Infant
Birth to 12 months
“Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.”
Psalms 127:3
At Horizons Unlimited Christian Academy, we wholeheartedly embrace the well-being of each child. Our infant curriculum has been thoughtfully crafted to provide a secure, warm, supportive and engaging setting, fostering growth and development during this crucial sensory motor phase. Our curriculum focuses on the following areas:
Physical Development
We encourage infants to develop their gross and fine motor skills through activities such as tummy time, crawling, and grasping toys. We allow infants to experience their bodies through movement and carefully monitored exploration, and then encourage what they are ready and willing to do. Through facilitated exploration, we observe to learn what infants are interested in, then build or adjust their experiences to keep them engaged.
Social and Emotional Development
Trust is the foundation of an infants development. An infant’s trust is developed through adults responding appropriately to their need to be loved, respected, and accepted. Teachers are physically close to infants while showing them verbal and physical affection. We demonstrate respect by using calm voices an gentle approaches when communicating to our infants. We believe that building positive relationships with caregivers is essential for infants' emotional and social development.
Language Development
We do not use baby talk. Our teachers intentionally expose infants to language through literature in the form of rhymes, songs, poetry, and stories. We facilitate language development as we imitate or initiate words and sounds, and engaging in back-and-forth language exchanges. Language development is critical for infants' overall development. As this is the most powerful and absorbent stage of life, infants and toddlers are spoken to in the formal language with which they will communicate in the future.
Did you know that infants are born with a natural ability to recognize and distinguish between different languages and sounds?
Research has shown that newborns can differentiate between their mother's native language and other languages based on the rhythm, intonation, and patterns of speech. This ability to recognize and process language from an early age is important for their future language development and acquisition. It's also interesting to note that infants can cry in different ways to communicate their needs even before they can produce their first words, demonstrating their innate ability to communicate and express themselves from birth.
