infants 3 - 13 months
OUR NIDO COMMUNITY

Our Nido Program is a safe and thoughtfully prepared homelike environment created to nurture the physical, cognitive and social-emotional needs of infants from three to thirteen months. Maria Montessori used the term “Nido” (Italian for nest) to convey the warmth and security that is vital to infant development. Enormous growth takes place during this time, and our goal is to ensure that the Nido experience helps children form a positive sense of their emerging world as a caring and loving place. Additionally, the right start sets the tone for all future learning.

Follow The Child

In this first school experience, the child is introduced to a calm and soothing environment and affectionate, Montessori-trained Guides. The Guide’s role is to follow each individual child’s progress and way of being in the world. Through this careful observation of children our Guides intimately understand the comforts and encounters each child will need to support them on their developmental path. With our low child-to-teacher ratio, each child receives personalized attention and care.

Partner With Parents

Another role that our Guides take very seriously is their communication with parents. An open dialogue helps both Guides and parents gain more insight about the child, allowing them to become ever more able to provide the right support in just the right way. Every day parents will receive an email (with photographs) describing different facets of their child’s day. Parents are invited to email Guides with questions.

Respectful, Safe and Secure Space

Respectful of each child’s particular daily schedule, in the Nido class every child eats, sleeps and plays according to their own needs. Everything in the Nido class is accessible to the child. Cribs are low to the floor, tables and chairs and all materials are within reach. Children are provided with the freedom of movement they need to strengthen their muscles as they work towards crawling, pulling up and walking. Through exposure to carefully chosen Montessori materials, our infants use their senses to begin to organize their understanding of the world around them, build a foundation of confidence, and develop a healthy attachment with the school environment. Children are welcomed to the Nido classroom as early as 7:30 a.m., and can be picked up as late as 6:00 p.m.