Infant Rooms
The SSA Infant Rooms care for children aged six weeks to eighteen months. Within the SSA family, there are three dedicated infant rooms, each named after notable mountains in Colorado: Mt. Elbert, Mt. Blue Sky, and Mt. Princeton.
Infant Curriculum
At Stepping Stones Academy (SSA), our infant curriculum, Experience Curriculum, is integrated into our Brightwheel student portal to support each baby’s unique journey of growth and discovery. Our goal is to help every infant engage, explore, and discover through meaningful, age-appropriate experiences that encourage curiosity and build a strong foundation for lifelong learning.
Grounded in Research
Our activities are informed by early childhood research and designed to support the whole child, including cognitive, physical, language, and social-emotional development. Through nurturing interactions, sensory exploration, play, and everyday routines, infants have opportunities to develop new skills at their own pace.
Aligned with Early Learning Standards
Experience Curriculum is designed to support alignment with early learning standards across all 50 states, Head Start guidelines, and National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) practices. This framework helps guide developmentally appropriate learning experiences while supporting quality early childhood education.
Created for Birth Through 18 Months
Infancy is a time of remarkable growth and discovery. Our curriculum is specifically designed for children from birth through 18 months, with experiences tailored to their developmental stages, individual needs, and emerging abilities. As babies grow, activities adapt to encourage new skills, strengthen relationships, and foster confidence as they explore the world around them.
Learning Through Everyday Experiences
At SSA, we recognize that every interaction is an opportunity to learn. From tummy time and sensory play to songs, stories, responsive caregiving, and exploring the environment, our infant teachers create meaningful experiences that nurture development while honoring each child’s individual pace.
At Stepping Stones Academy, we believe every baby deserves the opportunity to engage, explore, and discover in a safe, loving, and supportive environment.
Brightwheel (BW) offers our families a dedicated platform that allows parents to actively engage with their child's early education experience. It provides a secure and user-friendly portal where families can access a variety of features to stay informed and connected to their children's day and to SSA. Some of the key features SSA utilizes through Brightwheel: real-time updates such as diaper changes, bottles/feedings, curriculum, student needs, streamlined communication, digital daily reports, enhanced family engagements, convenient check-in/check out, simplified billing and payments, digital forms and so much more!
Infant Staff
The SSA Infant Staff is led by Co-Owner and Co-Director Kaela Chaffin. The Infant Staff is a group of educators that have a true passion and love for children. Each classroom has a max of 10 students and 2 staff members per day. SSA also utilizes float staff to support each classroom as needed. All staff has a complete staff file as required by the CDEC.
Infant Enrollment
SSA offers families customizable schedule options that include 2 days up to 5 days per week. Each day students are enrolled in our Academic Day at minimum, but can add Morning Care and then two different After Care options.
​​Academic Day: 8:30am-3:00pm
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Add On Options
Morning Care: 6:30am-8:30am
After Care: Pick Up BY 4:30p or Pick Up BY 6:00pm
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Pick Up BY 3:00pm is part of the Academic Day
and is not additional tuition.
At Stepping Stones Academy (SSA), we understand that every child is unique and thrives with individualized care. We work with families to create customized daily schedules that reflect each child’s individual needs, including feeding times, nap routines, and other preferences or care requirements.
Our teachers will make every effort to accommodate each child’s established routine while recognizing that schedules may naturally evolve as children grow and develop. To keep families involved and informed, daily updates will be provided through our Brightwheel (BW) student portal, allowing parents to stay connected to their child’s daily experiences, monitor changing routines, and partner with our team throughout their child’s growth and development.
