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Class Overview
An overview of the International Community Class
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International Community Class
The toddler community is designed for children who are walking securely through age three.
New opportunities for movement and independence, along with the development of spoken language form the curriculum for this class. Group activities such as singing and stories provide young children with the experience of belonging to a community.
Food preparation and outdoor play provide a framework to encourage social development. Through his or her chosen activity, the toddler’s concentration and self confidence grows. Everything in the environment is proportionate to the child’s size and is designed to be safe and aesthetically pleasing for children.
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The toddler classroom is simpler and slower paced than the early childhood (three to six year old) classroom. The Montessori materials and activities are particular to this age group and do not include simplified materials from the Montessori 3-6 curriculum. Toddlers are given opportunities to work in the development of language skills, art, music, sensorial and practical life. The practical life area is particularly emphasized as the activities in this area give children the chance to develop skills to care for themselves and their environment in the following areas: control of movement, grace and courtesy.
Practical life activities are simple and can be accomplished by each child offering a repetitive cycle, which helps the child establish patterns of order and sequencing. Due to the fact that these are very real activities, each child becomes grounded in reality. Building the child’s self esteem is the ultimate goal and this is accomplished through repeated successes with these activities.
Through song and dance and freedom of choice, the toddlers have access to a variety of large muscle activities that offer them opportunities to jump, climb, balance, crawl or skip. These exercises as well as creative art activities, are offered for each child to choose.
This freedom in a safe space is crucial to the toddler programme. However, it is always tempered by two important limits that will be beneficial for a lifetime, respect for others and respect for the environment.
