Program

 

The Montessori Academy toddler environment is set up to meet the needs of the toddler.  Toddlers needs include: nurturing, trust, safety, physical, social, emotional and cognitive development.  No two toddlers have the same needs even if they are in the same stage of development; all toddlers are unique.  Not only do the needs or the child change form day to day.  The needs of the child change throughout the day.  The toddler has an unconscious absorbent mind and is in a sensitive period for order, movement, language and the use of the senses, small objects and grace and courtesy.  Petunia Montessori provides an environment that supports the needs of the toddler.  “In an open environment, that is, in one that is suitable to his age, a child’s psychic life should develop naturally and reveal its inner secret ... what is most characteristic of our system of education is the emphasis that is placed upon the environment.” (Maria Montessori)

The toddler environment at Montessori Academy contains activities in the areas of: practical life, sensory exploration, manipulatives, language activities, music, movement, art and gross motor activities. 

The practical life activities include activities in the following four areas: care of self, care of environment, personal care and food activities.  Types of activities in the environment include: dusting, folding laundry, mirror cleaning, clothes washing, dressing frames, hand washing, putting on a coat, putting on shoes, banana cutting , peeling a tangerine and pouring juice.  

The sensory exploration activities are those that use one or more of the sense including: sound shakers and smelling bottles.   Movement activities include places to hide and push/pull toys.   

A well prepared environment for toddlers will provide them with their tendencies for: independence, repetition, maximum effort, concentration and work in the classroom.   Maria Montessori described a child’s need for concentration, “The essential factor in the child’s development is concentration.  Concentration is the basis for character development and for social behavior.  The child must learn to concentrate, and for this he needs objects on which to concentrate.  This demonstrates the importance of the environment, for no one, acting on the child from without can cause him to concentrate.  Only he can organize his psychic life.  None of us can do it for him.”