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- [background music]
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- Welcome to the Nido.
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We call our Montessori
infant room the Nido.
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Which is Italian for Nest,
a warm, nurturing place,
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a home away from home.
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For babies and young
toddlers, it is a place
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where babies can develop
at their own pace,
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where they're cared for
by teachers who are loving
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and who understand the unique
needs of these young youth.
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It's a welcoming place for looking around
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and observing, for moving about whichever
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way you can for exploring
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with all your senses, hearing, touch,
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taste, sight, smell
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for eating when you are hungry,
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and for sleeping when you are tired.
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An authentic Montessori
environment is nothing like
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a typical daycare setting.
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You won't find any containers,
cribs, clay pans, bouncers,
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or high chairs here.
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Our babies are always free to move.
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The environment is set
up to entice movement
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to make it joyful and rewarding.
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Babies find floor mats to crawl on mirrors
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to encourage tummy time
and self-discovery.
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Pull up bars to pull to standing
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obstacle courses and tunnels for crawling
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different size stairs
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and ramps to climb up
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and down, low furniture
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to cruise along and carts to push.
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I know we also offer infant
ized outdoor play areas
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to explore with balls to throw
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and chase, and plenty
of space to run around.
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Our teachers love engaging with babies.
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We help them communicate with
words or with sign language.
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We explain what we do and
encourage them to use words
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or signs to express their needs.
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We use correct, elaborate
language with them.
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This girl is fascinated with the photos,
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displayed a child height
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and listens eagerly to her
teacher's explanations.
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- In fall turn orange and
yellow. Look at the trees.
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Trees. There's so many.
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The forest, the sun.
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The sun is going down. The sun is yellow.
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- This child gets to choose his food.
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These children are learning
that a teething ring
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that fell on the ground
needs to be washed.
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- I'm sorry it was on the
ground. Let me wash it off.
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Let me wash it off. I will be back.
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- And these children enjoy a song
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and movement activity outside.
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Babies need to explore the
world with all their senses.
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Actively explore using the
hand as the tool of the mind.
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That's why our Nido offers
a rich, sensorial environment.
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Babies have access to
materials of many textures
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from soft sheep skins to
cuddle with, to furry balls,
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to touch to seasonal items like pumpkins,
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to explore at length with little fingers.
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They play with a wide
range of toys from balls
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and interestingly textured baskets
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- To
- A wide range of wooden toys to handle
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from trackers, to explore
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to wooden objects, to band
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saw songs and instruments like shakers are
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integrated into the day.
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Children benefit from the time
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and space to really enjoy the taste
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and texture of their foods.
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They love outside play.
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From playing with bubbles
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to exploring the sand,
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and of course, grass to run on.
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They go on stroller outings
every day to observe nature,
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to look at birds, trees,
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- Flowers,
- And the
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Montessori infant program.
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We want to help your
child take his first steps
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toward independence.
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This principle is key behind
some of the differences
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between our educational
approach and typical daycare.
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We never do anything for the child
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that she can do for herself.
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We don't feed children,
assembly line and high chairs.
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Instead, as soon as children can sit,
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we offer them a place
at a low weaning table.
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We give them finger foods
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or their own spoons to
participate in feeding
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with careful support.
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Children just over a year
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are surprisingly capable self feeders.
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We engage children in toileting.
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We explain to them what is happening?
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Oh, your diaper is wet.
Let's go change it.
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We wait for a response.
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A five months old lifting
his arms to be picked up.
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A 10 month old calling toward an onto
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the low changing table.
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We ask children to help to
lift up their legs, to sit down
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and pull off their pants.
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For those who can stand,
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we change their diapers standing up.
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Newly mobile babies like
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that a lot better than
being forced to lie down.
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We also invite them to use the toilet.
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And of course, wash hands.
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Toilet learning in Montessori
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is just another natural
step toward independence.
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While it is convenient for the
adults in a daycare setting
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to have everybody eat
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or nap at the same time, it
is not optimal for the babies.
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In a Montessori environment,
we always follow the child.
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We maintain a consistent routine.
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When children wake up, they
can leave the sleeping area.
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As soon as they feel ready,
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the teacher will have food ready for them.
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As most likely, they will be hungry.
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They eat again at their own pace,
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so they can self feed.
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Then it is time for
activities for exploration.
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When a child shows us she is tired,
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we help her get settled for a nap,
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and then she can sleep until she's done.
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No waking up a sleeping baby. Here,
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children need space and time to explore.
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All Montessori guides act
as guides, as facilitators,
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more than as teachers or entertainers.
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They guide the child toward independence.
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They've put him in a position to succeed.
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They remove obstacles
rather than doing things
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for the child, they provide words
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to identify to the child what he's doing.
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They are the destination
the child can walk
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to under his own power, rather
than holding the child's hand
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and making her walk before she's ready.
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Because a Montessori infant room, a Nido,
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is carefully prepared for
the child with low furniture.
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I need toilets, little tables to eat at
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'cause our Montessori
guides are trained in child
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development and love to work with babies
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Cause in the Nido,
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babies are loved, respected,
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and treated as fully human
Montessori infants are happy,
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engaged, learning
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and growing every day.
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And when babies thrive, parents are happy.
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That is the power of Montessori
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from the very first steps.