Pilgrim School is focusing on each child’s unique combination of strengths, abilities and temperamental traits in its Pilgrim City Tots Program.

The Pilgrim City Tots Program creates a nurturing learning environment for parents and their children. (photo courtesy of Pilgrim School)

“Each child is born with special traits, along with potential to learn and develop,” said Dr. Sheryl Cohen, the school’s director of early and elementary education, who initiated the program in 2013. The inborn drive to learn expands as the infant grows, and child development experts are learning more about the importance of play in developing positive learning pathways and practices.

“Babies begin to explore the world and the people around them from the moment they are born,” Cohen said. “The time between the ages of 3 months and 23 months is the perfect opportunity for parents and their children to discover the fundamentals of learning through play.”

The Saturday morning program runs from 9 to 10 a.m. for non-walkers ages 3-12 months, and 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. for children 12-23 months. It engages parents and children through all five senses, and includes music, storytelling, discovery games and creative movement. Because every child has a different learning style, cooperative play between parents and children is the ideal way to discover and enhance the way that a child learns best, Cohen said.

The program will also include discussions led by Pilgrim’s parenting facilitator that will cover different facets of child development, such as social and emotional development, physical health, well-being, movement skills, communication and language skills. Participants will meet and interact with other parents of young children, and parents and children will make new friends in the Pilgrim School community.

Pilgrim City Tots is focused on parents having fun with their children – with the added benefit of learning how to encourage them to develop into unique individuals. Two sessions will be held: Fall 2015, which will run from Oct. 3 through Dec. 12, and Spring 2016, which will run from Jan. 23 through April 30. For enrollment and information, visit www.pilgrim-school.org.