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Toddler

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Our Toddle Program

Our toddler curriculum is based on providing each child with a large variety of activities and experiences, which encourage growth and learning. According to Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, children construct knowledge from their actions in the environment. Children also learn some things such as names through social transmission.

For this reason, our curriculum focuses on providing children with an environment that encourages their explorations and involvement in activities that help them to construct knowledge. In addition, children will be exposed to a language-rich environment that will help facilitate their developing language skills and encourage social interactions.

The following is a listing of specific curriculum areas and how they relate to the developing child’s growth needs.

Free play is a period of time when a child chooses from a wide variety of games, toys, puzzles, or gross motor activities. Children gain a newfound sense of independence through mobility, and this freedom of choice allows them to further exercise this skill. Games, toys, and puzzles are specifically selected to meet the child’s development needs.

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Our Goals

Can imitate a 2 word sentence

Can follow simple directions

Can identify objects using gestures or language

Can use some pronouns

Can walk up/down stairs

Can run and jump

Can kick a ball

Can stack objects

Can turn the pages in a book

Develops problem solving

Can put toys away

Can drink from a cup/use utensils

Plays pretend

Engages when being spoken to

Laughs & cries

Greets people

Shows interest in people, toys, & foods

Learning Stations

Each station is designed to enrich each of the 6 developmental indicators: Approaches to Play and Learning, Emotional & Social Development, Health and Physical Development, Language Development and Communication, Mathematical Thinking and Expression, Cognitive Development

Manipulative Area

This area can include small building blocks, small vehicles, pegboard games, stringing beads, and so on. These activities encourage the child's development of problem-solving techniques and fine motor skills, along with knowledge about how objects relate to each other. 

Water Table/Dry Pour Table

This allows a child to experience a large variety of textures such as water, sand, dirt, rice, oatmeal, beans, and so on. Objects such as cylinders, measuring cups, bowls, and funnels are placed on the table to enable children to experiment with pouring, dumping, and scooping. This encourages fine motor skill development along with increasing their knowledge about various textures, materials, and the characteristics of these objects.

Dramatic Play Area

For some classrooms, this area resembles a house with a kitchen and bedroom. It has familiar household items that children can use to imitate activities they see in their own house. This encourages children to practice familiar activities such as cooking, sweeping, and talking on the telephone. This is important for their social, emotional, and physical development. Because children during their early ages participate in parallel play, most social interactions are between the adult and the child. Adults can use this time effectively to facilitate language about what the child is doing. This helps the child to put words to actions and therefore encourage language and social development.

Book Area

This area is established in a quiet corner of the room. Books are available for children to look at and manipulate, and some are made of sturdy cardboard that enable the child to turn the pages. Many contain simple story lines that adults can read to children. Books are a great language facilitator and a wonderful way to introduce children to the joy that can be found through reading.

Play Dough, Silly Putty Clay

These materials are available for children to roll, squeeze, pat, pound, and mold. Play dough encourages fine motor strength and manipulation and also encourages the development of knowledge about another type of texture and material. This is another area where language should be used to describe actions, textures, and characteristics. 

Gross Motor Area/Large Muscle Area

Children need to practice newfound developing skills, which is why large muscle areas are an essential part of their program. This area provides children with opportunities to climb, jump, crawl, run, walk, hop, and slide, all of which aid in mastery over gross motor skills.

Art Center

In the art area, our goal is to foster creativity. The desire for self-expression gives children the incentive to use tools, which increase small motor skills and refine eye-hand coordination. Through experimentation, children make discoveries about cause and effect as well as becoming familiar with colors, shapes, and textures. Art materials are visible and accessible throughout the day. Children are free to choose from materials such as paint, clay, play dough, markers, crayons, glue, glitter, yarn, fabric, and any other treasures that they may want to incorporate in their work.

Writing Center

Crayons are always available to encourage children to develop fine motor skills necessary for the eventual development of writing skills. In addition, crayons provide an open-ended activity that fosters expressions of creativity. Pencils, pens, markers, stampers, and stamp pads may also be available.

Music Corner

Musical instruments, CDs, and tape players may be available for manipulation and entertainment of children. Music helps children to begin to develop a sense of rhythm through dancing, swaying and clapping. However, music can also become a part of every activity, and caregivers are encouraged to sing to children many times

during the day.

Mirrors & Photographs

Mirrors are wonderful objects that children use to learn about themselves. This helps to encourage self-identity and increase self-esteem. Pictures of each child are arranged low on classroom walls, which further help children to identify self and others.

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