Infants, Toddlers and Two's

We believe that a high-quality program has several goals:

  To provide a relaxed, fun, caring and secure learning environment for each child.

  To broaden and deepen a child’s experience by providing opportunities for new challenges as well as familiar activities that the child can master in all areas of development:  motor, cognitive, perceptual, social, emotional, language and expressive capabilities.

  To promote a sense of positive self-esteem and self-confidence as a competent, capable, active learner and member of a family and community.

  To promote those understandings, dispositions, and skills that lead to success in future schooling.

By considering research about the developmental stages of infants, toddlers and twos, as well as what we know about how young children learn, teachers can plan a curriculum that best meets the needs of our youngest students.  While infants are developing trust, toddlers and twos are developing autonomy.  As they stretch their wings to assert themselves there is also a need for clear and firm limits.  Infants, toddlers and twos use their senses to gain a feeling of security and identity and to explore the people and objects in their world. Research also tells us that children learn through play.  Our teachers value free choice where children are encouraged to select activities and materials that interest them as they learn through active involvement.

Our curriculum strives to help young children:

  Interaction

Developmental needs of infants, toddlers and twos are met through responsive relationships with primary caregivers.  With this in mind, it is important to have low teacher/child ratios and small class sizes.  Our teachers facilitate a responsive relationship by showing respect for children and responding to their needs immediately and appropriately.  They care for children in ways that meet their individual needs. 

  Routines

We feel that children learn a great deal through routines.  Beginning with a parent’s morning goodbye and continuing through diaper changes, bottle feedings, clothing changes and naps, our youngest children learn many lessons.  These routines teach them about trust, pride, cause and effect, patterns, and dealing with their emotions include developing feelings of confidence and competency.  Infants do most of their learning in the context of routines because most of the day is devoted to responding to their basic needs.  The younger children are, the more their lives are subject to routines.  As they grow, children begin to view the world around them as an interesting place and exploration becomes of primary interest. 

  Materials

Any object that young children can explore, put together, take apart, push, pull, stack and create becomes a toy in a child’s hands.  Toys teach skills while at the same time children are playing and having fun.  While playing with materials, children learn about size, shape and sequence, problem solving, cause and effect, balance, eye hand coordination and social skills. 

  Activities

Teachers plan a variety of activities for children.  Typical activities include, playing with toys, dabbling in art, imitating and pretending, enjoying stories and books, tasting and preparing food, exploring sand and water, having fun with music and movement and exploring outdoors.  Many of our teachers enjoy planning activities within a theme.  Below are examples of activities that you might observe within each age group.

  Examples of Infant Activities

The needs and interests of the children within the infant class change dramatically during the year. In September we will have many babies as young as six months.  As the year progresses these children begin to crawl and then walk. Along the way they become increasingly interested in exploring their environment and practicing their newly developing skills.  Midyear, the infants explored the theme “Animal Sounds and Wonder”. During this theme, infants learned new vocabulary such as cat, dog, duck, cow, frog and sound.  They participated in sensory activities such as splashing and playing with water on their high chair tray.  They learned a new song, “Five Little Speckled Frogs” and enjoyed picture books, including books within the theme as well as old favorites.  Infants also played games such as making animal sounds while holding animal masks.  They worked on fine motor skills, for example they held froggies on Popsicle sticks while singing the froggie song.  They also worked on gross motor skills by walking and exploring with their hands and feet, as well as climbing too.  Finally they enjoyed playing in the Warren Family Center, playing outdoors on the playground and going on buggy rides.

  Examples of Toddler Activities

Toddlers spent the month of January exploring activities within the theme of “Cold Weather and Good Health Habits”.  During this month, they explored the concepts of cold, warm and hot.  They also continued their exploration of colors.  This month, sensory activities included playing with play dough using cutters and scissors, squeezing paint inside Ziploc bags, painting with their hands in white paint and making snowflakes.  Toddlers learned some new songs, such as “Do You Know the Muffin Man” and the “Alphabet Song”.  The toddlers also enjoyed singing with the classroom puppet, “Mr. Ben”.  They continued to talk about real and pretend.  They strengthened their fine motor skills by using markers, paint and brushes, chalk and pencils.  They worked on their gross motor skills by dancing to music and playing with musical instruments.  Toddlers also enjoyed their favorite picture books especially The Hungry Caterpillar.  Toddlers played games such as, “Who’s in the Dog House” where they really enjoyed pretending to be dogs!  Pretend play is a favorite of the toddler class.  This month they have really enjoyed playing with real kitchen gadgets in the home center.  In addition, toddlers have enjoyed playing outside on the playgrounds as well as exploring tunnels and tents in the Warren Family Center.

  Examples of Activities for Twos

Themes in the two year old classrooms tend to change weekly and vary from class to class.  All teachers plan a circle/group time activity daily as well as plan weekly changes to each center area, including dramatic play, science, art, puzzles, manipulates and math, blocks, writing, library, sensory and outdoors.  Each week teachers set goals for cognitive, physical and emotional development.  For example during a unit on “Birds”, twos were working on cognitive skills such as counting and recognizing colors. In order to facilitate this goal, children sorted and counted birds of various colors during centers and circle time.  Goals supporting physical development included looking, flying, running and working on fine motor tasks.  Children participated in movement activities, creative dramatics and outdoor play in order to accomplish these goals.  Fine motor tasks included using scissors to cut and peeling and sticking bird stickers on paper.  Emotionally children worked on learning to share and respect others.   These goals were fostered through free choice center play as well as teacher initiated activities.  Also during the week, children made binoculars, created beaks and painted with feathers.  They participated in a cooking activity, making “bird’s nest” snacks.  During circle time, children listened to several stories and poems about birds.  Finally the twos enjoyed time outdoors playing on the playground and indoor play in the Warren Family Center.

Questions or Comments?

Contact: nbauerle@sapch.org