Toddler

2 to 3 years

Our toddler room maintains a ratio of one qualified teacher for every 5 children, up to a maximum of 10 children.

Active learning occurs when toddlers experiment with their environment. Daily activities are designed to foster this active learning by allowing toddlers to explore with all of their senses, use their emerging gross and fine motor skills, choose activities or materials, and explore with curiosity and excitement.

Each part of your toddler’s day is structured to support their growing ability to communicate ideas and feelings, develop a sense of their own needs and how they can meet these needs, and, finally, to form close bonds with others.

All of the children in the toddler room follow a daily routine, and individual and group time are incorporated into each day. This routine provides both a sense of predictability and security. During free play toddlers may choose to paint, use the sensory table, do puzzles, participate dramatic play activities or look at books. These activity times provide opportunities to play alone, near peers and/or with peers and teachers.

During group times the toddlers come together for songs, books, felt board stories, finger plays and other fun social experiences that are planned and prepared by the teachers. This ‘circle time’ serves to promote the children’s increasing language expression and comprehension through listening and participating.

A toddler’s language undergoes huge changes and the children are encouraged to use these growing language skills often. Toddlers also begin to realize the importance language expression can have on their environment. During this time they learn to communicate their needs, likes and dislikes, as well as their ideas and feelings.

As supporters of this discovery, our teachers model words and phrases and provide time for toddlers to use them. Over time toddlers develop a sense of self-efficacy through language as they communicate with us and each other.

Toddlers especially enjoy using their growing motor skills when accomplishing tasks on their own. Our routines at meals and transitions provide ample time for toddlers to meet their needs independently.

We encourage children to be active participants!

Our Focus:

  1. To respect the individuality of each child
  2. To provide a safe, nurturing, stimulating environment for toddlers
  3. To provide a quality child care/child development program that complies with state guidelines and regulations
  4. To promote responsible parenting practices

Social Development:

  1. Sharing
  2. Taking turns
  3. Encouraging awareness of other’s feelings

Language Development:

  1. Encouraging the use of words to express needs
  2. Following simple directions
  3. Listening and responding to stories

Emotional Development:

  1. Building self-esteem and tolerance
  2. Encouraging independence in eating, cleaning-up and dressing
  3. Encouraging child to indicate needs in socially acceptable ways

Cognitive Development:

  1. Identifying objects and people
  2. Sorting and classifying objects
  3. If ready – identifying colors, shapes, numbers and letters

Motor Skills:

  1. Developing large motor skills through outdoor play
  2. Developing small motor skills through finger-plays, coloring, painting
  3. Developing music skills through songs, finger-plays,  rhythm instruments