19-29 months by September
The toddler programs strive to help every young child:
- develop personal relationships with new people
- foster self-awareness
- engage and understand the world around them
Our low adult/child ratio (1:4) allows the individual attention these young learners need to safely explore and grow in the classroom community. Together with our nurturing staff, we sing, dance, play, read and explore our school surroundings. We continually work different themes (i.e. Families, Seasons, Things That Go, etc) into our routine of play-based learning.
Our programs operate within the MMO philosophy that children learn through doing. Our goal is to gently introduce each child to the school experience while stimulating his or her natural curiosity in a safe and enriching environment.
Learning and developmental objectives:
All activities and interactions in the Crickets/Grasshoppers program are linked to the NJ Birth to Three learning standards, which relate to the following developmental domains:
- Social and Emotional
- Cognitive and physical & motor
- Approaches to learning
- Language and communication
Some of the year’s learning goals include:
- a focus on self-regulation
- express feelings with words
- self-help skills, such as washing and drying hands, drinking from a cup, attempting to put on own shoes, jacket, etc.
- Problem-solving skills
- sit in a chair during meals and snacks
- grasp eating and writing utensils
- jump with both feet
- name and identify different body parts
- sing along with familiar songs and finger plays
- encourage creativity, self-expression, and the use of the five senses