From 18-36 months children are strong willed and want to do things themselves. The child sized furniture and specifically prepared materials offer the children at Montessori of University Village an opportunity to be independent,make choices, and be successful in completing tasks. The control of error provided in the offered materials aids in developing self confidence. The order presented in the prepared environment supports the development of internal order. This order allows the toddler to predict what will happen next and therefore provides great comfort. 

Activities offered include, but are not limited to

Movement

- Stairs

- Slide

- Pushing and pulling

- Jumping

- Climbing

Self care

- Hand washing

- Face washing

- Diapering -> Toileting

- Dressing and undressing

- Eating

Care of the Environment

- Sweeping, mopping, dusting

- Watering plants inside and outside

- Moving furniture

- Flower arranging

General skills

- Language rich environment

- Replicas of objects (vehicles, animals, furniture etc.)

- Language cards (matching and similar)

- Poetry

- Singing

- Food prep

- Peeling mandarin oranges

- Peeling hard boiled eggs

- Preparing flavored water

- Pouring and cleaning spills

All skills learned in Nido 1, 2, and Bambino are rooted in the core Montessori curriculum areas represented in practical life, sensorial, math, language, and culture. The classroom environments are prepared with furniture that are sized for the specific age group and contain materials geared towards this age group’s interests and needs.

Material infants - toddlers

From 6 weeks - 3 years we focus on presenting a prepared environment which will support a child’s development of an internal order. “Order is one of the needs of life, which when it is satisfied, produces a real happiness”Maria Montessori. All materials presented to introduce the child at a young age to concepts and skills they will find again in the primary and elementary classrooms.

Mobiles

Visual mobiles are introduced first to allow the child’s vision to develop and strengthen the eye muscles. Our mobiles are hand made to the specification of AMI (Association Montessori International).

As the child gains control over their movements we introduce mobiles for tactile and auditory experiences at around 3-4 months.Grasping Materials At around 3 months we start to introduce a carefully curated selection of developmentally appropriate materials enabling the child to practicegrasping, passing, and exploring various materials and shapes.

Auditory materials are introduced as an introduction to music instruments.

Language

We provide a language rich environment to interact respectfully with the children. Interactions are initiated by informing the child what will happen next. Reading books and singing are an important part of our daily routines. We utilize sign language to encourage pre-verbal communication. Eye-Hand Coordination around 5 months activities are introduced to support the development of Eye-Hand Coordination. Eye first because the vision developed first, and then the refinement of the movement of the hand follows. During this stage various objects from home are offered for exploration. We use a variety of materials including wood,bamboo, metal, and plastic presented in different finishes to introduce the children to variety and foster their sense of observation beginning the recognition of similarities and differences.

Equilibrium

Materials supporting and encouraging slithering and crawling are offered.

Bars, low heavy furniture, wagons and stairs are offered to practice brachiation, pulling to stand and cruising in a safe environment. Once students are walking they transition to our mobile infant classroom.