Meadowbrook Montessori School

Nido

2 - 15 months

The word “nido” is derived from the Italian word for “Nest” and reflects the nurturing, comforting environment we strive for here in our infant community. Our Nido environment and childcare services have been lovingly and carefully designed to be a warm, inviting home-away-from-home in which young children can grow and develop to their fullest potential.

Why is a Nido special?

A Nido is a unique setting for infant care which focuses on two basic needs of the infant: A safe, bonded relationship between adult and child, and the development of the child’s growing sense of self and independence. In our infant community, we only accept enough children to maintain a child to staff ratio of 3:1. This allows us to provide the most individualized care possible.


Trust is a basic need that must be fostered in every young child. We maintain very consistent staffing in the Nido, with very little change so children develop a bond with the adults caring for them. Our staff show loving care and respectfully respond to the needs of each infant. In doing so, they encourage the development of that trust and convey a message of unconditional love and acceptance. This trust will allow the child to feel comfortable learning and taking risks as they develop.

“I'm so relieved that I found this place. At 18 months, my daughter has developed skills well surpassing that of 3-year-olds. Even more, she is consistently in a loving, nurturing environment and I do not worry, with her small class size, that she is ever lost in the mix. She LOVES her teachers and classmates. I could not ask for anything more!”


- Chelsea Hagan

What are the Important Components of a Nido Program?

When children are developing, they absorb the entire world around them through their five senses. Our Nido program caters to their senses by offering an environment rich in supportive Sensorial Experiences.


  • The Nido program strives to offer independence through freedom of movement. This is achieved through having a safe, open environment where children are not inhibited by the use of playpens and walkers. We also offer freedom to explore, allowing the children to discover their world in an inviting environment prepared just for them at their stage of development.
  • In our Nido environment, we not only focus on the intellectual development, but seek to also support their social and emotional development. A child who has been supported both socially and emotionally with responsive individualized attention will react positively to their environment, cope with frustration and learn easily. This will result in a happy, well-rounded child.
  • Our goal in the Nido program is also to begin to help the child to help themselves. In teaching the beginnings of self care, we strive to see a child enjoy their independence and find satisfaction in doing things for themselves.
  • The first 3 years of a child’s life are critical to their language development. Here at Meadowbrook, we offer a language-rich environment in which we intertwine various language activities and vocabulary into all that we do, including snack time, outside time, and group time activities.
  • Parents know their child better than anyone, so we encourage strong parent communication. Every day your child is in the Nido, you will receive a daily activity log emailed to you, so you know exactly when your child ate, when they slept and when their diaper was changed.

If you think your child would thrive in a Montessori environment, give us a call or schedule a tour online. We would love for you to visit our school and learn more.

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