General info/schedule: Infants are a special group of children, and we have special training, goals and procedures to care for our littlest ones. These precious babies are where we begin the experience of Evergreen Academy: small, caring, consistent and professional. Our goal is to love and bond with your children, to meet their - and your - needs and to foster their growth thru these months of sometimes dizzying changes!
Infants are admitted after they are 6 weeks of age, and stay in our program until they are at least 12 months of age and walking steadily and consistently. Our littlest ones are held, rocked, swung and play beneath and around a variety of mobiles, mirrors, books and stuffies. They are fed and nap according to the schedule you provide us; we will work with you as that schedule naturally changes.
Once they are able, they are encouraged to use sit-up chairs, bouncy chairs and to have crawling and tummy time. As they approach walking, children are encouraged to use our gross motor toys and to explore the room, creeping and slowly walking!
Food & supplies: At the start of your time with Evergreen Academy, you will be asked to complete a questionnaire about your child's eating, sleeping and other habits, along with any known medical conditions or allergies. At the end of each day, you will receive a written report from us, detailing your child's activities for the day, from eating and sleeping to playing and diaper changes. We ask parents to provide all formula or breast milk and, as the time comes, all solid foods as well. These are labeled and fed individually to the little ones. Parents also provide diapers and wipes, changes of clothing, crib sheets and any special blankies. Any soiled clothing is sent home at the end of the day.
Staffing: We employ a specially trained Infant Nursery Supervisor and trained aides to staff our room at a ratio of 1:5. Our staff is carefully chosen with complete background checks performed. We maintain on-going education, conduct regular staff meetings and compensate our teachers at an above average level, which all allows us to attract and keep an excellent staff. There are no more than 10 infants in our program on any day and, starting June 1, 2010, we will move to roomier quarters where we will have a separate, quiet sleeping room with cribs for each child
