Infant’s Needs)
10:45-11:45 Gross Motor Skills
Pushing, Pulling, Reaching, Crawling, Cruising
11:45-12:00 Lunch
(According to Infant’s Needs)
12:00-1:00 Napping or Playground Activity
1:00–2:00 Fine Motor Skills
Pounding, Throwing, Targeting
2:00–2:30 Afternoon Snack
(According to Infant’s Needs)
2:30–3:30 Gross Motor Skills
Climbing, Crawling, Rolling
3:30–4:30 Language Skills
Listening, Speaking, Looking
4:30–5:30 Music
Rhythmic Movement, Singing, Listening
5:30–6:30 Free Play/Greeting Parents
(Diapering is provided and supervised on an as-needed basis.)
Our year-end milestones
While each day is a fun new adventure at TLE®, the lessons and creative infant curriculum are preparing your child to meet important end-of-year milestones — to ensure development at the right pace.
For our Infants, those goals are:
- Be exposed to several unique early childhood techniques to build fine and gross motor skills
- Develop their way of communicating their wants and needs by vocalization (cooing) and gestural (pointing/infant sign language) that they can use to obtain adults’ attention
- Be encouraged to explore their curiosity by learning how to crawl and walk
- Work on building age-appropriate first-year developmental milestones
Enrichment Programs for infants
From six weeks to six years old, our little learners benefit from mandatory infant enrichment programs implemented through our very own Charlie Choo Choo Enrichment Program. They’re provided in kit formats that are taken home at the end of the unit, giving families an opportunity to extend their children’s early childhood development.
Talent Sprouts®
From very early on, in infancy, the children can benefit from this program, developing fine and gross motor skills, identification, learning their names and how to respond to those. In addition, they’ll get acquainted with characters and make real world connections with creating their own characters by pretending and acting out different animals, and engaging in dramatic play.
Dancing Feet, Music 4 Me and Yippee 4 Yoga
Infants are also introduced to these three infant child enrichment programs, all of which invite and encourage them to move their bodies, develop those physical and intellectual muscles and learn strategies for converting stress into positive and healthy energy.
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