Four infants sit on top of a slide landing, looking down at a green slide. There is a green lawn and logs in the distance, a traditional Montessori playground and greenspace

ABOUT NIDO

Welcome to Nido!

For children ages 6 weeks to 18 months—

The Nido program is designed around the belief that infants are born with tremendous potential eager to learn, explore, and try new things. The classroom, in light of the infant’s need for routine and consistency, will allow for freedom of movement while gently stimulating the naturally curious infant. A flexible schedule will allow each child to eat, sleep, or play according to their own unique internal rhythm. The activities will support and encourage language development, practical life skills, eye-hand coordination, along with gross and fine motor abilities in a warm and loving environment.

Our guides are highly trained and experienced in Montessori infant care. With a ratio of 1 to 3, each child is lovingly cared for and supported to learn independent skills.

Infant Learning Goals

  • Explores objects in different ways

  • Uses simple gestures to communicate

  • Chooses an activity and puts it away

  • Plays alongside others

  • Knows the names of body parts, colors, and shapes

  • Beginning to use one to two word phrases

  • Demonstrates independent skills such as self-feeding

  • Achieving physical development milestones such as crawling, walking, climbing, and jumping

A young infant boy climbs through a wooden tunnel
A young infant boy climbs through a wooden tunnel
A young infant boy climbs through a wooden tunnel

Nido Lead Guide

A Note from our Nido Lead Guide, Loretta Johnson:

Greetings! I consider it a privilege to be able to direct the God-given energies in your precious child during this important foundational time of their life. I have worked in early childhood education for decades in both traditional and Montessori Environments. The benefits of the respect for the child and their natural curiosity to learn ,which is the Montessori Approach to Education, can now be proven through neuroscience. I am AMI Certified in Montessori Assistant to Infancy and hold a degree in Applied Arts and Science.

Nido Environment

The Nido Montessori classroom is a carefully created prepared environment that will help support the development of children ages 6 weeks to 18 months old. We have mix-age groupings, allowing younger children to learn from the activities of older children and providing the older children the opportunity to teach and nurture the younger child. Each child may choose what to work on and with whom to work. The Montessori classroom will help cultivate the child’s social and independent skills. It will foster the child’s love for learning, provide an aid for life, and prepare them for the Toddler Program.

“We should not look at newborn infants as small, helpless human beings, but as persons who are small in size, but with an immense mental capacity, and many physical abilities that cannot be witnessed unless the environment assists in the expression of life.”

—Maria Montessori

An infant boy works with wooden cylinder blocks
An infant boy works with wooden cylinder blocks
An infant boy works with wooden cylinder blocks

Enrolling in Nido

To learn more about enrolling your child in Cathedral Montessori School’s Nido Program, please schedule a tour.

We look forward to meeting you!