Continuing with the same theme from last week, the infant class spent most of our time outside! The infant yard can be seen as all things nature sensory play with plenty of dirt, sticks, leaves, rocks, grass, trees and bushes. We are so grateful for the seasons changing and allowing the children to continue to explore their relationships with the natural world. Going on from the tuft tray from last week, we have continued to set up outdoor provocations with natural materials and have extended it to different tables, stumps, the mud kitchen and blankets. We have had lots of visits from the sun which we are so excited about! The children are interested in getting messy and exploring with all of their senses.
The infant yard offers opportunities for the children to practice their walking, balancing, climbing and many other gross motor skills. There are bridges to cross, balance beams to walk across, hills of dirt to climb, stairs to practice holding onto railings and much more! It has been amazing to watch these babies learn and grow independently in their environment.
As these infants are entering into toddlerhood, they are becoming so confident in their relationships with each other and are often helping one another. In the pictures below, one child notices another child struggling to pick up a rock. They walk over to them and offer to help, lifting the rock together. They lift it up together and share a big smile of excitement! This is an example of the dialogue these children have with each other is deep and meaningful even without using verbal language.
