Self-Help Skills:
Encouraging independence in daily routines such as dressing, hand washing, and snack preparation will help toddlers become more self-sufficient, and build self-esteem.  Teachers will track how actively toddlers participate in these routines.

Language Development:
Toddlers will expand their vocabulary and improve communication skills through activities like story-time, singing, and picture books, along with ensuring that they are using these skills in their daily activities and learning how to ask for what they need. This also improves social skills with their peers. Teachers will assess this by listening to the child’s vocabulary usage during conversations.

Social-Emotional Growth:
Toddlers will work on sharing and taking turns. Group play and guided interaction activities will foster these social skills. Observations of peer interactions and teacher guidance will help assess progress.

Physical Development:
A key focus is developing fine motor skills, such as grasping, holding, and stacking, by using activities that support their finger, wrist, hand and arm development.  Large motor skills are developed by using climbing structures, balance beams, running and jumping in our outdoor environment, promote coordination and physical confidence in a safe and stimulating environment.

Cognitive Development:
Toddlers will begin to recognize basic shapes and colors. Activities like sorting games and color identification will support this goal. Observations of the child’s reactions during these activities will show progress.

Creative Expression:
Toddlers will explore creativity through activities like drawing, painting, and music. These activities allow them to express themselves, and teachers will observe their participation and the development of their creative skills.

Montessori Program Transition

Children in the Toddler program will be preparing for the Montessori Preschool Program by focussing on:

• Independence and Self-Help Skills - This prepares them for a larger group of children and to be able to make educational choices in the Preschool Program. This will include - dressing, toileting, feeding themselves, etc. Toddlers that are ready to move up to the Preschool room, are often ones who are interested in helping to take care of the classroom environment as well as beginning to support and assist younger children.
• Social and Emotional Skills - Children are beginning to learn how to self-regulate their emotions, use full sentences to communicate with others, as well as the beginning of social awareness and responsibility to their peers.
• Freedom of Movement - In a Montessori program, children have freedom of movement within limits (safely applied by the teachers), and have learned a sense of responsibility to the classroom as a whole - learning how to actively choose activities and materials from the shelf, use it as long as they like that satisfies their inner drive, and return it to the shelf, ready for the next person to use. This further develops social responsibility.
• Cognitive Development - When the above items are in place, the child of three years and up, is able to self-direct themselves, respond to the teacher who is guiding their learning (based on developmental readiness, skill ability, and child’s interests), and develop their own pattern of learning.

The teachers will promote working towards this goal to aid in the toddlers readiness as they get ready to transition to this older group. Parental support alongside this is very valuable in this special time of growth.