Childcare for Toddlers

Your one-year-old is at a stage of development where they are learning routines and developing skills to function independently – skills like self-feeding and drinking from a cup. Our teachers provide a structure of well guided routines so that your child learns to become secure and confident with these skills. Teachers also help to develop your child’s vocabulary by modeling language, singing songs, reading stories, and naming things they say and do throughout the day.

Teachers in our two-year-old programs utilize a mix of infant and toddler curriculums to engage the children in hands on experiences that meet the developmental needs of your child.

Where our one-year-olds receive extremely guided activities and routines, teachers in our two-year-old classrooms provide just a bit less teacher direction as your child becomes more independent. Teachers assist with potty training routines and reinforce basic self help skills, while your child will begin learning new routines like getting dressed, drinking from a cup without a lid, and eating with utensils.

In our classroom, your two-year-old is also learning how to interact with their peers and learning to use language to solve problems. And just like in our early programs, your child will be guided through various activities that provide a good foundation for their later mastered academic skills.

In our Early Preschool classroom (three-year-olds), we pay close attention to your child’s physical, emotional, social, and cognitive milestones. As the name preschool implies, or goal is to begin transitioning your child into a school-like environment. In fact, in early preschool we start using the actual Preschool curriculum, which is more advanced than the infant, one-, and two-year-old programs. For example, circle time will be longer and the class will now have “studies”, where your child will do in depth learning and investigation into a specific science or social studies topic. These studies topics may last for several weeks at a time, further introducing your child to a school environment.

Your three-year-old will learn to be an independent learner. He or she is learning the routines and becoming secure in the self help skills they need to make a smooth transition in preschool and beyond. They will learn to care for their classroom and materials as well as starting to hand self care tasks, like using the toilet, hand washing, and clearing their plate from the table independently.

A word about potty training…

Part of being more independent is being potty-trained. Before entering the three-year-old program, your child should be primarily potty-trained, with accidents happening only occasionally. Before your child leaves this program and goes to Preschool and VPK, he or she must be completely secure in this area (no pull-ups and rare accidents). If your child is falling short on potty training please speak with our Director for extra help  and personalized options in this area.