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The children in our Toddler Program experience a fully hands-on early childhood learning program, where teachers provide them with a loving and nurturing environment, while simultaneously beginning to imbue greater sophistication into their curriculum. Our program is designed to harness the joy and excitement that accompanies turning two. Children develop language, increased attention span and greater physical capabilities in one fell swoop. POTA is there to provide the environment and program that matches and supports these newfound abilities. Our toddlers begin to engage in sensory experiences, create art, learn songs, have exposure to science experiments, and participate in block building and dramatic play in a deeper and more multifaceted manner.
Toddler Program: 15 Months - 2.8 Years
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Fostering Independence
At this age children naturally want to take agency over their lives. We foster this development by providing children with ample opportunities to make self-directed choices throughout the day. Our program helps children pursue and embrace greater autonomy and provides flexibility of choice. When toddlers make choices and take appropriate risks, they begin to find their individual voices. They are supported throughout the day to learn self-help and independence skills, such as using the bathroom and dressing and feeding themselves.
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Emerging Language
Due to the consistent and intentional language our educators use, children naturally learn to integrate all parts of speech including nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs into their language development. Teachers intentionally expand their horizons by incorporating language that includes all parts of speech to describe what children do, see and feel. The toddlers’ capabilities continue to be fostered as they begin begin to take an interest in one another and are given language to support this new stage of development. They are surrounded by interesting, relevant, and thought-provoking materials that spark creativity and prompt them to develop a vocabulary with which to communicate, make comments, and ask questions.
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Forming Relationships
Children are supported and challenged to begin noticing one another and engage with one another through materials and play. They are intentionally presented with opportunities to develop the soft-skills they need to succeed, like turn-taking and collaboration. Toddlers begin to move from parallel play to learning how to wait their turn.
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Creative Art
Children are given the opportunity to deepen their arts expression through the repeated exposure of interesting art mediums and tools. Children learn how to use real tools to make their vision come to life. They are intentionally given the opportunity to work on group art projects where they need to collaborate as well as on individual work where they master independence.
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Expanding Horizons
Our toddlers begin learning the rhythm of school and routines. They take more ownership over clean-up and their own belongings as well as communal classroom belongings. Children will naturally push boundaries at the age of 2. Teachers understand that this is an important part of self-discovery and are sure to imbue the children with confidence as they learn about themselves and the world around them.
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Sample Schedule:
8:30 - Arrival and open play time
9:15 - Snack
9:45 - Circle time
10:00 - Get ready to go outside
11:15 - Back inside and group activity
12:00 - Lunch
12:30/12:45 - Naps start
2:30 - Wake up from nap
2:45 - Snack
3:00 - Open play
3:30 - Dismissal for full day
3:45 - Extended day program begins
4:00 - 5:00 - Outside time
5:00 - 6:00 - Small group centers and gradual goodbye
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