5 Reasons Your Baby’s in Good Hands at AIS’s Infant Care

Looking for a safe and caring program for your bub, mama? Look no further than Infant Care at the AIS Early Learning Village

Earlier this year we told you about how Australian International School’s (AIS) Early Learning Village has started offering Infant Care for children aged 2 to 18 months – perfect for all you working mamas looking to give your littlies a great start in education! Founded on the values of love, care and respect, and focusing on child-led, uninterrupted play, the program encourages babies aged 2 months to 18 months to explore and grow at their own pace. It’s run in a safe and intimate space within the world-class Early Learning Village, which has been designed specifically with young children in mind and is inspired by the principles of the Reggio-Emilia philosophy.

The Infant Care program is available Mondays to Fridays, 8am to 6pm, for 47 weeks a year (that’s 90% of the whole year)! Once your little one ‘graduates’ from the Infant Care program, they can then join AIS’s highly regarded Early Years Program, which is also housed in the Early Learning Village. How perfect!

We spoke to Program Coordinator of the Infant Care program, Sinead Hodgson to find out more about Infant Care at AIS. She’s passionate about the RIE (Resources for Infant Education) philosophy and is inspired by world-renowned early childhood educators Magda Gerber and Emmi Pikler. Sinead has a holistic leadership approach and places an emphasis on relationships, compassion and trust. Passionate about creating mindfulness personally and in the early childhood education setting, her aim is to embed the Habits of Heart into the program and within her team as she understands the importance of supporting emotional intelligence and competency.

Sinead tells us more about how every child is in good hands at AIS’s Infant Care:

1. Open-door Policy

In Infant Care, we have an open-door policy – meaning, the family of the children are welcome to come and go as they please, as this is as much their space, as it is the children’s. We are inspired by the Habits of Heart, which promote an awareness of self and connection with others. The Habits of Heart begin at infancy and are a set of emotional dispositions which build the foundation for children to understand their own and others’ emotional intelligence.

2. Top-notch Teachers

We have a fantastic team of carefully selected teachers, who are qualified Early Childhood Professionals, instilled with the centre’s philosophy of Love, Care and Respect.

3. Love, Care and Respect

Starting your child in Infant Care during their very first months, you can rest assured that your precious babe will be truly nurtured by trained professionals in a space perfectly suited for those earliest stages of development. From the age of infancy, children are experiential learners.

At Infant Care, we advocate autonomous, uninterrupted play, which supports natural learning. Love, Care and Respect IS the curriculum for Infant Care. Every day in Infant Care is different, and we pride ourselves on this. We are led purely by the children’s routines as we believe in reflecting the biology of the infant and providing for their innate needs.

4. Individualized Care Programs

Our team of caring and sensitive educarers are constantly tuned into the individuals needs and routines of each baby, and are aware of the critical role of ‘the relationship’ with the child.

We allow the children the time and space they need to be able to move freely so they can discover their body and learn through their movement. A natural slow and calm approach is critical so the children can feel their way through the day.

The children will initiate their own exploration throughout the day. Purposely chosen resources for the children are on offer, to explore or collect at their impulse. We pride ourselves on the resources we have mindfully chosen. We offer daily experiences to ignite the senses with sand play, water play, utilizing our sensory room, going for walks around the wider school in our six seater prams, exploring the hive gym room, offering arts and crafts, reading stories with puppets and spending quality time building relationships.

5. A Great Sensory Room

The sensory room was developed with sensory stimulation in mind. Multi-Sensory environments improve the development of thought, intelligence and social skills. The space that has been created was mindfully designed specifically for infants. Our sensory room generates a relaxing and calming effect, with an under the sea theme currently, however this will be evolving and changing regularly. The sensory room is designed to increase concentration and focus attention, develop senses of hearing, sight, smell, touch, and taste to heighten awareness and improve alertness.

Thank you for sharing, Sinead! To find out more about AIS’s amazing Infant Care program, check out
www.ais.com.sg/infant-care

Early Learning Village at Australian International School, 1 Lor Chuan, Singapore 556818