Infant Program
Innocent Minds Infant Programs
Innocent Minds Preschool Academy Infant Programs provide children aged 0-2 with opportunities for learning through movement, exploration, and connection. Learning goals for infants focus on movement skills, language development, developmental milestones, fine motor development, social skills, and the joy of every child.
Learning Through Exploration & Play
Innocent Minds Infant Program provides children with a nurturing learning environment full of educational materials that meet their specific developmental needs and interests during the first two years of life.
During this stage of development, infants move through sensitive periods for movement, hand-eye coordination, language, order, small objects, and toilet training. The design of the infant classroom, and the educational materials within it reflect these interests and provide rich opportunities for learning.
Similarly, the daily routine reflects this age group’s need for consistency and repetition while embracing children’s individual needs, interests, stages of development, and learning styles.
Once children complete the Infant Program, they progress to the Innocent Mind Toddler Program, where they gain a formal introduction to all five areas of the Innocent Mind Curriculum.
Infant Learning Goals
- Uses simple gestures to communicate
- Explores objects in different ways
- Chooses an activity and packs it away
- Plays alongside others
- Knows the names of body parts, colours, and shapes
- Beginning to use one to two word phrases
- Demonstrates independence skills such as self-feeding
- Achieving physical development milestones such as crawling, walking, climbing and jumping
Infant Curriculum
The Practical Life Curriculum provides infants with opportunities to practice daily life skills such as self-feeding, cleaning, dressing, washing and self-care.
Example materials and activities include:
- Treasure baskets
- Fabric matching
- Spoons
- Pegs
- Nesting objects
Sensorial
The Sensorial Curriculum assists in refining the senses of sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. Through sensorial materials children develop the ability to discriminate by size, colour, and texture.
Example materials and activities include:
- Imbucare object permanence boxes
- Three discs on the vertical dowel
- 3D object fitting exercise
- Sensory balls
- Puzzles
Movement Skills
Infants learn through movement and exploration. Learning goals for infants include healthy physical development. Through the Infant Curriculum, children develop fine motor, gross motor, and fundamental movement skills.
Example materials and activities include:
- Tummy time
- Visual mobiles
- Stair climbing
- Bead maze
- Pull toy and rolling toy
Language
The Innocent Minds Language Curriculum introduces infants to spoken and written language. Children use language materials to explore names, sounds, songs and music.
Example materials and activities include:
- Colour and object matching cards
- Object picture matching
- Reading
- Puppets
- Music and songs
Wellbeing
Children’s happiness and wellbeing is at the core of everything we do. The Infant Curriculum nurtures children’s potential through positive, warm interactions, and collaborative partnerships with families. This includes respecting and valuing each family’s culture, beliefs, parenting style, and preferences for their child.
- Each child’s individual eating and sleeping schedule can be accommodated
- Breastfeeding and supplying expressed breastmilk is welcome
- Cloth nappies can be accommodated
- Families are supported and invited to contribute to the program
Early Years Learning Framework
The Innocent Mind Curriculum and the Australian Government’s Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF): Belonging, Being & Becoming work together to nurture children’s potential. The EYLF incorporates five outcomes:
- Outcome 1: Children have a strong sense of identity
- Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world
- Outcome 3: Children have a strong sense of wellbeing
- Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners
- Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators
