Welcome to the Infant Room!

Through careful observation of each child, combined with an understanding of child development and a belief in the Montessori Method of education the Brookview Infant Room staff members provide a warm, safe, and caring environment. It is our goal to work closely with parents to ensure that the needs of each child are met in an individualized manner. 

Contact me at mbischoff@brookviewschool.org

An update from Miss Maggie...

May  15, 2012

The infant room is once again humming with activity as we have recently welcomed 7 week old Austin into our classroom! Many visitors have been stopping by as well to take a peek at the handsome baby boy! Spaces are beginning to fill up, so if you or someone you know would like to enroll your child in the Brookview Infant Program, please call (269)925-3544 to schedule a tour.

February 22, 2012

The second session of Parent-Infant class will be ending on March 2, 2012. The time has gone by so quickly! I have seen the children grow and change so much in just the short time we have spent together. Information will be available as we finalize plans to offer another session in the future. Applications are being accepted for openings in our all day infant program for children ages 6 weeks through 18 months. If you or someone you know is interested in more information, please contact the administrative office.

January 22, 2012

Another session of Parent-Infant Class began on Friday, January
20. The adults got acquainted with one another and the children eagerly
explored the classroom. In the coming weeks we will discuss topics including
the Montessori philosophy and various aspects of child development. I am
looking forward to getting to know the participants as the course continues! 

November 3, 2011

October was another wonderful month in the Infant Room! The children enjoyed scrubbing pumpkins and taking long walks through the woods on our newly made ramp behind the school. We are a smaller group, now with only three friends in our class. Although our numbers are small, the room has been very busy! Currently, we are in the midst of a minor construction project! David Ryan and Andy Faust have graciously constructed a half wall for us to better define the napping area in our classroom. We are so thankful for their efforts!

October 11, 2011,

The infants have been enjoying the recent return of warm temperatures and sunny skies! We have been spending plenty of time outside, going for walks to the park and exploring the playground. Some of the children have gotten acquainted with the new goat and sheep on the farm by visiting from outside the fence, other children have observed the new animals from afar. Three of our children have transitioned into the toddler classes. All of the recent "graduates" are enjoying their new classrooms, eagerly exploring the new works and getting to know their new teachers. In the Infant classroom, the children have been working with several new materials including the peg board, a new ring post, and opening and closing objects which all encourage the development of fine motor skills. The children are growing and changing each day right before my eyes!

The 2011-2012 school year is in full swing! The hallway is freshly painted and the room has been cleaned top to bottom! I am so thankful to all the members of the Infant Room staff for their hard work during set-up week preparing the indoor and outdoor environments. The children have enjoyed discovering the new materials on the shelves. With the start of the new school year we have welcomed one new friend into our class and one child has transitioned from our room into the Toddler 1 class. We have created a lending resource library in the Infant-Toddler hallway. Parents are welcome to browse the selection of books and borrow anything that they would like.  

July 23, 2011,

The infants are having an exciting summer! We have been enjoying playing in the sandbox and taking daily walks to the park. The recent heat wave has kept us inside a little more lately, but we have had a great time blowing bubbles and dancing in the classroom. The children are also mastering a lot of new materials-color matching and bead stringing have been very popular lately. It has been so exciting watching the children attain greater skills in mobility and self-feeding. We are having a great summer and I hope everyone else is too!

May 11, 2011

Our room has been bustling lately, full of activity! The children are all growing and developing so quickly, it is beginning to feel more like a young toddler class than an infant room. It has been so fun taking the children outside each day. The children take as much joy in exploring nature as they do in using the playground equipment. Inside the classroom, children are working on independent self feeding as well as acquiring greater mobility. Thank you to all of the Brookview parents who made the staff members feel so special during Teacher Appreciation Week. It is such a great pleasure to be with the children each day, watching as they grow and learn!

