Caterpillars Infant Program

Ages Birth – 1

At The Vine Preschool, we understand that first and foremost, babies need to feel safe and parents need to feel secure knowing that their baby is in good hands.The first way that infants take in their surroundings is through sight and sound. They are navigating through their environment and rely heavily on familiar faces and voices. For parents looking for Alexandria Infant Day Care, The Vine Preschool has just the right program you’re looking for.

Infants Daily Schedule

*Times are Flexible: Infants receive bottles & naps as needed, diapers are changed every 2 hours or as needed.
6:30 – 8:00 Bottles / Diaper Checks / Changes/Floortime
8:00 – 8:30 Breakfast
8:30 – 9:30 Morning Activity / Craft/Story, Circle Time / Music and Songs
10:00 – 10:20 Feedings / Water / Bottles
9:00 – 10:45 *Morning Naps, *Indoor/Outdoor Walks / Floortime
10:45 – 11:00 Hand Washing and Story Time
11:00 – 11:30 Midday Meals / Feedings / Lunch
11:30 – 11:45 Diaper Checks / Changes
11:45 – 2:30 Afternoon Naps / Floortime, *Quiet Toys, Mat play,
2:40 – 3:00 Diaper Changes / Afternoon Feedings
3:00 – 3:30 Snack
3:30 – 5:00 Afternoon Activity / Floortime *Indoor / Outdoor Walks & Play: Balls, Bubbles,
5:00 – 6:00 Diaper Checks / Changes / Floor Time, *Music, Sensory Exploration, Toys

S² Philosophy

The S-squared philosophy is our belief that every child needs seed deposits of security, stability and stimulation in order to grow cognitively, emotionally and physically. This cultivation begins in our Seedling Infant Program and continues in our Toddler and Preschool programs.

In the same way that we experience the world through our five senses, the S² philosophy encompasses five sensory experiences:

1. emotional stimulation – providing experiences that make your baby feel safe, excited, and happy

2. environmental stimulation – providing an environment that has developmentally appropriate toys to explore

3. language stimulation – talking to babies, narrating what they are experiencing and what is going on around them

4. physical stimulation – providing tummy time and floor time to reach developmental milestones such as eye-tracking, holding their head up, rolling over, reaching for objects and crawling

5. neurological stimulation – combining these experiences to increase the brain’s ability to make connections

Quality Alexandria Infant Day Care

Every baby has a different temperament and our caregivers take the time to understand and meet each infant’s individual needs.

When your infant is enrolled into our program, please provide us with an information sheet that lets us know how your routine at home has been. This information sheet will help our caregivers establish a similar routine as your baby transitions to his or her new environment.

There are so many milestones that are reached when children are in child care, and communicating through the HiMama app. serves as the eyes and ears of your child’s experiences at The Vine Preschool. This is also the place where parents can provide the caregiver with information such as the child’s disposition the night before, like having restlessness night due to teething.

Each baby is assigned their very own crib and we support the Safe to Sleep Campaign (formerly called the Back to Sleep Campaign) by always placing babies in the crib on their backs to sleep. Your baby will not have a set schedule, as babies are fed on demand.

Also see:

• Toddler “Ones” Program (1-2 yrs old)
• Toddler “Twos” Program (2 yrs old)
• Preschool (3-5 yrs old)
• Before and After School Care

Feel free to schedule an appointment to see our Caterpillars Infant Program firsthand.