Toddler Class

In the Toddler room at DCP our main focus is on the social and emotional well being and development of each and every toddler in our care. We believe that by providing a strong social and emotional foundation for each child they will be better prepared to learn as they grow. That is not to say that there is no learning happening in our space! There is plenty of learning that happens in the natural flow of the day! This flow is what we call a rhythm and we follow this rhythm each day.

• Children come into the classroom which is set up for choice time or free play. There are art experiences, building opportunities, gross motor play opportunities, play provocations that are sometimes set to develop fine motor skills, sometimes a literacy extension and sometimes scaffold cognitive development. Sensory play is a big part of what we do in class, so there is always something available in the sand/water table. During this time children have full and free access to any toy or tool in the classroom. If they can see it, they are allowed and encouraged to use it! We have blocks, trucks, dolls, animals, a “full” toddler sized kitchen with tea pots, teacups, plates, bowls, lots of play food! As you can imagine, many gourmet meals and fancy tea parties have taken place in this area! When children are playing each teacher is in the middle of the play, offering open ended questions regarding play to help broaden thinking around each activity as well as provide language for each activity. . As we play we are building relationships with each of them. One of our first areas of focus is helping children develop trust relationships with adults other than primary caregivers. (See CoELDG Ages 19-36 months, Social development 1. Interaction with Adults: The developing ability to respond to and engage with adults. And Emotional Development 1. Relationships with adults: The development of close relationships with certain adults who provide consistent nurturance.) We do this through time, patience and play! We offer choice time for about 1.5 hours to give children plenty of time to explore and experience all that they may be interested in.

• When we are done with choice time we spend several minutes encouraging each child to help us clean up our classroom so that we can move on to our large group time. Once the room is clean we meet up on our big rug. Children are encouraged to join us, but not forced. If a child is uncomfortable with participating in a large group we allow them to sit or stand off at a distance and observe the group. It is developmentally appropriate to ask a child to “sit still” 1 minute for each year of life. So our large group time is very fluid, offering lots of movement as we sing hello and greet eachother formally for the first time! Each child is given the opportunity to say their own name in the song if they desire, and each child is seen and acknowledged by the teachers and other students during this time. (See CoELDGs Emotional Development 2. Identity of Self in Relation to Others: The developing concept that the child is an individual operating with social relationships)

• We move from large group time into snack, which is one of the favorite times of day! We have each child wash their hands with as much independence as possible (See CoELDG Physical Development 4. Health: The maintenance of healthy and age appropriate physical well-being. 1. Participate in physical activity. 2. Begin to practice health and safety behaviors. 3. Demonstrate an increasing interest in engaging in healthy eating habits and making nutritious food choices.)

• As we finish up snack each child is encouraged to clear their snack plate to the compost bin and then we move into preparation for outdoor play. We spend at least 60 minutes playing and exploring outside unless we are experiencing inclement weather. Our playground its set up specifically for toddlers and encourages them to climb stairs, run, jump, ride bikes, dig, move water, make mudpies, paint, draw with chalk and in general make lots of noise and move in really big ways that are simply not safe inside. ( See CoELDG Physical development 1. Perceptual Development: The developing ability to become aware of the social and physical environment through the senses. 1. Quickly and easily combine the information received from the senses to inform the way they interact with the environment. 2. Gross Motor: The developing ability to move the large muscles. 1. Move with ease, coordinating movements and performing a variety of movements.)

• As outdoor play comes to a close we move into preparing for lunch. As often as possible we eat outside. Our playground is very pleasant, and who doesn’t love a picnic?) Either way, as we eat together we are encouraging conversation between children whenever possible and modeling conversation skills and making suggestions of what could be said next in a conversation. (See CoELDGs Language and Literacy 1. Receptive Language: The developing ability to understand words and increasingly complex utterances. 1. Demonstrate understanding of the meaning of others’ comments, questions, requests, or stories. 2. Expressive Language: The developing ability to produce the sounds of language and use vocabulary and increasingly complex utterances. 1. Communicate in a way that is understandable to most adults who speak the same language they do. 2. Combine words into simple sentences. 3. Demonstrate the ability to follow some grammatical rules of the home language. 3. Communication Skills and Knowledge: The developing ability to communicate nonverbally and verbally. 1. Engage in back-and-forth conversations that contain a number of turns, with each turn building upon what was said in the previous turn.)

• As we wrap up lunch, each child is encouraged to pack up their lunch box (with assistance from teachers as needed), and carry it to their own cubby. This is the time of day that we begin to prepare for nap. The pace of the room slows, the sounds in the room lower, the lights begin to turn off and soft music plays. We read a book or two, do some deep breathing, some soft singing and then move to cots. Each child is given one on one time with a teacher helping prepare them for sleep, offering rocking, snuggles, soft singing or gentle pattiing. If after 30 minutes a child is not asleep we offer books to look at and/or other quiet activities for the child who is awake, while still trying to keep the classroom quiet enough for sleep.

• As children wake we offer gentle snuggles if needed, and then move them into quiet activities as well. Once most of the class is awake we have afternoon snack and if there is enough time we finish our day outside on the playground. This depends on weather and how long the group slept. Each day is different in this way.

• The final part of our day is the happy reunion with a beloved adult! We are happy to celebrate the reunion with each child as they anxiously anticipate who they will see when we open the gate! The Hello at the end of the day is one of the happiest times of day!

As we move through the day things like diapering/toileting and handwashing happen often in the classroom. We support each child however needed, encouraging them to care for their own body as they are able. We also provide support in problem solving social situations and offering words as needed if children are struggling to know what to say in any given situation. It is hard to put a time on these things as they are naturally occurring throughout the day and is truly what we do most of the time to support children.