Toddler Program
The first few years of a child's life are crucial to his personality and intellectual development. Toddlers need love and emotional nurturance in a healthy, caring environment.
The Toddler Cottage at West End Montessori School is to encourage and assist the unique development of each child. The prepared environment helps each child foster his basic needs for independence, exploration and the building of trust. The class size is small and inviting to make it feel like home for the youngest child.
The toddler classroom is filled with materials and activities that aid in the development of language, movement and sensorial exploration.
Language Development
Young children develop language at a tremendous rate. They are absorbing all the sounds, words and expression around them. Our toddler language curriculum includes enriched exposure to:
Vocabulary
Songs and Rhymes
Books
Social Communication
Gracious and Courteous Communication
Toddlers absorb language from the time they are born and during the second year they begin to speak and demand to know the vocabulary for everything in their environment. It is important during this period to give proper vocabulary to everything the child may come in to contact with. In the toddler classroom we are constantly providing vocabulary for each item or concept the children experience. Stories and songs also increase this skill in the toddlers. Grace and Courtesy is also an important part of the toddler curriculum. The children learn table manners, saying "thank you", "please" and other kind words.
Motor Development
Young children develop language at a tremendous rate. They are absorbing all the sounds, words and expression around them. Our toddler language curriculum includes enriched exposure to:
Gross Motor Development
Fine Motor Development
Physical Coordination
Eye Hand Coordination
Through song, dance and freedom of choice, the toddlers have access to a variety of large muscle activities that offer them opportunities to jump, climb, balance, crawl, and skip. Fine motor skills are increased through work with small manipulatives in the classroom. 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.
Toddler Sensory Development
Children under the age of three take in all information through their senses. They are particularly aware of the objects they see, sounds that they hear, and how things feel, smell and taste. Therefore, the toddler classroom environment is rich with sensorial experiences.
Independence And Care Of Self
Self Dressing
Toilet Training
Personal Hygiene
Toddlers thrive on independence. We want to foster a sense of self-confidence and independence by "helping them help themselves". They will also gain the skills needed to care for themselves such as dressing and undressing, wiping noses, washing hands etc. Developing independence within a Montessori toddler classroom is a main focus. Children are allowed and encouraged to do most daily tasks for themselves, especially "care of self", such as dressing/undressing, putting on and taking off shoes and coats, cleaning up their own work, eating and toileting. It is amazing to see what they can do for themselves when given the opportunity! Circle time is a time for the children to come together as a group. We practice sitting still (keeping our hands and bodies under control), listening and singing songs, dancing and building vocabulary. The children really enjoy this time and love to participate in music, movement, stories and song.
Care of The Environment
Caring for the Classroom
Caring for the Living Things in the Classroom (Plants and Animals)
Caring for the Outdoors
The children will care for their environment by learning many practical life skills such as sweeping, rolling a mat, watering a plant and wiping a table.