Sea Turtles: Infants 12-18 Months

The Sea Turtle room accommodates children ages 12 to 18 months.  This room has a student to staff ratio of 1:6 with a maximum of 12 students. 

In this classroom, our teachers are fostering your infants new found independence.  Our classroom set up and schedule reflects this.  Cubbies are placed lower to help your little one to get and put away their own things.  At lunch, they are encouraged to get their own food and feed themselves. During the day, your child will also be encouraged to explore objects in their own ways.  Teachers will do this by encouraging your child to think outside of the box.

 
Getting to Know You

Once your child has been enrolled in Leah’s CLC and before his/her first day in the classroom, the classroom teachers will meet with you. Please complete the attached form, “Getting to Know You,” before the meeting. It is important that we learn a little about your child and understand the routines you have developed at home to help the adjustment go as smoothly as possible.

Communication

Parents are welcome in our classroom at any me. High quality early care and educa on is a partnership between families and teachers. The more you know about our program and the more the teachers know about you, the beter we can serve your child and your family. 

The best way to develop a partnership with your child’s teachers is to spend a few moments each day in conversa on. Tell the teachers about your child’s evening, likes and dislikes, and family and friends who are important in his/her life. Ask the teachers about your child’s day, the activities he/she enjoys, the friends he/ she likes to play with, or progress in developing a new skill. If you have a ques on or just want to check in during the day, feel free to call. Teachers may not be able to talk during classroom time, however, the office staff will be happy to check in on your child. 

We keep track of your child’s meals, nap time, and activities throughout each day on the Tadpoles program. When your child is picked up from school to go home, the information recorded for the day will be sent to you via the Tadpoles app or email. 

Curriculum & Child Guidance

We strive to provide a secure, nurturing, and stimulating environment that encourages the development of our infants. Please read the Parent Handbook for detailed informa on about how we do this in all of our classrooms at Leah’s CLC. We follow the Ohio Early Learning and Development Standards for Infants when implementing our curriculum. This means that we will be providing daily activities that challenge our litle learners in language and literacy development, cogni ve development and general knowledge, physical well- being and motor development, social and emotional development, and approaches toward learning. Feel free to check out all of the early learning standards at htp://earlychildhoodohio.org/elds.stm. Above all, we strive to provide a home away from home for you and your child by giving cuddles, eye contact, one-on-one attention, responding to needs promptly, using soothing and kind voices and words, and creating an envi- ronment of love and trust.

What to Bring: Please bring the following items to school for your child. We recommend that you schedule a me to bring in these items before your child’s first day so that the first drop off is not hectic. 

  • Large supply of diapers and wipes 
  • Diaper cream 
  • At least three pair of weather appropriate extra clothing including shirts, pants, and socks. Pack clothing in gallon or larger resealable plastic bags and label with your child’s first and last name. 
  • Bibs. Keep an extra supply of bibs at school at all mes. 
  • Two ghtly-fi ng crib sheets—blankets, mobiles, bumpers, stuffed animals are not permited in cribs. 
  • Pacifiers. Keep a couple of extra at school and in the diaper bag just in case one gets lost. 
  • Please do not bring toys from home. They might get lost or broken and it can be difficult for a child to share their special toys with the other children. 

Items to bring on a weekly basis

  • Sleep sack (a one-piece sleeper or wearable blanket, only children who cannot roll over may be swaddled with a wearable swaddling blanket) 

Every item that you bring to school for your child must be labeled with first and last name. Here are some suggestions to help you get started: 

  • Clothing: Iron-on labels, fabric marker 
  • Resealable plastic bags filled with clothing, diaper boxes, wipes boxes/containers: permanent marker 
  • Bottles, food containers and lids, forks and spoons: masking tape, painters tape, label maker tape, thick rubber bands 
  • Dating botles and food: Keep a sheet of dots that you can quickly write the date on and atach to each item before leaving in the morning 
  • htps://mabelslabels.com/ htps://www.inchbug.com/ htps://www.namebubbles.com/ 

Tip: While most items can be packed in your diaper bag the night before, certain items such as baby food and botles of breast milk or formula need to stay refrigerated and can only be packed the next morning. You can’t leave without your keys so either put them in the refrigerator next to the botles or put a bright sticky note on them reminding you to get the botles.