Toddler to Preschool
18 months to 3 Years of Age
Our Young Children’s Community classrooms have been created especially for our youngest children. Our facilities include sunlit rooms with radiant heated floors, large porch areas for indoor/outdoor activity, spacious gardens, and a playground.
Our teachers are trained Montessori Assistants to Infancy who recognize children’s special developmental needs. They have created environments to foster the incredible intellectual, emotional, social, and physical growth occurring during this developmental phase in a child’s life. The environments offer the beauty, order, and predictability necessary for young children to feel comfortable to spontaneously explore.
The Fireside and Mulberry rooms become second homes to our toddlers with activities that address their quest for independence within a safe and secure environment. We invite their participation in activities ranging from cooking projects to stories and songs to the development of self-help skills.
As the children explore their surroundings in the Young Children’s Community, they absorb every aspect of the environment, language, and culture. The Fireside and Mulberry teachers give the children their first experience of a children’s community, where each member is respected and loved, and where each child’s natural curiosity leads to real learning. The ratio of students to teachers in our Young Children’s Community classes is 4:1.
The work of the child consists of creating the human being that it has to become. The adult works to improve his environment, while the child works to improve himself.
Maria Montessori
Santa Cruz Montessori 