Infants learn so much in their first life experiences. From learning how to eat, see, listen to their surroundings, trying new things, figuring out how hands and feet work, and even walking - infants develop at a very fast pace! Infants reach multiple milestones by the age of 1. Just holding their head up and rolling over from back to belly is such a big deal in the life of an infant, and an important part of their growth and development!  

Here are some important physical infant milestones and the order in which they are typically completed:

-Rolling over from belly to back

-Supporting own head

-Rolling over from back to belly

-Sitting independently

-Getting themselves into a sitting position

-Moving around either by scooting, rolling, or pulling/army crawling

-Crawling

-Pulling to stand

-Cruising (walking around holding on to furniture)

-Walking supported with a walking toy, hand, pushing a chair or other toy, etc

-Letting go and standing without holding on to anything

-Lowering themselves to the floor with ease

-Standing oneself up in the middle of the floor

-Taking a few steps independently

-Walking independently

-Running

-Jumping

Milestones that occur at various points include:

-Climbing onto things

-Climbing down from things

-Dancing

Here are additional infant milestones:

-Following voices

-Laughing

-Recognizing familiar faces

-Showing excitement to see familiar faces

-Clapping

-Shaking head

-Nodding Head

-Blowing Kisses

-Pretending to sneeze

-Babbling

-Repetitive words such as "mama", "dada", "Baba", 

-Other words

We follow all safe sleep guidelines mandated by the Department of Early Education and Care. (EEC)

Take a peek at some of our Safe Sleep Guidelines:

-All infants under the age of 12 months sleep in a crib/pack and play

-Nothing except for a pacifier is allowed in the crib with the infants under 12 months while they are sleeping at any time, including pacifier clips. 

-Infants must not sleep in a car seat, bouncer, swing, or any other equipment. Once an infant falls asleep in any of these, they must be moved to their assigned crib immediately. 

-Infants must be placed on their backs to sleep. When they are able to roll from belly to back at will, they may be placed on their stomachs. We use signs at each assigned crib to indicate who can be placed on their belly.

-Weighted sleep sacks or other alternate sleeping arrangements require a physician’s note with written sleep plan. 

-In lieu of using a blanket, infants may use sleep sacks with or without sleeves to stay warmer, but their arms must be free for movement and not restricted. Swaddles are not permitted.  

-Our room temperature is kept between 68 to 72 degrees to ensure infants stay warm and do not overheat.

Introducing solid foods starting when your pediatrician suggests (typically 6 months)
can be nerve wracking and exciting at the same time!

We aim to help families as much as we can during this time,  and even have a food guide available to help families! This guide helps families to identify when their children are ready to begin solids, safe ways to serve various foods, and gives healthy lunch and meal ideas!

We ask families to keep in mind that we do not use microwaves to warm food for children, so food must be sent in a thermos or packed and ready to be served as is from the child's lunchbox. Please be mindful to always try new foods at home first before sending them in to the center, as we cannot give an infant a first taste of new foods!

We are always available for questions or concerns. 

Baby Led Weaning

Our center is Baby Led Weaning friendly!
For more information about Baby Led Weaning, please feel free to ask your child(ren)'s educators
or check out this free informational Facebook Group!

Baby Led Weaning for Beginners and Beyond

Toddlers learn just as quickly as infants, hitting so many milestones along the way!

We have 3 toddler classrooms: Tiny Toddlers, Toddler 1, and Toddler 2.

Children move between these rooms based on development and physical age. 

Most children are 15 months and are able to walk before moving over to the Tiny Toddler room. This smaller classroom gives the children the opportunity to learn in a more 1 on 1 setting with less friends (a max of 5) before moving into our Toddler 1 classroom.

 Our Toddler 1 room is the next step up, with a full room of up to 9 friends!

Our Toddler 2 classroom is also a toddler/preschool room, and can have up to 9 friends. While we have 2 main transition periods allowing children to move between rooms, sometimes our Toddler 2 classroom has a lot of older children in it, around or older than 2 year and 9 months. With this, we can operate as a preschool classroom as well, also tailoring the curriculum to meet the developmental needs of the children. 

