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The aim of the Amarillo Montessori Academy toddler program is to assist children as they experience
the basic human tasks of trust, separation, independence, and self-control. The focus is both on
curriculum and materials and on helping the toddler respond to the rapid and conflicting changes of
this developmental age.
In a Montessori toddler environment, children develop feelings of
support, security, and self esteem. Children are guided toward appropriate behaviors through a
non-judgmental atmosphere that offers consistency; children come to understand the balance between
freedom and limits.
During the beginning weeks in a toddler class, children experience a
major transition. To ease this transition, we require a “phase-in” period. This
requires the parent to spend a specified amount of time in the classroom with the child. The
number of days and the amount of time spent in the classroom will vary between children and
classrooms.
After a child has experienced the phase-in process, the best way children can
feel comfortable at school is if they see that their parents have trust in the new situation.
Consistency in the way parents handle the daily transition away from their child also helps support
the child’s ability to build trust. A tender hug or kiss and confident demeanor as you leave
are routines that help your child adjust to the “newness” of school. Successfully passing
through separation anxiety is one of the major learning experiences for the toddler.
Most
toddlers quickly adjust to the Montessori environment. Out of their newfound freedom of movement,
there eventually comes a flourishing of concentration on an enticing activity. Despite minor
distractions, children focus and engage in hands-on activity, music and songs, group time, and
they participate both in the daily care of their class an in their own personal care. Patience,
self-control, and respect of peers begin to develop, as children become contributing members of
their new community.
Toddlers are learning to use language skills, both verbal and
non-verbal to solve conflicts in social situations. Your child is maturing his/her ability to
carry on extended conversations and request help. Gestures and physical communication remain valid
ways of communicating, but they diminish as the child’s phrases and simple sentences are
understood. As words become a primary means of communication, we must be careful however; not to
attribute an understanding to the toddler that he or she does not yet possess.
Our toddler
classes incorporate the “High Reach” curriculum into their daily schedule along with
the traditional Montessori materials. While the classrooms are rich in materials that promote
expanding language, this curriculum allows us to share our curriculum with the parents.
“High Reach” provides a take-home packet every month so that parents can collaborate
with the teacher by using the same rhymes, songs, stories and vocabulary pictures at home.
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