1-12 Year Olds

During the first three years of life, most children learn to walk, talk, and relate to others. It is a period of rapid growth and development. Being new to the world, with increased mobility and the ability to explore, toddlers are eager and curious to learn as much as they can about it, and they use all of their senses to do so. They love to see, hear, smell, touch, and taste almost everything they find in their paths.

Jean Piaget depicted children as little scientists who play an active role in their own learning by using all of their senses to actively construct their knowledge of the world. Our job is to expose them to as many interesting experiences as possible, while simultaneously keeping them safe.

Our teachers recognize the importance of developing a positive relationship with each child. When children feel safe and secure with nurturing adults, they are better able to manage their own behavior, feel self-control, and develop new skills.

Routines are very important for young children as they provide a sense of knowing what’s coming next. Although the children’s daily activities vary, our children follow the same routine each day. For example, circle time, learning centers, outdoor play, naps, and other daily activities happen at the same time every day. Knowing what to expect, gives children a sense of security.

Toddlers greatly benefit through interactions in which teachers intentionally promote learning. Our teachers use developmental indicators to organize each day’s activities in order provide children with a variety of experiences that allow them to explore their curiosity, take initiative, and develop problem-solving skills and creativity. Each activity has a planned purpose and objective. Weekly lesson plans are posted near each classroom on our Parent Communication boards.

Toddlers enjoy manipulating objects as they start increasing their small motor skills and exploring the concept of cause and effect. Our manipulative centers provide toddlers with opportunities to develop small motor skills, eye-hand coordination, and intellectual development with stimulating, age-appropriate toys as they begin to classify, categorize, discriminate, construct, and reconstruct.

Around their second year, toddlers begin to explore social roles by engaging in pretend play. They begin to imitate important adults and other people in their lives. Our Dramatic Play areas contain a variety of clothes and hats for dress-up, dolls, doll accessories, toy animals, dishes, pots, pans, and other household objects that encourage children to replay parts of their everyday experiences, experiment with and develop language skills, exercise their imaginations, develop a sense of identity, and internalize the rules of their worlds.

Toddler routineBlock play gives young children the opportunity to explore spatial, mathematical, and role-play possibilities. For toddlers, it usually begins by carrying, sorting, dumping, and sometimes even throwing them. Building comes later. Our block centers for toddlers contain large, soft, foam blocks of different sizes, large hollow blocks and small floor blocks that children can carry and pile up. We also have block props to expand children’s imaginations such as dolls of various races and abilities, different types of animals, boats, airplanes, cars and trucks.

Art, for toddlers, is largely a sensory experience and a way to learn about objects as well as cause and effect. In our art areas, children begin to experiment with play dough, large paint brushes, washable (nontoxic) paints and beginner crayons which support fine motor skills and encourage creativity. As their grasps become more precise, toddlers might begin scribbling.

Outdoor play is very important for children as it allows for active exploration, development and refinement of large motor and small motor skills, tension release, and the opportunity to get fresh air every day. Our covered outdoor toddler playground accommodates the toddler’s need to run, jump, climb, push, pull, kick, throw, ride, and, use their imaginations with toys and equipment that are sized for them, while being protected from rain or excessive sun. Our sand and water play stations allow children to enjoy many sensory experiences while simultaneously refining their fine motor skills and learning concepts such as pouring, measuring, and sifting.

We want our Future Kids to be safe, happy, and eager to learn. We are proud to provide a safe environment where toddlers can exercise their new autonomy, explore confidently, and expand their physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development.

Toddlers enjoy manipulating objects as they start increasing their small motor skills and exploring the concept of cause and effect. Our manipulative centers provide toddlers with opportunities to develop small motor skills, eye-hand coordination, and intellectual development with stimulating, age-appropriate toys as they begin to classify, categorize, discriminate, construct, and reconstruct.

Around their second year, toddlers begin to explore social roles by engaging in pretend play. They begin to imitate important adults and other people in their lives. Our Dramatic Play areas contain a variety of clothes and hats for dress-up, dolls, doll accessories, toy animals, dishes, pots, pans, and other household objects that encourage children to replay parts of their everyday experiences, experiment with and develop language skills, exercise their imaginations, develop a sense of identity, and internalize the rules of their worlds.

Block play gives young children the opportunity to explore spatial, mathematical, and role-play possibilities. For toddlers, it usually begins by carrying, sorting, dumping, and sometimes even throwing them. Building comes later. Our block centers for toddlers contain large, soft, foam blocks of different sizes, large hollow blocks and small floor blocks that children can carry and pile up. We also have block props to expand children’s imaginations such as dolls of various races and abilities, different types of animals, boats, airplanes, cars and trucks.

Art, for toddlers, is largely a sensory experience and a way to learn about objects as well as cause and effect. In our art areas, children begin to experiment with play dough, large paint brushes, washable (nontoxic) paints and beginner crayons which support fine motor skills and encourage creativity. As their grasps become more precise, toddlers might begin scribbling.

Outdoor play is very important for children as it allows for active exploration, development and refinement of large motor and small motor skills, tension release, and the opportunity to get fresh air every day. Our covered outdoor toddler playground accommodates the toddler’s need to run, jump, climb, push, pull, kick, throw, ride, and, use their imaginations with toys and equipment that are sized for them, while being protected from rain or excessive sun. Our sand and water play stations allow children to enjoy many sensory experiences while simultaneously refining their fine motor skills and learning concepts such as pouring, measuring, and sifting.

We want our Future Kids to be safe, happy, and eager to learn. We are proud to provide a safe environment where toddlers can exercise their new autonomy, explore confidently, and expand their physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development in a incredible Toddler.