“Movement, or physical activity, is thus an essential factor in intellectual growth, which depends upon the impressions received from outside. Through movement we come in contact with external reality, and it is through these contacts that we eventually acquire even abstract ideas.” – Maria Montessori, The Secret of Childhood

One of the main advantages of our prepared environment is the opportunity for children to move freely! Children engage with the materials for as long as they want and are able to choose activities that perfect different skills – all while they think they are just playing!

As toddlers have an inner need to reach their maximum effort, hand-powered materials that build upper body and arm strength as well as develop cardiovascular health are VERY important. In the classroom your toddler fulfills this need using different materials. One of them is a heavy wagon. Some of the children like to push it empty, others like to put some materials or heavy balls in it, and some children really enjoy asking their friends to hop on so they can give them a ride around the environment. The calmness we observe after a child has exercised using these tools are just so great!

Your children have also been enjoying our outdoor environment so much! They are developing their large motor skills by climbing our big rock and the hill to get to the top of the slide. They also like to practice walking on the big rocks path and pushing the big trucks and wheelbarrow! They run and enjoy exploring in our forsythia tunnel! Some of them love walking around the sandbox frame and others seem to love the tree stump walking path which offers a bigger challenge for balancing!

In addition, our toddlers have access to space in the gym at different times during the morning and as needed! We are SO thankful for it, as we continue to  “follow the child” and adjust activities according to their needs without interrupting their work cycle. Saying the children enjoyed their time at the gym this week is an understatement! They seemed to love the obstacle course, jumping and running as fast as they could! They enjoyed playing with the balls and  hula hoops and some of them even stopped at the music station to show off some quite impressive dance moves! 🙂 We had so much fun!

We hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we do!

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Maria

One of the main highlights of our week was our first lesson on food tasting. As children grow beyond the infant stage, they begin the journey to independence as toddlers. Many parents notice this change in their children when it comes to mealtime, as they begin to hear a resounding, “No!” when it comes to eating the foods they once loved and trying new ones. In order to help families, we have integrated food tasting into our toddler program as a way to ease children into the idea of trying new foods by teaching them all about the food and encouraging them to participate as a group. 

This week we introduced some delicious red apples! 

Children were really excited to see the food tasting tray covered, especially the second year students who are familiar with this routine. They knew there was a surprise and they immediately gathered quietly around the tray encouraging the first year students to gather as well. There were smiles and expressions of awe at the moment I removed the towel that was covering the apple. This fruit was presented as a whole first, then cut in front of them, presented as half, and then served individually. In our conversation, we included such adjectives as cold, big, smooth, red, and tasty to keep adding to our vocabulary. Children observed while I slowly picked up a piece of apple and placed it inside my mouth, tasting it slowly and dramatically, with the purpose of encouraging curiosity and expectation when it was their turn to taste. They immediately started to ask for their turn to taste it! They really liked it! This lesson is a favorite every year and we can’t wait to explore weekly all the different food items in our list. 

As an extension of this activity, children also had a fun Sensorial experience dissecting an apple using an apple peeler and collaborating in the creation of a delicious apple sauce!  With senses full of curiosity, children touched, observed, smelled, peeled, and cored an apple. The children found it very fun and interesting to use the handle of the peeler but their eyes really sparkled and the smiles bloomed when they started watching the skin of the apple peeling and falling on the table. New vocabulary such as skin, flesh, stem, and seeds were introduced. We then added some lemon juice, cinnamon, and a bit of vanilla to our crock pot and the smell in the classroom was just so amazing! 

Some of the children had the opportunity to taste the fruit of the work of their hands and we can’t wait for next week to share it together again with the whole class! 

We thank you so much for your support in providing food items for our class to explore. It’s a pleasure to team up with you and offer great and real experiences that your children won’t forget. 

If you haven’t had the chance yet this year, I encourage you to visit an apple farm with your toddlers one of these weekends. They might surprise you and give you an apple lesson. 😉 

Enjoy, 

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Maria 

Your children have started to settle little by little. There are less tears everyday at drop off time and more dancing and giggles throughout the morning. As your children’s confidence and trust have increased, they have started to explore the environment more intentionally. Some of them  have even started to socialize with other peers. Songs that include children’s names have been introduced and some of the children like to repeat the names of their friends as a sign of social/emotional development.

As the children continue to use their freedom of movement and freedom of choice, some ground rules have been introduced. One of those rules is respect for other’s work. In traditional school settings children this age are encouraged and even expected to share. Sharing is a very important concept, but for children of this age it’s a task that they are not developmentally ready for. In our environment we encourage the concept of taking turns instead. This encourages patience, mindfulness, independence, order, and concentration. Children don’t feel threatened by the idea that another child will take their material away, instead they can peacefully work with the material until they are done. When children want to work independently we encourage them to say: “This is my work. Please don’t touch.” We also encourage the children to observe quietly how other children are working with a material. It’s so fun to see that even at this young age children are able to work on mastering these skills! They just need the encouragement to do so.

On another note, children had a blast exploring our toddlers’ fun outdoor space! This place offers way more than a free play area for your children! A lot of sensorial stimuli is continually offered! We would say the children’s smiles say it all! 🙂

Enjoy the pictures and have a happy weekend,

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Maria