Welcome to the Robin’s Nest
Ages 6 weeks - 2 years
Our infant and young toddler practices are grounded in a shared set of core beliefs. Like their older friends, our youngest children participate in Art and Music and spend lots of time outdoors each day. Here are three salient features of the nursery program. Our teachers look forward to telling you much more.
Daily Fascinations
What will entice our littles into exploration? We want children to jump—or crawl—for joy when they enter the Nest and have immediate chances to strengthen fine and gross motor skills, coordination, sensory receptors, you name it. Recent morning “fascinations:” big cardboard box play, paint stick wall murals, rolling ball experiments, chalk drawing on unfurling rolls of butcher block paper. Since we take our cues from children’s threads of interest, you never know what might be offered next!
Communal Meals
All of our friends gather together at morning snack and lunchtime, including babies who may already have had their bottles. This is no minor point. From the start, children are building a sense of “we,” community, a distinct group identity. We prompt children with questions and rudimentary, back-and-forth conversations ensue around the table and from high chairs, sometimes through the cadences of babbling, a powerful form of expression in its own right.
Partnering with Parents
We put our heads together constantly with parents to “learn” each child who changes from day to day—physically, cognitively, emotionally—often right before our eyes. We aim to get in sync on everything: a child’s mood upon waking; play preferences; the transition from liquids to solid foods; diaper changes and toilet learning for our young toddlers; and the joyous moments and milestones children experience during the course of any given week.
“In the Nest the tiniest things are new and wondrous, even awe inspiring. A leaf! The texture of a friend’s hair, especially when yours hasn’t grown in yet! A magnet that sticks to our gate! Everything’s cause for curiosity and experimentation.”
Our Daily Flow
Our Robin’s Nest flows with familiar rhythms and routines that help children feel confident, calm, cooperative and secure. The schedule is flexible as teachers respond to each child’s individual hunger cues, sleep needs, diapering needs and energy levels.
Greeting & Morning Provocations. Children are greeted with morning “provocations,” a diversity of thoughtfully-designed activities based on children’s interests or next growing step. Children are free to explore and participate at their own pace.
Snack and Outside Time. After a communal morning snack provided by the school, our infants and young toddlers head outside—rain, snow or shine—for gross motor fun on the playground, and sometimes nature walks on the trails.
Lunchtime, with food provided by families, encourages valuable communal conversations.
Naptime. Most children sleep after lunch, but not all the time. Children rest throughout the day according to their individual needs, in close coordination with families.
Snack and Open Play. Afternoon snack is provided by TCS, and sometimes by our Little (PreK) Chefs, followed by open play indoors or outside until 3:15PM pick up.
And… we call this a “flow” for a reason! The schedule is rarely precise. There will be artmaking in the atelier, special garden visits, walking adventures on a wooded trail, family music concerts, cross-classroom projects, and other events that vary our days. Our daily flow allows for flexibility in response to children’s needs, levels of engagement, and bright imaginings.