YOUNG CHILDREN’S COMMUNITY

 

Each of our Young Children’s Community environments consists of one Montessori certified lead guide and at least one support guide with a maximum of 16 children ages 18 months to 3 years. The Young Children’s Community is carefully prepared to aid the toddler in achieving independence and reaching their full potential. The materials are chosen for their ability to enhance particular skills based on movement, language, and order. The child is free to move about the environment at will.

Maria Montessori outlined the importance of focused attention and the unobstructed use of the hand in the development of the mind. The freedom experienced in this carefully prepared environment gives the children the opportunity to discover and follow their own interests, and to become inspired by all they touch and see. Children in this age group have a strong drive and desire to do what they see adults do. This setting provides them not only with the opportunity to do adult work (preparing food, washing dishes, caring for plants, etc.) but also provides them with the appropriate tools to accomplish these tasks.

The sense of pride children feel in learning to care for themselves and their environment is a true thing of beauty. Hearing a child proclaim, "I did it!" is one of the best feelings a Montessori guide or parent can ever experience.

 

Benchmarks for our Toddler Program

Benchmarks are a series of skills a student will acquire over the course of their time in a program. We have established these benchmarks to communicate the work that is done in our classrooms. Everyone has their own internal timeline for development and learning. It is normal for children to learn in spurts and have periods of time where the acquisition of certain skills takes precedence over others. Mastery of these benchmarks will vary by individual. Many concepts are introduced without the expectation that they will be fully mastered by the time a student transitions to the next program.  

Care of Self

  • Self-feeding: use of utensils

  • Toileting

  • Dressing: Velcro, zippers, buttons

  • Putting on shoes (Velcro slip-ons)

  • Wiping one’s nose

  • Putting clothes away

Care of the Environment

  • Setting the table

  • Cleaning skills: sweeping, scrubbing, dusting, mopping, squeegee, washing dishes

  • Handling work

  • Putting work away

  • Watering plants

  • Arranging flowers

  • Helping with laundry

  • Hammering and shoveling

  • Food preparation and service

  • Pet care

Psychosensory

  • Gross Motor

    • Running, jumping, dancing

    • Climbing, sliding

    • Pushing, pulling, lifting, hauling

    • Balance beam

    • Ride-on vehicles

    • Swings

  • Fine Motor

    • Continued work on palmar and pincer grasp

    • Stringing beads

    • Working with locks and latches

    • Using tongs and eye droppers

    • Drawing and painting

    • Pouring and spooning

    • Pasting

    • Ring and dowel sets

    • Imbucare boxes

  • Sensory

    • Sound shakers

    • Simple musical instruments

    • Work with clay and play dough

    • Sandbox

    • Texture exploration

    • Water blocks

Language

  • Mystery bag

  • Expressing needs and feelings

  • Use of ASL

  • Interactive reading

  • Nomenclature cards and objects

  • Puzzles

  • Songs in action

  • Classified objects

Math

  • One-to-one correspondence

  • Color sorting

  • Patterns, relationships, differences

  • Basic counting (1-5)

Cultural

  • Exploring simple instruments

  • Outdoor exploration

  • Diversity and inclusion through classroom representation

  • Art history and learning through classroom representation

  • Identifying feelings

  • Cultural celebrations