At Big and Tiny we nurture the social, developmental, and cognitive needs of your baby. Infants learn valuable interpersonal skills such as listening, sharing, and expressing emotions. Establishing these skills early is crucial for healthier social lives in future years. We provide countless opportunities for children to learn and practice their understanding of new concepts through play and exploration.
Program Objectives
Exploring the world through our senses
We put love, safety, and communication at the core of our infant program. At Big and Tiny, infants may nap and feed at any time. We have dedicated cribs with organic cotton sheets to maximize their comfort and our educators work closely with parents to ensure that every infant’s personal schedule and preferences are being accounted for. Parents are sent constant updates, photos, and daily reports on their feeding, napping, and classroom activities.
In this critical stage in your infant’s development, our teachers provide a safe environment where children respond to, adapt to, and learn about their surroundings using all of their senses. Through a myriad of activities, children stay engaged all day while learning how to make associations between sounds and sights and develop an awareness of themselves and their environment.
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Awareness of themselves and parts of their body
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Understanding object permanence through educational games
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Exploring different textures and sounds with their 5 senses
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Color and shape recognition through solving puzzles
Cognitive Development
Infants at Big and Tiny are exposed to a variety of auditory cues to help them make sense of sounds and speech patterns. Teachers are constantly communicating with your child and keep them engaged in activities to help them express and understand both speech and nonverbal body language.
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Making associations between words and colors
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Learning words in sign language and using familiar words
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Responding to and imitating sounds and rhymes through songs
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Identifying facial expressions and sounds
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Showing comprehension of simple questions
Language
& Communication
With teachers coming from diverse backgrounds, we create a safe and secure environment for your infant where your child will see many different, yet consistent and familiar faces. By providing warm, nurturing, and personalized care, your infant engages in activities that encourage cooperation and imaginative play.
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Learning how to interact with familiar adults
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Developing familiarity with other infants and teachers
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Displaying and imitating social gestures and body language
Social-Emotional
Growth
Cognitive Development
Fine & Gross Motor
Skill Development
We bring your child closer to nature by providing wooden toys and play structures that assist your infant's physical development. Our teachers use these sustainably-sourced materials to improve the coordination, accuracy, and balance of your child. At Big and Tiny, your infant receives encouragement and positive reinforcement every step of the way.
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Learning to independently support their head, crawl, roll over, and sit up
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Developing leg muscles using objects that support walking
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Learning to feed themselves by holding bottles on their own
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Engaging in sensory play, including finger painting, play dough and fabrics
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Exploring the outdoors through playing outside in our open areas
A day for the infants
Developing fundamental life skills
Arrival
When families first arrive at Big and Tiny, they store all their belongings (diapers, milk, clothes) and say goodbye to their little ones for the day. Practicing this transition from home to school everyday helps your little one discover the excitement of healthy independence.
Circle time
Circle time allows children to connect with each other and their teachers. Circle time encourages listening, talking, and sharing among the children and modeling opportunities for the teacher. It also encourages the development of social skills and enhances their language and gross motor skills while they move along their favorite rhythms and songs.
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Music & Sensory Art
Art is one of the many ways children express themselves and strengthen skills like problem-solving and critical thinking. Every day children experiment with different safe materials such as foam, finger paint, water, . We provide open-ended art activities that help children explore and use their creativity while developing fine and gross motor skills.
Music and movement classes are offered weekly for children to develop forging connections between their brain and their mind, body, and emotions and allows them to learn sounds and meaning of words.
Life Skills
Many practical life activities are incorporated throughout the day to allow the children to understand the world around them. They learn a routine and procedure that is consistent and can be followed at home, too.
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Early Literacy
Interactive story time takes place at different times of the day. These books are selected according to the topics that the children are working on. Children will become familiar with books and rhymes, repeating words and phrases from different stories, helping them grow their vocabulary and sentences. Infants visit the local library regularly where they listen to new adventures.
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Gross Motor
Children develop large motor functions through group games, gym activities, outdoor play and movement.
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Nature & neighborhood rides
Children engage in outdoor activities on a daily basis. Community stroller rides around the neighborhood and Rockefeller Park provide students an opportunity to connect with nature in a deeper level and learn more about their surroundings.
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Lunch & Snack
We provide healthy and organic transition meals and snacks courtesy of little spoons.
Nap and rest
Learning and playing can be exhausting! Big and Tiny knows how important sleeping is for an infant's growth, and development. Individual cots with organic cotton sheets are provided.
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