Our Young Children’s Community is designed to help toddlers aged 18 months to three years old develop their physical, cognitive, social, and emotional skills.
Our classroom environment fosters independence, curiosity, and creativity. Children work independently, explore freely, and express their creativity. Social skills are developed through interactions with peers and teachers, and courtesy is learned through adult-led small group games.
The routines of everyday living are the foundation of the Young Children Community. These activities promote independence, order, coordination, and concentration, as well as supporting social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development.
Dr. Montessori observed a natural desire in children to explore their surroundings. This drive is similar to the llama in the tale of Doctor Dolittle—it pulls them towards independence while simultaneously seeking comfort in the presence of an adult. At this stage, toddlers need a safe and nurturing space to develop their coordination and emotional independence. Our Young Children’s Community is designed to provide just that, with careful oversight and a supportive environment that allows children to learn and grow at their own pace.
Our YCC Program is designed for toddlers aged 18 months to 3 years. Our classes are small, with no more than 12 children. We have a Montessori-certified lead guide and an assistant to ensure your child receives the best care and attention. With our program, your child will learn about respect, order, concentration, coordination, and independence in a natural and engaging way. We believe in the power of social interactions and hands-on experiences to help your child grow and develop.
Our teachers are passionate about providing the best care possible for your toddler are trained to provide a nurturing and supportive environment. Our curriculum is designed to encourage your child’s cognitive, speech, and language development, as well as their fine and gross motor skills. We also believe in teaching grace and courtesy, and promoting independence. We understand that every child is unique, and we strive to create a curriculum that is tailored to each child’s individual needs. Our goal is to help your child learn and grow in a safe and nurturing environment.
From a young age, children want to actively participate in their learning and mastery (how many times have parents heard their young child say “Me do!”).
Toddlers are natural explorers, curious about the world around them. They actively engage with everything in their environments, taking in information through their senses. As Dr. Montessori said, “The hand is the instrument of the mind”. Our Montessori environments for toddlers are carefully prepared to provide a safe, developmentally appropriate setting to satisfy a child’s curiosity and desire to learn by doing.
A Montessori toddler classroom respects and nurtures a child’s natural inclination and promotes a toddler’s independence through hands-on experiences, everything from washing of hands before snack to putting on jackets using the ‘kindergarten flip’. Of course, independent toileting is the work of a toddler, and our toddler teachers partner with parents to identify readiness and support each toddler on their path to full toileting independence.
Montessori recognized the young child’s interests in doing things they saw adults do and observed the child’s frustrated attempts to use adult tools and furnishings without success. The Young Childrens Community is thoughtfully designed with real tools and child sized furnishings to make it possible for the child to “do house”, not just play house. She discovered the satisfaction and independence that these activities provided the young child. Dr. Montessori, at the turn of the century, was the inventor of child sized tools and furniture that we now take for granted. For the child the tedious chores in the adult’s world become the liberating activities in the classroom prepared environment that are in part the great work of this developmental cycle.
Do you see your child throwing their clothes on the floor in a heap? Maybe leaving things out on the kitchen table? Interrupting during mealtime?
Language: A Montessori classroom for toddlers safely supports your child’s drive to do things alone, developing confidence and a sense of competence. The classroom environment
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