The year-long Baby Watch program at Sidwell Friends helps 2nd graders learn about human development, social dynamics, and empathy.

Second graders think it’s funny—and “crazy”—to imagine themselves as little babies who drink only milk, spend a lot of time on their tummies, and put almost anything they can grab into their mouths. But while they may not be able to picture themselves as infants, Sidwell’s Baby Watch program helps students see with their own eyes how much a baby changes over the course of a school year.

Back this year after a Covid pause, Baby Watch is designed to focus on human development, empathy, emotional literacy, and problem solving. Once a month, each class gets a visit from the baby and parent so they observe and learn more about their own origins, feelings, relationships, and one another. The program is supported by 2nd grade teachers Clare Beeny, Katie Burke, and Amie Wallace as well as Lower School counselor Kate McCracken, who works with the team on the project.

Beeny says the program is guided by some fundamental questions: How will observing a baby help 2nd graders imagine another person’s thoughts, feelings, and needs? In what ways can watching the caregiver–infant relationship model caring, responsive behavior for students? What connections can students make between what they notice in the baby and how they treat their classmates?

With the baby on a blanket, surrounded by rattles, stuffies, and other toys, the students circle around to hear how the baby got its name, the story of its birth or adoption, and maybe some cultural traditions that occur as the baby grows. 

“Second grade is a time when students really start to expand their awareness beyond themselves and to the ‘other,’” says Burke. “Seeing baby Ibrahim and his mother monthly helps the kids develop deeper skills around observation, navigating their own feelings, and thinking about empathy.”

When the students first met their classroom’s baby, they focused on how tiny and cute babies are. But as the months went by, they started to make observations and ask more pointed questions. 

“At first, when we met the baby, he lay on his blanket like a blob in the middle of our circle. He was cute but he didn’t do much,” noted Henry, a student in Burke’s class. “He’s gotten a lot more fun and curious during the year. Now he grabs our hands, and he especially likes to pull my glasses off my face.”

As the months pass and the babies get older, the students become more observant, noticing small changes in the babies’ behavior. “They always pepper Ibrahim’s mom about what he does at home, when he will talk, and what solid foods he is now eating. They have endless questions!” smiles Burke. After each visit, the students write and draw in their journals, which have turned out to be another record of sorts of the baby’s development.

“Ibrahim’s mom has been wonderful, answering the kids’ questions and explaining why, for example, babies can’t drink water when they are infants or why swaddling makes them feel safe,” says Burke. “For the kids, seeing Ibrahim and his mom helps them truly understand the depths of empathy.”

Cece, another second grader in Burke’s class, said she loves that baby Ibrahim smiles more and sits up. “He laughs at the big clock on the classroom wall and he definitely notices more each time we see him,” she says. Cece has a younger sister in kindergarten at Sidwell and though she does not remember her as a little baby, she acknowledges that getting to know Ibrahim and his mother over this year has made her a better big sister. “My sister got scared recently when we watched Percy Jackson—there’s this girl with snake hair—so I cuddled her and she felt safe. I have a bigger heart for her because of baby Ibrahim.”