Early Learning Begins Here

During this important first year, your baby will be loved, cared for, and stimulated for optimal growth and development at Bright & Early. The program philosophy is to meet an infant’s needs on demand, developing their feelings of self-worth and self-esteem. Babies communicate in their own ways, so our teachers commit to spending one on one time with each child to develop close, personal relationships. By prioritizing mindful interactions, teachers earn the trust of each child.

In addition to Bright & Early providing exceptional care and education for children, it’s important that parents experience genuine peace of mind. We encourage families to visit with their child before their first day to familiarize them with their teachers and new environment.

Infant Classrooms with Room to Grow

Infants feel comfortable and at home in their Bright & Early classroom, which has the feel of a cozy nursery. Our well-organized, safe, and clean environments make for a relaxed experience for both child and teacher.

Each infant classroom has a special floor area with extra padding for infants to enjoy tummy time and comfortably play, while they practice their rolling, sitting, cruising, and crawling skills.

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    INFANT CLASSROOM FEATURES:

    • Sturdy, safe cribs, which are kept clear of non-essential items to meet Connecticut state regulations regarding visual supervision
    • Clean, comfortable, and secure diaper changing stations
    • Carpeted floors for babies to comfortably crawl around
    • Extra-padded mat areas for daily tummy time
    • Furniture with smooth, rounded corners
    • Small-modeled floor shelves with baskets of colorful and stimulating manipulatives
    • Soft climbers to encourage large motor development
    • No shoes — only socks and booties are allowed in our infant classrooms to keep the floors extra clean

    What will my Infant learn today?

     

    During the first year of a child’s life, their rhythm and preferences are ever-changing. You can count on teachers to adapt schedules to evolve with the changing needs of infants. Upon enrollment, parents complete an initial Infant Daily Schedule Form outlining their child’s current preferences for eating, napping, and communication style. As the child’s first year progresses and changes occur, parents can continue to edit the form to keep their child’s teacher up to date.

    There is a link to the Infant Daily Schedule Form on the Family Forms page.

    Sharing the Moments & Milestones

     

    We believe in technology that improves the classroom experience for both teachers and children. Each classroom is equipped with a Bright & Early iPad that teachers use for Tadpoles, Pandora Radio, and the B&E Meditation App.

    Through Tadpoles, parents are sent a Daily Report each evening with information about the following happenings:

    • Daily notes
    • Naps/Sleep
    • Snacks/Meals
    • Individual and class activities detailing development standards

    Teachers may also send parents snapshots of their children engaging in activities and having fun throughout the day.

    Bright & Early holds two parent-teacher conferences each year, during which each child’s Developmental Assessment is reviewed to personally discuss their child’s growth and development. In addition to these sit-down meetings, we highly value daily communication between parents and teachers, which means our teachers are available to provide updates to parents throughout each day. We encourage parents to use pick up and drop off times to discuss their child’s progress and mindset with their teacher.

    How Children Grow, Explore, Discover, & Learn

    Each moment of caring for a child is a potential learning experience. Everyday activities allow for valuable interactions between teachers and children. These experiences, such as diaper changing and feeding, are opportunities for individualized learning experiences. Our teachers know that learning occurs in the tiny moments, and these small lessons have a significant cumulative effect on a child’s development. When you entrust us with the care of your child, the Bright & Early community loves and knows how to educate and care, engaging together with smiles, laughter, and learning.

     

    Our Infant Program focuses on the following Early Learning & Development Standards, and each domain below includes some examples of many learning progressions that teachers will present to children:

    Cognition

    When infants hear sounds, such as a teacher jingling a toy, they orient toward the sound, and then their teacher praises them for this response to reinforce the behavior.

    Social & Emotional Development

    When infants smile and giggle at the sight of their teacher or a trusted adult, and when an infant cuddles with a favorite toy to self-soothe.

    Physical Development & Health

    When a teacher places a ball just out of reach of an infant and the infant rolls over or crawls to reach for it, and when and infant express joy as they breathe in fresh air and feel the warmth of sunshine during a baby buggy ride outside.

    Early Language, Communication & Literacy

    When infants show a look of understanding as a teacher says, “Are you hungry?” and when infants begin showing a shared attention to a book as a teacher reads it.

    Creative Arts

    When infants sway as they hear music, and when they willingly participate in vibrant hand and footprint artwork, which is ever-popular in the Infant Program.

    Early Scientific Inquiry

    When infants show understanding for cause and effect, such as pushing a button on a pop-up toy to make an animal appear, much to their delight.

    We are proud to offer “EVEN MORE!”

    B&E Meditation App

    We partnered with Cloud9 Online, a meditation and healthcare company, to develop a customized mindfulness and meditation app specifically for Bright & Early. During the day at the centers, our teachers will use the app on the B&E classroom iPads to practice meditation and mindfulness with the children. Teaching children to be mindful, to connect with their minds and bodies, and to practice breathing helps them learn to reduce stress and stay calm.

    Infants enjoy the “Mindful Melodies” category, which includes songs like “Little Lamb Lullaby,” and “Warm Sunshine Hug,” for relaxing and sleeping. Families have access to the app at home so that they can enjoy the “Mindful Family” category, which includes meditations to help children start their day off with positive energy as well as meditations to help them settle into their nightly routine to help them drift off to sleep.

    The meditations were written and selected to be beneficial for the physical and mental well-being of our children. The library of meditations is large, with over 30 guided meditations and songs written for children, nature sounds to soothe, and even some meditations for the whole family to practice together at home!

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    American Sign Language (ASL)

    Bright & Early teachers use a number of basic ASL signs with infants. Learning and using ASL provides a number of benefits for children, including an increase in communication and language processing skills, a strengthening of connections with parents and teachers, and a decrease in frustration. Please visit our American Sign Language page for more information on our program.

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