PAGE 10 I WWW.HOPSCOTCHDAYNURSERIES.CO.UK Babies & Waddlers (Under 2’s) We welcome children from 3 months old. At such an early stage of their life, babies are constantly observing and responding to their carer as well as their environment. Our baby rooms are enriched with age-appropriate quality resources to ensure that your baby is stimulated, challenged and relaxed throughout their day with us. Research shows that sensory play builds nerve connections in the brain’s pathways, which lead to the child’s ability to complete more complex learning tasks, it also plays a huge role in supporting language development, cognitive growth, fine and gross motor skills, problem solving skills, and social interaction. Therefore, all our Under Twos are fully equipped with sensory play opportunities. As children begin to become mobile the focus, resources and activities become slightly more physical, providing the right amount of challenge, stimulation and independence they need to really explore and take in the world around them. Before children move to Toddlers we will be encouraging them to gain further indepdendent skills. We have low level sinks so they can wash their own hands, they enjoy eating in a family style exeprience where conversation is rich. Children will begin to self serve their own vegetables and begin to drink from open cups. Before your child leaves the Under Twos room we carry out a ‘Development Review’ which is used to inform the Toddler Team of their current levels of development. This is also used to inform your Health Visitor of any development concerns. Toddlers (2-3 years) As children have a desire to become more independent they are incredibly ‘wilfull’ at this age. At this age friends start to become more important and they are learning how to consider other peoples’ needs as well as their own. We want to foster this indepedence and natural love of learning and our environments and teaching is carefully planned to do so. Within this age group we support children with the growing need to express their emotions and challenge boundaries. Within our toddler room we encourage them to freely explore both inside and outside areas giving them a larger more challenging environment. We continue to support and promote children’s independence within this age group, we have a focus on increasing this through self-selection throughout the day. The children enjoy washing their hands, serving fruits and vegetables and pouring their own water. Each of our nurseries provides home rooms for our Under Twos (Babies and Waddlers), Toddlers and Preschool children. Each room is carefully designed to meet the needs of the children of the age and stage of development in that room to maximise their care, learning and play opportunities. At Hopscotch we do everything we can to support you and your child in making the important transition into nursery as smooth as possible. It is with this in mind you will discover a home-from- home environment designed at children’s height with accessible toys and activities for a good balance of quiet time and stimulating activities. Age Groups