Our toddler community has a Guide, an assistant and generally 12 to 14 children aged 15 to 36 months. Each classroom is a specially prepared environment designed to meet the needs of children this age, allowing them to become independent and engaged learners. Young children go through sensitive periods of order and language, so our Toddler Community is designed with this in mind to allow movement, exploration, and socialization. Toddlers have a large capacity for mental absorption and are encouraged to explore and discover quietly and intently.
We watch for walking independently, shifting from morning and afternoon naps to just one afternoon nap, and moving away from using a bottle as key milestones. Once these milestones have been met, they are ready for introduction into the toddler environment.
If your child is not yet ready for the toddler environment, please check into our Nido Program, which works closely with our Toddler Environment in preparing a child for transition.
During our work period, each child will work with many different activities such as polishing, watering plants, learning to sew, collage, food preparation, washing dishes or baking bread. With each choice children practice movement, concentration and develop self-confidence. We gather every morning for a community snack, prepared by the children with the guidance of an adult. The table is set with flowers, place mats, cloth napkins and everyone practices manners.
During the morning we engage in music, poetry and songs, and art materials are always available. There is joy and excitement each day as the child’s personality unfolds and blossoms, revealing the person he or she will become.
Once a child begins walking stably, we recommend cloth training pants, which they can pull up and down independently. We will then have them sit on the toilet for very short periods of time at regular intervals throughout the day. This serves two purposes.
When this is done consistently in the classroom and at home, it generally results in children becoming toilet trained much faster.
Each parent will pack a lunch containing food from each of the five food groups your child is able to eat independently. With support and training from the guide and assistant, they will set their place at the table, pour their own milk, clean their space up once they are finished and wash their own plates and silverware.
They will also participate in food preparation regularly, including apple slicing, orange juicing, and bread baking, which is then shared with the group at snack time.
When children are young, they absorb the entire world around them through their five senses. Our Toddler Community caters to their senses by offering an environment rich in Sensorial Experiences.
Learning to Care for the Environment around you is a vital life skill we foster in the earliest years. Children learn to keep the environment clean, orderly, and well-maintained. By doing this for themselves, they learn to respect and take ownership and responsibility of the space around them, both indoors and outdoors.