MEC Toddler Program

Toddler Classrooms

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We offer two toddler classrooms. Each room is small, with a maximum of 13 students, led by two Montessori certified teachers. These environments are designed for children ages 18 – 36 months old. The classrooms are set up to encourage independence, build confidence, and offer freedom for children to safely explore and learn through discovery. Learning in the toddler environment is centered around refining gross and fine motor skills, language acquisition, independence, and the development of social, emotional, and cognitive skills.

DAily Schedule

  • 7:30 a.m.
    Students are greeted by teachers 
  • 8:00 a.m.
    Outdoor exploration, social time, motor skills development
  • 9:15 a.m.
    Independent work cycle in the classroom, open snack time
  • 10:45 a.m.
    Circle - story time and music
  • 11:30 a.m.
    Half day students prepare to go home
  • 11:30 a.m.
    Full day students eat lunch
  • 12:15 - 2:15 p.m.
    Siesta time
  • 2:40 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
    Dismissal time for full day students
  • 3:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
    Extended day care. Toddlers work both inside the classroom and on the playground.

Curriculum

Practical Life

Practical life describes purposeful activities designed to cover aspects of everyday life. These activities fall into four main categories: care of self, care of the environment, grace and courtesy, and control of movement. Practical life jobs improve motor control and coordination while developing independence, concentration, and a sense of responsibility.

Music

Music helps children learn to communicate and express themselves non-verbally. Musical activities improve hearing and listening, coordination, and math skills. Some musical activities you may find in the toddler environment include singing, rhyming, finger plays, clapping games, and rain sticks.

Early Math

Children begin understanding abstract mathematical concepts by using hands-on concrete materials. Using Montessori math materials involves manipulating shapes, patterns, and spacial relationships to prepare children for logical and critical thinking.

Sensorial

Sensorial activities focus on developing and refining the five senses: seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling. Montessori sensorial materials are designed to help children isolate a specific quality such as color, size, or shape and learn to sort, classify, order, and develop vocabulary to describe objects they experience around them.

Art

Art is incorporated into the curriculum to teach specific skills, focusing on how to master the process rather than how to complete a masterpiece. Activities for this age include drawing, gluing, and cutting.

Early Language

Early language concepts come from many of the activities in the toddler environment. Reading and rhyming games are part of the daily routines. Toddlers also practice fine motor skills through practical life and art activities. Children learn cognitive and visual discrimination through various matching, sorting, and sequencing work; these skills lay the foundation for children to learn to identify letters and work from left to right.

Schedule a Tour

The best way to appreciate all that our toddler program has to offer is to schedule a tour of the school so that you can see firsthand the Montessori principles and methods in action.
Schedule a Tour

Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the environment.

Dr. Maria Montessori
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