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Toddler

Ages: Independent Walkers – 3 Years

Programs

Morning Class
8:45am to 11:45am

Full-day Class
8:45am to 2:45pm

Classes are offered for 3 days per week or 5 days per week for Toddler age students.

Extra Care
8:00am to 8:30am
2:45pm to 6:00pm

The educational journey begins with the most important elements —love, caring, respect, and discovery. This is the environment in which our youngest students thrive, creating an unshakable foundation for lifelong learning.

To give these new learners the sense of well-being and security they need, we transformed a residence into the Toddler House, which creates a sense of home. The space is beautifully designed to appeal to children’s curiosity, including an area for large-motor development, a spacious yet self-contained backyard, and a parlor that has been converted into a napping area with toddler-size oak beds and matching dressers where children keep their own clothing and family photos.

Toddler Curriculum

Planting the Seeds of Success
We instill in our Toddlers the basic values and skills that will serve them for a lifetime. At this young age their language abilities are just beginning to emerge, so we spend considerable time helping them learn to associate specific letters with sounds, naming and matching objects and of course, singing, with music playing a huge role in this process through the integration of songs that help children develop language skills.

These are the first steps on their journey of intellectual discovery and, even though they might not be aware of it, little games like putting different objects in baskets marked by a corresponding letter represent their first taste of reading. In addition to cognitive development, these years are also time for enormous physical strides. Gross and fine motor skills are emphasized, as we play games and participate in activities that improve coordination and stamina, as well as pincer muscles. We also expand learning outside the four walls of the classroom, spending as much time as possible outside — even during the winter months — to create an appreciation for an active lifestyle. This also offers children their first taste of independence, by giving them the responsibility of dressing themselves for the outdoors.

A Typical Day in Toddler

A typical day for Toddlers begins with the students carrying their bags to the door, and greeting their teachers with a handshake and a warm “good morning!” before placing their belongings on their own special hooks. Then, after a goodbye kiss for Mom or Dad, changing their shoes to slippers, and putting their shoes in the proper bins, it’s off to work.

The first hour of the day is spent exploring and discovering the classroom under the guidance of their teachers while doing hands-on work with the Montessori materials. Students are given individual lessons on the materials and offered the opportunity to choose, complete, and return the work to the appropriate shelf. In addition to working on language, small and large motor skills, and forming the basis for further academic work, children also spend time on care-of-self activities, such as toileting, dressing or undressing, washing hands, setting up their own snack, etc.

After an hour, children are called together for circle time. Once everyone settles in, teachers lead the children through various songs and activities. At the end of the activity, the children are dismissed individually to go get their coats and boots to go outside, where we believe they learn as much as they do inside. The Toddlers enjoy their outside environment and special playground, which is fenced in to create a secure area for their activities.

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“It was so important that we find a place that would care for him the way that we would...”

—Acorn Parent

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