Toddler Child Care Program

Fine Motor Skill Development

This is the intentional movement and use of their hands. Fine motor skills include reaching, grasping, and manipulating objects. Such hand-eye coordination allows for the development of appropriate visual-motor skills needed to coordinate the rest of their small bodies. Our wide variety of age-appropriate Montessori materials, student-centered classroom, and experienced teachers allow students to naturally learn these skills through play.

Large/Gross Motor Skill Development

Large gross motor skill development involves the large muscles in the arms, legs, and torso of a child. We encourage our toddlers to learn the mechanics of their movement in a safe space. Our classroom environment and equipment are intentionally set up to allow toddlers the space to enhance their movement abilities.

Social Development

Toddlers are encouraged to socialize and learn how to navigate sharing and group play. Our materials are open-ended allowing for endless possibilities for creativity and imagination in play. Alongside their friends, toddlers can learn important social skills such as taking turns, caring for others, and kindness. This classroom also allows them to learn social skills and manners by saying "please," "thank you," etc.

Montessori Sensorial Development

The Montessori sensorial materials are specifically designed to help children develop skills for discrimination and order and to broaden and refine their senses. Toddlers are taught how to use this material to improve their senses. An understanding of their senses is important for the success of a toddler when learning and exploring the world around them.

Creative Arts and Crafts

Artistic development can start in infancy. Our infants can discover the wonder and joy that is a part of creating.



We use art materials such as sponges, finger paints, and paper crafts to help them to develop artistic creativity and expression through color and art materials. Additionally, we promote the experience of making decisions and choices in the course of creating

Montessori Practical Life

The exercises of Practical Life provide the foundation for all other activities in the Montessori classroom in that they help a child develop independence and confidence when accomplishing delicate tasks. Practical life materials and exercises utilize pouring, spooning, matching pictures, threading beads, arranging flowers, etc. to refine these skills.

Science

Science appeals to the curious minds of toddlers as they try to make sense of the world and how things work. Classroom science activities for early years tap into their curiosity and develop the desire to discover and experiment. This ultimately strengthens their problem-solving and analytical skills. Our school is located close to nature preserves offering a natural landscape for the toddlers to explore.

Creativity Through Building

Our construction mediums like blocks and stacking materials enhance toddler's problem-solving abilities, mathematics skills, spatial awareness, and creativity. Additionally, toddlers can develop appropriate hand-eye coordination as they reach for, lift, move, and build with blocks, strengthening their fingers, hands, and arms.

Outside Play

Outside where the children enjoy playing on the playground equipment, which includes the climber, two slides, and playhouses. They also play with balls and sand toys — all of these activities are for developing their large muscle groups. Additionally, we go on nature walks to explore Minnesota native plants and wildlife.

Language Development

Language development in toddlers looks like the effective communication of their needs. We promote language development by consistently interacting with them throughout activities so that they can develop connections between certain words or phrases and behaviors. Additionally, our trained teachers can communicate in English, Spanish, and Sign Language with the toddlers allowing your child the ultimate opportunity to advance in their communication abilities.

Story Time

Storytime is so important for a toddler in their early language and literacy development. During daily storytime the toddlers learn phonological awareness, print awareness, and alphabet knowledge. Additionally, the toddlers gather in a circle for storytime and learn how to listen to the stories and flip the pages of a book nicely.

Music

Music enhances the intellectual development of toddlers and strengthens cognitive and sensory development. We have a multitude of child-appropriate musical instruments that the toddlers use to create music. Additionally, we have organized music time in their day. We also have teachers who play the piano, violin, cello, and saxophone for the infants.