Rainbow Baby Nursery
6 Weeks - 2 Year Old
Adult to child ratio: 1:3
Welcome to the Baby Nursery at Rainbow. The Baby Nursery consists of four rooms, Purple, Red, Orange and Blue (click on the room names to learn more about each team).
Our Baby Nursery team will provide your child with a variety of opportunities to learn, grow and develop their life skills in a caring and nurturing environment. This is accomplished through observing the children's interests, both indoors and outdoors, and responding to these emerging interests with play being the main focus. We then use these opportunities to observe and support any learning directions that arise.
We believe it is important for babies to build a solid foundation of social and emotional skills, communication skills, and physical development initially. These prime areas of development are the main focus for children in the Baby Nursery as they learn to distinguish new people, who and what they do and do not like, how to communicate their needs and wants, and most importantly how to build bonds with their key person at nursery.
Research has shown how important exploring the world through all five senses is for children and babies. As a result we create sensory stimulating environments and activities to spark that initial sense of wonderment in babies and toddlers; we support their developing confidence in interacting with their environments, adults and each other, and help the children take those first few tentative steps (sometimes literally!) in their journey to independence.
For more information click here for a copy of our Welcome to Baby Nursery.
If you have any questions regarding Baby Nursery, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Schemas in Play…
Schemas are patterns of behaviour often initiated by children and babies in their everyday actions.
If you have ever found yourself wondering, why does my little one move all the items in our home around? What is so fascinating about lining up bits of cereal on their tray? I wish they would stop throwing everything from their high chair!
Young children who seem to enjoy certain repetitive behaviours are often exploring a schema. Schemas help children understand the basic concepts of physics that make the world work - all through play!
Here are some of the most common schemas in under twos:
Trajectory
If your child is fascinated with lines, from moving by jumping up and down, to mark making a solid, static line. The lines can come in all different sizes and can be both horizontal or vertical.
Play that supports Trajectory: Any form of mark making, kicking or throwing a ball and jumping or bobbing up and down.
Positioning
If you wonder why your child is lining items up or putting things together in groups, then they could be entering into the Positioning schema.
Play that supports Positioning: loose parts play or treasure baskets filled with acorns, materials, curtain rings, larger stones etc or even cars or small world items.
Enveloping
If your child is in an Enveloping schema, they will enjoy covering themselves or objects completely up, or even wrapping items up or placing them in containers.
Play that supports Enveloping: using blankets for wrapping up dolls or even themselves, wrapping paper, all-in-one dress up suits and masks.
Rotating
If your child enjoys spinning items round and round or likes to run around in circles or even being swung round then they may be experiencing a Rotation schema.
Play that supports Rotation: streamers, spinning tops, roundabouts and spinning them in your arms!
Enclosing
If you notice your child is adding boundaries to play areas e.g. fences around animals, or emptying and filling their water cup and showing an interest in lids, they could be learning through an Enclosing schema.
Play that supports Enclosing: Emptying and filling containers with and without lids, creating dens to hide in or even role playing putting their toys to bed!
Transporting
This can often be a frustrating schema for caregivers as children in a Transporting schema will often be seen carrying or moving items from one place to another or even carrying lots of items in containers or bags.
Play that supports Transporting: safe use of bags, rucksacks, pull trolleys to transport items in. Generally just allowing them to transport but observing where they are putting items closely.
Connecting
If your child loves nothing more than spending time setting out and dismantling tracks, constructing, joining items together with tape or glue, or even opening and fastening their pram buckles, then they may be displaying a Connecting schema.
Play to support Connecting: building blocks, wooden railway tracks, construction toys, paper chains etc.
Orienteering
Have you noticed your child showing an interest in positioning themselves or objects in different places or positions e.g upside down or on their side.
Play that supports Orientation: Sleeping Lions (as they come up to age 2), climbing frames, trees, walls etc.
