The Toddler Community (1 1/2 to 3 years)

CMS has two toddler communities. One community has an All Day program available (8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.) and the other community is a morning program (8:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.). The Toddler communities have 12-13 children with Guides and Assistants.

Each environment has many opportunities to fulfill the following needs: freedom of movement, independence, language development, caring for the self, caring for the environment, and mastery of the toileting process. The morning involves a period of self care as the child arrives. This is followed by a work period in which the child chooses freely from the materials on the shelves or in the outdoor extensions. Lunch is a communal affair in the toddler community and the children take part in its preparation.

During the first three years of life the child is gifted with an Absorbent Mind and will take in, like a sponge, whatever is in the environment. Knowing this, the toddler guide takes great care in preparing the surroundings to create an atmosphere of tranquility, order and beauty. For many children, the toddler class is their first school or care experience. Because of this, we seek to make our environment as similar to the home as possible. The activities the children engage in are ones that they have seen in their homes. Preparing meals by making biscuits, cutting up fruit, or baking bread are everyday activities for the children. Of course, these activities pave the way for more practical life work: sweeping, mopping, and washing tables. All of this happens spontaneously with few cues from the guide as they become aware of the need to clean up and take care of the environment.

Alongside the children’s activities in daily life are opportunities for learning the language spoken around them. Since in utero, the child has been listening to conversations, absorbing the cadence, rhythm, and words used. During class activities the Guide is careful to speak slowly and softly so that her speech is clear for the child. Children can choose from a wide array of language enhancing activities, starting with real things and progressing to realistic objects, and then to picture cards for naming. Of course, the children enjoy singing together and reading books and reciting little poems.

Often it is the adults that receive the education by watching the small child grow so confident and independent! Our toddler Guides help the parents become aware of the child’s work at school; this knowledge encourages the inclusion of the child in the work of the family at home. In many ways it is hard to describe the children working in the room as they do. Children of this age are rarely given opportunities to take care of themselves and their needs. When they are given the correct materials, carefully crafted for their small hands, it is amazing what they can accomplish. The independence gained provides self-esteem and the possibility to solve problems, which in turn empowers and assists them in relating in a positive way to the world around them.