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Toddler Program Plan
The toddler program provides care for a maximum of 9 children ages 15 through 34 months from 7:00am to 6:00pm Monday through Friday. The children are supervised by staff at all times, adhering to a ratio of 1 adult to a maximum of 5 children. Staff will continually be within sight and sound of the children to provide care and nurturance through appropriate interactions and interventions. Appropriate interaction and intervention is based on responding in a manner most appropriate to each child’s developmental level and individual needs.

PHILOSOPHY AND EDUCATIONAL METHODS:
The philosophy of care in the toddler program is based on a child-oriented, individualized approach to accommodate each toddler’s needs and personality and compliment parent style and wishes. The staff will provide comfort, body contact, food, social activities and language; presenting the external world to each toddler in ways that promotes their developmental process within a context of safety, security and trust. Education of the child is a constant process of interaction based on the belief that everything we do with the child is education.

Documentation Statement
Observational notes will be kept on each child enrolled in our program to document each child’s physical, intellectual, social and emotional progress. Written daily reports will be provided to parents. Information will be communicated informally to parents on an on¬going basis and observations will be compiled and reported during scheduled parent conferences twice annually.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:

Physical
To foster each child’s physical growth and development, giving nurturance and support to each child’s emerging skills and use of their own abilities. Each child’s unique development will be respected and activities will be provided based on individual differences in tempo, style and approach.
Methods / Activities
1. Providing proper nourishment based on individual needs.
2. Protection from and prompt care of physical illness.
3. Providing for physical safety.
4. Variety, flexibility and change in the environment to stimulate and accommodate changes in development.
5. Opportunities to practice and acquire skills.
6. Allowing the child freedom of movement with minimal physical restraint or obstruction.
7. Provide gross motor skill experiences (i.e. climbing, walking and running).
8. Provide fine motor skill experiences (i.e. painting, coloring, cutting, puzzles).

Intellectual

To foster each child’s intellectual growth and development with the understanding that toddler cognition involves direct sensory experiences and motor actions. Toddlers are relentless explorers an d experimenters who are intellectually beginning to use words and concepts to represent objects and events in the world. Expressive and receptive language skill development is a primary intellectual goal.
Methods / Activities
1. Providing a variety of sensory experiences for the child. (i.e. Objects with
different shapes, sizes, sounds, colors and uses, play dough, blocks, painting, sand and water play).
2. Providing attention and reinforcement of vocal communication through and verbalizing, interacting with the child.
3. Allowing freedom of movement with the least restraint of physical activity, but with focus on safety.
4. Providing books, songs, finger plays, puzzles and appropriately modeling the use of a variety of constructive (i.e. blocks), and classification (i.e. Shapes
sorter) activities.

Social and Emotional
To nurture and support each child’s social and emotional development and enable
him/her to develop a positive, trusting attitude toward others and a secure sense of self.
Methods / Activities
1. Staff will establish stable, nurturing relationships with each child, encouraging reciprocal interaction.
2. Provide relative consistency and regularity in the physical environment and in those relating to the child.
3. Encouragement of expression of feelings and consistent, timely responses to each child’s expressions.
4. Provide interactions with adults that are predominately warm, expressive, supportive, and accepting of the child.
5. Provide adult guidance that allows the child to become more competent and effective as they are helped in the process of learning self-control.

6. Providing adult guidance that allows the child to become more competent and effective themselves as they are helped in the process of learning self-control and independence.

Toddler Daily Schedule

(Always Flexible!!!)

7:00 - 8:30 Serve Breakfast from home / Free Choice
7:30 P-3 & P-4 Children depart to classroom
8:30 P-1 departs to classrooms
8:30-9:00 Quiet Activities/ Table Toys
9:00-9:15 Morning Meeting / Songs / Finger plays
9:15-10:00 Free Choice / Project
10:00-10:30 “Potty Attempts”/ Hand Washing / Snack
10:30-11:15 Outside Time / Gross Motor Activity
11:15-11:30 “Potty Attempts”/ Hand Washing
11:30-12:00 Lunch
12:00 Half-day children depart
12:15-12:30 “Potty Attempts” / Hand Washing
12:30-2:30 Nap
2:30-3:00 Wake up / “Potty attempts”/ Hand Washing
3:00-3:30 Snack
3:30-4:15 Outside Time / Gross Motor Activity
4:15-4:30 “Potty Attempts”/ Hand Washing
4:30-4:45 Story / Songs / Finger plays
4:45-5:00 Project / Free Choice
5:00-6:00 Free Choice / Quiet Areas

All Classes Combine at 5:00 or when under 9 children

Activities/Materials
Within each day a variety of experiences are provided in the Toddler program. Quiet activities include stories, painting, water play and quiet one-to-one play interactions. Active activities include block play, wheel toys, outdoor playground play, walks and active participation in songs and games. Much of the activity in the Toddler room is child -initiated. Staff look to the children for cues as to what they may want or need to be doing. Much of the day is spent allowing the children to make choices among a variety of options. Low, open shelves with blocks, wheel toys, puzzles, dolls, books and age appropriate manipulatives are accessible to the children and allow them to choose their own activity. Painting, coloring, play dough, sand and water play are also available on a daily basis. Teacher directed activities include story time and songs as well as active group games the teacher helps the children learn to play.