Crystal Lake Montessori School

Toddler

Our Toddler class focuses on the areas of rapid development between the age of 15 months – 3 years including large and fine motor skills, sensorial, practical life, and language, while modeling gentleness, care of self, and respect for others.


Program Details

Your child has a natural drive to be independent. We encourage them by creating an environment where everything is just the right size for them to do things on their own.



Child-size tools for small hands allow them to prepare a snack and serve it to friends. A miniature broom gives them the ability to clean up on their own. And they love it!

Toddler Menu
Montessori toddler working on practical life skills

We focus on...

Independence

Care of Self, Care of Environment activities aid in the development of your child’s independence and mastery of their environment.  Each activity helps your child perfect their coordination and increase concentration and orderliness.


Language

Your child at this age is especially sensitive to the acquisition of their language and culture.  Lessons involving stories, books, songs, picture cards, objects and contact with the natural world are all incorporated into the curriculum to help develop your child’s receptive and expressive language.


Physical Development

Large motor movement is thus an essential factor in intellectual growth.  Large motor movement pulls your child into contact with the environment, which develops strength, agility, balance and coordination.


Cognitive Development

Montessori materials are based on sensorial exploration. Your child learns by doing and by manipulating objects prepared in their environment.


Social-Emotional Development

The Social Emotional area of development involves learning to interact with other people, and helps your child begin to understand and control their emotions.


Purposeful Activity and Routines

In a Montessori classroom, children choose their “purposeful activity.” Working at their own pace and under the teacher’s guidance, the children learn by making discoveries with the materials, which cultivates concentration, motivation, self-discipline, independence and a love of learning.

Montessori guide and children in the classroom
Montessori toddler working in the classroom

Practice, Practice, Practice

Often children who don’t do things for themselves simply don’t know how or haven’t had enough practice. The Montessori classroom is focused on work, not toys and pretend play. The child-sized shelves display tasks children can choose for themselves, such as pouring, sweeping, dusting, buttoning, zipping, and table setting. Children find these fascinating and will practice a task again and again until they master it. Mistakes are learning opportunities in this atmosphere of patience, trust, and respect.

Montessori toddler drawing

Beautiful Surroundings

Parents are often surprised to see how peaceful our Toddler classroom is. The calm atmosphere and lack of distraction helps young children develop impulse control and concentration, planting the seeds for educational success in the years ahead.


Our classroom bridges indoors and outdoors. Children paint, prepare food, water the plants, and sing songs together. Our program includes Spanish, trips to the school library, time on the playground and in the gym, as well as planned outings with families.

Toddler working with Montessori Materials

First Friends

Our students grow together into a close-knit, caring community where children work, learn, and grow together. Making friends and learning to be part of a community is a life-shaping experience for a young child. The children learn to take care of themselves and their surroundings and develop skills to communicate with each other.


The lessons in grace and courtesy our teachers model help children develop respect for themselves, for others, and for the natural world. Your child will emerge with strong friendships that continue to build as they move up to the next level.

Montessori children eating

Joyful Learning

Maria Montessori wrote, “One test of the correctness of the educational procedure is the happiness of the child.” Come take a peek into our Toddler classroom and you will see children who are happy, engaged, and deeply connected to their friends and teachers. Montessori children develop an early, deep affinity for school because learning is a joyful experience!


We offer an option of half-day, full-day, and extended day. Our full-day Toddler classes begin with arrival at 8:00 a.m. and end with dismissal at 3:00 p.m. We also offer a half-day morning class from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and an extended day until 5:00 p.m.

Montessori toddlers working in the classroom

As we observe children, we see the vitality of their spirit, the maximum effort put forth in all they do, the intuition, attention, and focus they bring to all life’s events, and the sheer joy they experience in living.”

- Dr. Maria Montessori

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