Some milestones we see in the Toddler age include but are not limited to:

Language

-Language skills increase beginning with more words and vocabulary, working the way up to using sentences, understanding multi-step directions, telling stories, and having conversations

Social Emotional

-Social Emotional skills increase including following a routine, interest in playing with others and beginning cooperative play, and understanding and naming emotions while working on self-regulation.

Self Help

-Self Help skills increase including the urge for independence ("I want to do it myself!"), working on dressing or undressing oneself (using zippers, buttons, and potty training), working on patience and attending to tasks (persistence), and 

Physical/Motor

-Physical skills increase in both fine and gross motor. Fine motor skills strengthen by learning how to use writing and eating utensils, building things, playing with playdough, and lots of sensory play! Gross motor skills strength by learning or mastering walking, running, jumping, climbing, hopping, balancing, and more! 

Toddlers strengthen a variety of other skills as well! Please visit our Curriculum page to learn about how we plan curriculum for all age groups!

Many times, when people think of Kindergarten readiness, they think of academic milestones.
Can the children write?
Can they read?
Are they able to recognize shapes, numbers, etc.
Are they ready for beginner math?

Here at Cowlicks and Pigtails, our main priority lies not with academics, but with social and emotional development. 

Preschool and Pre-K focus so much of their routine, curriculum, and learning experiences on social and emotional development.

Think of it this way:

Social and emotional development is vital for the development of almost all other early learning skills. 

Without building social and emotional skills, children cannot:

| Interact with others | Wait or share their turn | Share materials | Self-regulate or self-sooth | Complete self-help tasks such as dressing themselves, serving themselves, etc. | Persist in trying during tasks | Focus on tasks at hand | Follow directions | Form relationships | Understand their own or peer's emotions | Solve social problems

With this in mind, we choose to separate Preschool and Pre-K to ensure children have the best opportunity to learn! 

Transitioning from Toddlers to Preschool is major! Going from 4 toddlers and 1 educator to 10 preschoolers and 1 educator is a HUGE jump!
Our goal is to ensure our Preschool room can act as a small step towards getting children ready for bigger classrooms. Separating the age groups allows the children to:

 -Begin working independently on some tasks while still receiving 1 on 1 when needed

-Complete potty training at their own pace

-Learn the routine

and begin playing more cooperatively and effectively with their peers!

This allows the older, more independent Pre-K children to learn at their level! 

And when you ask a Kindergarten educator what is most helpful?

A child who is able to:

-Open their own water bottle or yogurt

-Tie their shoes

-Ask when help is needed without becoming upset

-Use words to accurately label feelings

-Work on problem solving independently

-Follow directions

-Play cooperatively with others

Preschool and Pre-K hit so many milestones in all areas of development. Don't forget to check out our Curriculum page for more information!

Every other Thursday our classrooms get to learn and play with Music with Rowan!
Rowan does a fantastic job helping the all children Infants to Pre-K to get in touch with their creative side and learn through song!

All children, including our infants, love Rowan! 

Every 2 weeks Mr. Joe from the Fun Bus comes to visit us! Children 18 months and up can participate with a signed permission form. Please see the office to complete this form!

Parents/Families pay in cash, check, or via venmo ($15) for their children to experience Gross Motor on wheels! 

The Fun Bus includes:

-Climbing materials such as ladders, rock walls, and foam mats

-Swings

-Slides

-Trampolines

& more!

We also offer some free Fun Bus days during our Summer Activities!

Our school lunch program runs from Tuesday through Friday!

For a daily or weekly fee, we offer children the following meals along with 1-2 sides and milk.

Tuesday: Grilled Cheese and Fries   ($3.50)

Wednesday: Chicken Nuggets and Tater Tots  ($3.50)

Thursday: Hot Dog on a roll and Tater Tots  ($3.50)

Friday: Pizza ($3.00)

All week: $13.50

Sides can include but are not limited to:

-Yogurt

-Mozzarella Cheese Stick

-Applesauce

-Fruit Cup

-Fresh Fruit

-Goldfish

& more!