1. FOR INFANTS AND TODDLERS By: Kara Hoffman, Heather Fleig, and Sidney Sullivan TREE TOP’S PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

2. Our Rating System No improvements needed Few Minor Improvements needed Many Minor improvements needed Few Major improvements needed Many Major improvements needed The environment rating will be found in the top left hand corner in every slide

3. Soft We offer…. laps to the children Non-squishy wall-to-wall carpet which lends itself well to newly walking infants Soft pillows and mattresses Soft bouncy balls and blocks Grass and sand Landing Pad for Slide Book Nook Sleeping Bags and Cribs Soft Blocks

4. Hard Bench Geoclimber and Balance Beam Sidewalk and Blacktop Blocks and Legos We offer Walks on the sidewalks and blacktop Hard benches and stools Improvement Bike path in the backyard so infants and toddlers can practice running or ride their trikes Wooden Tunnel

5. Intrusion Looking from the infant room into the Two and preschool room View from the top into other rooms View into the Two Room Low windows visits from firefighters parents licensers We offer Low windows to bring the outside in The licenser and firefighter visit yearly Parents sometimes come in for a visit Our room dividers are made of Plexiglass and bars which allows the infants and toddlers to look into the other rooms. This also makes for an easy transition to the Two Room.

6. Seclusion Wooden tunnel Tree tunnel crib swing castle Exersaucer We offer Many places for children who are needing time to themselves A “castle” which is a large lofted play-yard that children can also crawl underneath. We set this up when we have many low-mobility babies. Improvements We would like to make a lofted area that children can access by themselves

7. Closed Dimension We offer- Toys that are used for a specific purpose Storage in the basement for teachers use so we can easily rotate toys We keep our art supplies in the laundry room We keep snacks and dishes up in a cabinet in the infant room so we don’t have to leave the room or leave the children unattended. Puzzles and other closed toys High book shelves High storage Radio and other materials out of children’s reach

8. Open Dimension We offer- Manipulatives that are open- ended Toys that are easily accessible; on the floor and low shelves There are no dividing walls in the infant room so all children are visible Open ended toys Low shelving Manipulatives on the floor for infants

9. Simple Dimension Buckets to dump Plates and cups Bottles with colored water and other materials inside Balls to throw We offer- Plastic bottles with colored water and other things to shake Buckets to dump Cups and Plates in our kitchen area Improvements Add more everyday objects like pots and pans Include more varieties of textures

10. Complex Dimension Dishes and kitchen Sand, buckets, and dump trucks We offer- A sandbox outside to experience scooping and dumping A kitchen area with dishes and foods Teacher directed complex activities such as bringing in a tub of water and a variety of scooping and pouring containers Improvements Bring sand and water inside more often Offer more complex sensory experiences

11. Low Mobility We offer- Caregivers laps for the infants and toddlers Teacher is always near by to make sure low mobile infants are kept safe on the floor Improvements We can bring out the castle when necessary Heather keeping guard swings Buggy

12. High Mobility We offer- An indoor slide for gross motor exercise Pull up bar for infants and toddlers to strengthen their arms and legs Many things to explore in a safe environment Indoor slide Sidewalks to run on Pull up bar Geoclimber

13. Scale We offer- The pictures on the wall are at the children height The toys are on low shelves or the floor to make them easily accessible. Improvements We will be getting table and chairs that the infants and toddlers can get into and out of independently. Stairs up to the changing table so they can go up by themselves. Infant Book Nook Low Bars Table Kitchen Set Pictures

14. Aesthetics We offer- Neutral colored walls and carpeting Big windows that offer natural light Wood tones Soft muted colored valances

15. Acoustics We offer- Proper group sizes Soft mattresses, pillows, and stuffed animals to absorb the sound Improvements- A nap room Padded ceiling to mute sound Soft Things Carpet

16. Order The infant room is set up so there are certain areas so the children can focus. We have obstacles to break up the room that children can crawl through, around, and over. We have a slide so children can practice stepping up There are nooks cut out with interest areas We have organized adult shelves for things that are inappropriate for children to be playing with.

17. Obstacles We do not have enough money or space to do all the things that we would like to incorporate into the center