Our toddler program offers children 18 months to 36 months a unique experience in development.  The atmosphere of our classroom is bright, cheerful and of course comfortable allowing for exploration and discovery.

The Montessori philosophy used throughout the classroom help in the social, physical, emotional, developmental and psychological needs of each child.  The “work” the children choose in the classroom is designed to help encourage vocabulary development and self-confidence while gaining self-esteem through success at completion of each activity.

The classroom allows enough space for both individual work and movement.  Toddlers possess the gift of curiosity and that is encouraged and prepared for each day.  Toddlers are presented opportunities to work with a variety of materials used to develop language skills (phonics), math skills, practical life, and sensorial.  The most important area for this age group is the practical life, allowing the children a chance to develop their skills of movement with control and how to care for themselves and their environment with appreciation and respect.

At this stage in the child’s development, tasks are often repeated frequently as the child begins to establish their inner work cycle.  Each use of a material gives the child more confidence in their ability to master that skill.  All the materials in our toddler classroom are specifically geared to be easily gripped and with some effort be controlled.

Children are introduced to social skills and are encouraged to share and learn to sit still and focus their attention on the task at hand.  Working on fine motor skills with hand and eye coordination and self care is a major component of the Practical Life area.  Language is full of activities and materials designed to promote vocabulary and build beginning literacy.  Counting and learning the visual symbols that correspond with numbers are main purpose of the math area.  To help prepare the children for their next step in learning we also include the sensorial area where the children learn by using their senses and the cultural area where children begin to learn about the world around us. 

TODDLER CURRICULUM 

• Book corner for looking at books alone, with friends or a teacher 
• Manipulative play area for puzzles and age-appropriate materials that help develop hand/eye coordination 
• Art area for working with paints, crayons, markers, glue and play dough 
• Practical Life activities such as pouring water, spooning, using tongs, etc. to develop small muscle coordination and 
• concentration span 
• Pre-language activities such as matching pictures and objects and learning vocabulary 
• Pre-math activities such as number puzzles and counting 
• Sensorial activities to distinguish shape, color and dimension 
• Line time for finger plays, songs, movement activities, dancing 
• Self-help skills encouraged such as dressing, washing hands, eating independently, toileting 
• Social skills, playing cooperatively, verbalizing feelings, trusting new adults (teachers), and developing first friendships 
• Development of concentration ability – our teachers never interrupt a child’s concentration. This gives the child space to explore materials without adult interference 
• Development of self-confidence

For more information please contact us.