Toddler Program
Introduction
Toddlers learn all the time. One part of the day is not distinguished as more or less educational than another. Planned educational lesson need not be a part of a toddler's day. Education is implicit in the room's environment, its program and the interpersonal relationships of staff, parents and children. For a young child, learning to use and control his/her body, to leave home and participate as a member of a group, to eat meals with other children, to be changed and cuddled by an adult he/she is learning to trust, to sleep in a strange environment and to investigate an interesting new environment with specially designed equipment and materials add up to a total educational experience. The child begins to see him/her self as a competent, successful human being whose options and needs are respected by others and whose attempts to learn about the world through direct sensory contact are supported and encouraged by caring adults. (From " A Day in Day Care: A Program for Two Year Olds" by Jennifer Birckmayer).
Teachers
The teachers assume a major role in helping the children develop positive feelings about themselves. The children are treated with respect and love, encouraged to participate in life, and rewarded for their efforts. Teachers plan experiences for each child where they can be successful and then provide responses so the child can develop a sense of accomplishment.
Rooms
The room allows for large and small group activities; quiet and noisy activities; gross and fine motor development throughout the day. The areas of the toddler room include a book and story telling area, art area, and areas for large and small motor play. Activities and open areas change in response to cues from children's behavior.
The toddler rooms provide a safe, loving nurturing environment in which children can learn and develop. A variety of developmentally appropriate activities and toys (blocks, puzzles, shape sorters, Play-Doh?, crayons, books, records) foster creativity, freedom of expression, independence, and a sense of self worth. Strong emphasis is placed on language development and physical development-strength, coordination, and increasingly complex motor movements-as essential tools in the child's social and emotional growth.
Motor Skills
Motor development is ongoing within the toddler program. Children are provided with encouragement, appropriate equipment, space and opportunities to further develop large and small muscle skills. Large motor equipment also encourages the development of strength and coordination in their large movements. As the children play with small motor toys, puzzles, interlocking blocks, pegboards and stacking toys, they are developing greater finger strength, control and eye-hand coordination.
Sharing
Toddlers do not yet understand the concept of sharing or taking turns. We recognize that when toddlers are aggressive, it is because they lack skills to cope with frustrating situations, such as wanting another child's toy. The teachers patiently redirect a child to help guide that child toward controlling his/her own impulses and behavior. Throughout the day, they will model types of interactions with others that they want the children to develop.
Language
Language development is crucial for toddlers; it helps them express feelings and needs related to other areas of development. The teachers in the rooms are willing to listen, elicit responses, talk to the children, ask questions and patiently answer the hundreds of questions asked of them.
The new language skills being gained give the child a new mechanism for learning. In many instances, it is difficult to distinguish between language development and intellectual development. In addition to language, toddlers continue to rely on their senses to experience the environment and develop intellectually. Sensory-motor experiences such as sand and water play, Play-Doh?, finger painting, and music are some of the daily activities to encourage cognitive development.
Toddler Program Objectives
- Help children improve their social skills, such as sharing, helping their friends, and table manners.
- Develop gross motor and fine motor skills. Activities to develop these skills include hopping, skipping, jumping, running, playing with Play-Doh?, painting and coloring, doing puzzles and stringing beads. All of these activities will also improve the children's eye-hand coordination.
- Help children gain their sense of independence through skills such as getting dressed (putting on socks and shoes and pulling up pants), potty training, and the use of a cup and spoon.
- Help children develop their cognitive skills such as listening, their ability to recognize colors and shapes and their verbal skills.
