Curriculum
Our toddler program is designed to assist the child toward independence, social awareness, respect and the development of motor skills and language. This is an important step for preparation to the Primary Program.
For toddlers, this is a period of self-development and learning of self-help skills. Since, this can, also, be a frustrating time of life, aggression, such as pushing, hitting and biting is fairly common and is normally out grown as the toddler gains speech and learns other techniques for coping. Our teachers supervise and offer constructive activity to help the toddler through this time.
Through song, dance and freedom of choice, the toddlers have access to a variety of large muscle activities that offer opportunities to jump, climb, balance, crawl, and skip. These exercises as well as creative art activities are offered for each child to choose. This freedom in a safe place is crucial to the toddler program. However, it is tempered by two important limits that will be beneficial for a lifetime – respect for others and respect for the environment. A work period of 1 ½ to 2 hours is provided for classroom activities.
Practical Life
Coordination of movement and exercises for large muscle groups: jumping,
climbing, dance, running, walking, carrying exercises.
Hand-eye coordination and exercises for small muscle groups: bead stringing, pegs, puzzles, gluing, folding. Pouring, transferring, spooning, grasping.
Care of Self: dressing frames, hand washing, combing hair, and wiping face.
Care of Environment and Grace and Courtesy: sweeping, wiping a table, setting table, table manners, saying “thank you”, “please”, and other kind words.
Sensorial
Refinement of the senses: size, shape, color, texture, smell, and taste.
Color of the Month: emphasis on a color. Art activities, sorting, matching exercises are based on a chosen color for the month.
Sensorial exploration of water, sand, dirt, clay, textured objects, the smell of flowers and food, discriminating size, color, and sound.
Language
Between eighteen months and age two, young children are learning new words everyday. In the Montessori toddler environment, the teacher provides language materials, such as books, objects and pictures.
Building vocabulary – Classified vocabulary
Calendar – Days of the Week and Months of the Year
Story Books: There is a book selection of the month. Most of the books we review are Caldecott Award winning books.
Music and finger plays
Felt story board
Math
Toddlers are very interested in numbers and counting and our teachers work everyday with them.
Counting games, Calendar
Number of the Month: associating quantity to symbol.
Art
Toddlers enjoy basic creative work such as cutting paper, gluing, coloring with chalk and crayons, also, paint with watercolors at an easel.
Music
Early childhood research indicates that music is an important part of brain development.
Our teachers provide music in several ways; singing songs, playing musical instruments and listening to a variety of children’s songs and classical music.
Outdoor Time
The toddlers have a scheduled outdoor time and this includes running, climbing, swinging, exploring nature, sand and water.