Nido

Nido (“nest” in Italian) is a cozy and loving space intentionally designed for your baby’s rapid development.

Welcome to our Nido Community!

Nido (“nest” in Italian) is a cozy and loving space intentionally designed for your baby’s rapid development. This infant classroom serves children ages 6 weeks up to 18 months. Your child will develop their core and overall gross motor development in an apparatus free-environment.

When the child is ready, we sit together to enjoy family style meals. Infants who are still exclusively bottle fed are held or supported and provided undivided attention during their feedings. Mothers are welcome to come in during the day to bottle or breastfeed their infant on our gliders. When your child begins to meet the milestones of walking independently, self-feeding, drinking from an open cup and down to one nap during the day, she will transition into the Toddler Community

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE NIDO COMMUNITY

Our Approach

Strong Bodies And Coordinated Movement

Much of your baby’s energy early on will go toward building gross motor ability, as he learns to hold up his head, roll over, push up off the ground, sit up, stand, walk, climb, etc. Successful development in this area sets the stage for strength and coordination later in life, which are necessary to enjoy sports, dance, or daily life recreational activities.

For babies to fully learn to do all these things, they must have time, space, and freedom to move, so that they can practice each individual step along the way. When you first visit a Montessori Nido community, you’ll probably notice that there are no playpens, no jumpers, no walkers, and no high chairs—nothing that restricts your baby’s movement.

Confidence

Your tiny baby is trying new things all the time. Each time your baby practices a new skill, and then masters it, she strengthens the sense of confidence that will stay with her throughout her lifetime. Even your tiny baby imitates others, and can begin to take small steps towards independent self-care. Your Montessori guides will gently support your baby to learn to do things for herself, striking just the right balance between making your little one feel safe and loved, and identifying the right moment to encourage her to try something new.

Self-feeding is one of the early ways that your baby can practice independence in the area of self-care. As your baby learns to sit reliably, she sits at a tiny table on a sturdy chair, sized so that she can crawl in and out of the chair herself.

Developing language

We know the extreme importance of exposing your baby to rich spoken language and dynamic verbal interactions, in order to give his developing brain everything needed to master language. Our interactions with your baby are vibrant and meaningful. We describe what he is doing, what we are doing, and what other children are doing, making sure that he can watch the movements of our mouths as we speak.

As your baby becomes more familiar with precise language, he also begins to form connections between language, tone, and his own emotions. We expose your baby to as much vocabulary as possible, by clearly identifying objects and actions. Additionally, we read beautiful books about real people and things, and we sing — exposing your child to the full range of speech and expression.

Hand Development = Brain Development

Maria Montessori famously observed that “the hand is the instrument of the intelligence.” She understood that your baby uses her hand to fuel the development of her brain and nervous system. In a few short months, your baby goes from involuntary and reflexive movements, to intentionally batting and grabbing at objects, then to releasing something once she has grasped it. From there, she learns more refined grasping abilities, including the all-important “pincer grip” later used for holding a pencil. She transfers things from hand to hand, and coordinates her two hands for a chosen purpose (such as to bang things together!).