Toddler
Time | Activity |
7:45 – 9:00am | Arrivals, Morning Snack and Diapering |
9:00 – 9:15am | Circle |
9:15 – 10:30 | Montessori Work Period/Snack |
10:30 – 11:00am | Outside Play |
11:00 – 11:45am | Lunch/Clean up and Diapering |
12:00 – 2:15pm | Nap, Wake-up, Diapering |
2:15 – 3:00pm | Outside Play |
3:00 – 4:00pm | Montessori Work Cycle and Snack |
4:00 – 5:15pm | Outside Play and Extended Day Activities |
Ages 15 months to 3 years
After going through the important Sensitive Period of learning how to walk, our Toddler children are encouraged to explore their world. This new found freedom of movement is balanced with emphasis on the respect of others and the environment, verbalization of needs and the practical life skill of caring for themselves. Challenging tasks are gradually introduced that will enable them to master basic movement, develop vocabulary, acquire social skills, and to gain independence. It is here that the child begins to learn many of the pre-Language and pre-Math skills that they will need throughout their lives.
At this stage of their lives, children are realizing that they are capable of doing many things by themselves, and they are encouraged to use this realization to learn new skills. As Dr. Montessori said, “The hand is the prehensile organ of the mind”, and the prepared environment of the Montessori classroom offers them many opportunities to use their hands to greet each new phenomena that they encounter. The foundations of reading and writing skills are expanded through use of sandpaper letters and learning to sort and differentiate. The children are taught a proper pencil grip, and engage in exercises that strengthen the hand muscles used in writing.
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Building Skills
Practical Life
Practical life skills continue to be an important part of their day, as they improve social skills and interaction with the classroom environment. This is the age when they begin to develop more awareness of others in their environment and begin to experience the ideas of community and responsibility. Toileting is an important developmental step for these children and we work with parents in making this process a natural part of development.
Language
Language begins here with exercises in rhyming sounds and tonal recognition. This is when their ability to communicate verbally explodes, and the teacher directs them to lessons that will challenge and expand their vocabulary. At the same time, they are beginning to learn how to map these verbal skills to written skills through the use of Montessori materials.
Math
Math skills begin with concrete concepts such as proportion, sorting, seriating, and size. Logic is not a characteristic of a child of this age, so the use of Montessori materials that offer concrete examples are needed to lead them to the more abstract aspects of numbers and number operations.
Peace
Unique to the Montessori Philosophy is the inclusion of a Peace Curriculum. This area focuses on Grace and Courtesy, including respect for oneself, for the members of the classroom, and for the environment. Toddlers practice conflict resolution, returning them to their place, using polite and respectful language, showing consideration to others, and more. This curriculum also focuses on cultural studies and diversity in the classroom, community, and the world by introducing other countries, their customs, and developing an understanding and love the differences in each other.