March 7, 2011

During the month of February another child transitioned from the infant room into the toddler room. She is enjoying exploring the new environment and has integrated beautifully into her new community. We welcomed two new children into our class last month as well. Both of the new infants are younger siblings of current Brookview students. It is so nice to see their proud faces as they help their little brother and sister come into the classroom each morning. The dynamics of our classroom have changed a little now that we have some younger babies in the classroom again.

February 3, 2011

January was another amazing month in the infant room. The children have all become very comfortable in the environment and it is so much fun to watch as they discover new things each day. We welcomed a new friend into our class and she has transitioned beautifully into our classroom. We also celebrated the "graduation" of a child who had been in the room from the time she was seven weeks old. She loves her new status as a toddler and we are all so excited for her.

January 5, 2011

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all! Your children have grown and developed so much over these last few months, it is truly amazing! Our class has gone from a room full of babies rolling around on the floor to a room full of young children eagerly exploring the environment. The children have been enjoying shape sorting, nesting, and stacking works.

This month one child has transitioned into the toddler room and we have welcomed a new friend into our classroom. We are so happy for both of them. The year is off to a great start and I am looking forward to seeing the children learn and grow in 2011.

December 1, 2010

November was another exciting month in the Infant Room! The unseasonably warm weather we enjoyed early in the month allowed us to take the children outside to collect leaves, explore behind the school, and visit the sheep. Inside the classroom, some of the older children enjoyed scrubbing gourds and the younger children have been admiring their work by feeling and inspecting the gourds. The infants are changing right before our eyes every day. Each child in the room is now mobile in some form, from newly rolling over to running around and everything in between. Winter Celebration is Tuesday, December 7th at 5:45 p.m. We hope to see everyone there, each classroom in the school will represent a different location from North or South America. With the help of a gracious parent, the Infant Room will represent Brazil!

November 1, 2010

Throughout the month of October the infants enjoyed the beautiful fall scenery. We are very fortunate to have such great views out our back window; this is certainly a favorite place in the room among the majority of the children.  We also welcomed a new friend into our class during the month of October. We are so excited that he is with us! The room has a very active feel to it now that the majority of the children are enjoying mobility. Two friends have been working very hard to master the art of walking and have been enjoying the world from a different point of view! 

October 1, 2010

The month of September was very busy in the Infant Room! The large wooden play structure commonly known as "the climber" was moved from the back of the classroom into the front of the room. This has been very exciting; most of the children are now enjoying some form of mobility and are exploring all aspects of the climber. It is so amazing to see the same children who were sitting, lying, and rolling on the floor a few months ago now creeping, crawling, and walking up the stairs and the ramp and even going down the slide. We love to see the look on the children's faces as they sit at the top of the slide and try to muster the courage to go down. Luckily, Clifford, the big, red, stuffed dog is strategically placed in the corner near the bottom of the slide waiting to catch anyone who may have travelled faster than they expected.

Down on the floor, new things are happening as well. Two of the children have been working very hard to master the skill of rolling over. Often, these two friends start out several feet away from each other on the carpet and end up right next to each other in just a matter of minutes.

We have so enjoyed watching the children interact together as well as discovering new things on their own. Thank you so much for sharing them with us, they are amazing!

September 2, 2010

The Infant Room staff has been very busy working on the classroom. We can't wait to see the children explore the environment and discover the changes we have made.

As we begin a new school year we are very excited to welcome some new friends into our class. We are looking forward to getting to know the children and their families in the coming months.  We are also looking forward to seeing our returning students, one week is plenty of time for infants to make big changes and we can't wait to see what everyone is up to!

I hope everyone had a great summer and I look forward to seeing you all on the first day of school Wednesday, September 8.

Summer 2010

The infant community is very excited to welcome summer! The children have enjoyed looking out the window at the various animals that pass by-squirrels, birds, chipmunks, and raccoons are all spotted regularly. The teachers are looking forward to taking the children on long stroller rides to the park. The infants can also be seen joining the toddlers on the "little playground" now that the weather is nice. Inside the classroom things are very busy as well. First steps, first words, rolling over, beginning to eat solid foods, and crawling are all recent developments-the children are all developing so quickly!