Toddlers
Toddlers are learning to move on purpose, say what they want and cope when the answer is no. The room is built for high motion and emerging self-control: short blocks, plenty of outside time, and the same order to the day every day so the day itself does some of the teaching.
Two blocks of outside time, every day
Once mid-morning and once mid-afternoon. Gross motor play is not a reward for good behavior here and it is not the first thing cut when the day runs late. It is on the schedule twice because a toddler who has moved is a toddler who can sit down.
What this room is built to support
- Language through repetition, rhyme and rhythm
- Emotional vocabulary and co-regulation, from Conscious Discipline
- Daily themes organized around movement and sensory exploration
- Visual routines and predictable transitions
- A teaching structure that flexes with the energy in the room
- Materials that carry the week home to you
A day in Toddlers
The doors open at 7:00 AM and close at 5:30 PM. The plan below is the teaching day inside those hours. Arrival, breakfast and free play cover the early part of the morning, and the last block runs until pick-up.
Morning
- 7:30am – 8:00amArrival, breakfast and free play
- 8:00am – 8:15amTable toys
- 8:15am – 8:30amCognitive activity
- 8:30am – 8:50amMorning meeting
- 8:50am – 9:20amArt and learning centers
- 9:30am – 9:50amMorning snack
- 9:50am – 10:05amMusic and movement
- 10:05am – 10:15amPrepare for outside, line up
- 10:15am – 10:40amOutside time
- 10:40am – 10:55amHandwashing, diapers and potty
- 10:55am – 11:10amLanguage activity
- 11:10am – 11:45amLunch
Middle of the day
- 11:45am – 2:15pmClean up and rest time
Afternoon
- 2:15pm – 2:40pmSensory and learning centers
- 2:40pm – 3:00pmAfternoon snack
- 3:00pm – 3:25pmOutside time
- 3:25pm – 3:35pmHandwashing, diapers and potty
- 3:35pm – 3:50pmSocial and emotional activity
- 3:50pm – 4:05pmPhysical activity
- 4:05pm – 4:20pmMusic and movement
- 4:20pm – 5:00pmPuzzles, play dough and play centers
The other rooms
Infants
Unhurried, one-to-one care on your baby’s own rhythm, with the day written down and sent home.
3 to 4 yrsPreschool
The year a child learns how to be part of a classroom, and how to learn.
4 to 5 yrsPre-K
A full year aimed squarely at kindergarten, without turning five-year-olds into students too early.
Come and stand in the toddlers room
The schedule above is what we do. A visit is how you check that it is true, and how you meet the people who would actually be with your child. Call (631) 650-0564 or ask for a time.