Practical Life activities form the cornerstone of the Montessori classroom and prepare the child for all other areas. The emphasis is on process rather than on product. Through the repetition of Practical Life activities, children develop and refine the basic skills that will serve them all their lives.

The Toddler classroom offers early Practical Life exercises, such as:

• Pouring
• Opening and Closing
• Spooning
• Bead Stringing
• Polishing
• Large Water Activities

These activities are aimed at enhancing the child’s development of fine motor control, hand-eye coordination, balance, sense of order, concentration and independence.

The toddler is refining both fine motor skills and gross motor skills. Fine motor skills are heightened through practical life activities such as pouring, sorting, etc. Gross motor skills are heightened in physical activities like rhythm/music movement and outdoor play.

Language activities are developing at a rapid rate during the toddler years.  The Language materials in the Toddler classroom, encourage the refinement and enrichment of language as the first steps on the road to writing and finally reading. Early Language materials and oral exercises like storytelling and reading aloud support the toddler’s need to be immersed in language.

Activities include:

• books
• puzzles
• naming objects like fruits, vegetables and animals
• beginning sound games
• finger plays
• singing
• spontaneous conversation time to encourage both social and language skills.

The toddler uses hands-on materials for learning concrete math concepts.  The toddler begins to understand number concepts, both quantity and symbol, and the meaning of zero. The toddler also begins to understand language used in performing simple single-digit addition.

Toddler Math activities include:

• stacking and nesting cubes
• number blocks and puzzles
• sorting and counting materials
• songs/singing about counting

We all learn through our senses, and this is especially true of very young children who are at the beginning of taking in and understanding the world around them. Sensorial activities assist Toddlers in the great task of organizing, integrating and learning about their sensory input.

Sensorial materials include:

• Knobbed Cylinders for practice with dimension
• Color Paddles
• tactile exercises like Rough and Smooth
• Musical Equipment
• Sorting and Shapes

The toddler learns about the environment through the use of “trial and error.”

The toddler is able to use various materials to express creativity and to enhance fine motor skills. Language skills are further reinforced through the child’s description of the art and its personal meaning. Social skills particular to gift-giving are introduced and coordinated with traditional holidays.