Alpine Academy: Toddlers

​Childhood is a magical time. Our goal is to keep that magic alive. We make ice cream, bring in pets and have holiday parties. We sing and dance and laugh. We want school to be a special place. 
 
For many children, school is a place for “firsts.” It may be the first time a child leaves his parents or the first time he must speak in front of a group. We want the children to feel safe. We maintain a slow, calm pace. We plan our routines and our transitions carefully. In fact, we get many compliments on how peaceful our classrooms are. We love this time in a child’s life, and we want your children to love it, too.
 
The key to a toddler class is that each child feels safe and loved. We make a special effort to help each child get through his or her “separation anxiety” and to meld with the class. We post family photos around the room. We create “Me” books about each child. We read stories about families, friends and our favorite hobbies. Most of all, we give huge hugs!
            
The children in our toddler classes spend a large part of their day playing. We like to offer unique play opportunities. For instance, we may set up easels and paint. We may thread yarn through lacing cards or sort colored noodles. We love finding new ways to have fun!
 
We also work on literacy. We read hundreds of stories. Sometimes, we make up stories and tell them aloud, all the while asking the children to help us keep the story going. We also look at newspapers, magazines, road signs and other kinds of literature.    
 
We work on the letters a lot. First, we practice recognizing the sounds. (He said “boy.”  That’s a “b” sound!) We also work on naming the written letters. (That looks like an “s!”) Finally, we practice making the sounds that go with the written letters (ccc-aaa-ttt… That says cat!”)
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Writing skills are also fundamental. Therefore, we do a lot of activities that require small motor control of the fingers, such as stringing beads into necklaces, cutting with scissors, drawing with stencils, practicing the letters and numbers, and anything else that gets those little fingers moving! 
 
The toddlers practice pre-math skills as well. We like to sort the plastic bears by color and size. We also like to line up the plastic zoo animals in various patterns (zebra, giraffe, zebra, giraffe.) As the children get older, we ask them to create and continue harder patterns. The toddlers also use the calendar every day. 
 
Finally, we work on social skills. In general, toddlers prefer playing alone or next to each other. For example, two children may sit next to each other, each one ringing up purchases on his toy cash register. As the children get older, they merge into more interactive play. For example, one child might buy bagels while the other child rings him up. One of our goals in Tiny Tots class is to support interactive play. This is why we offer group activities such as parachute games, floor puzzles and building blocks. Pair and group activities help the children build their self-confidence and their social skills.

Circle time is a favorite part of the day. In the above video, this sweet little girl is singing the "Good Morning" song with a puppet. 

Click on the above video to watch part of a Spanish lesson with some of our toddlers.

From Our Parents
​“ We sincerely appreciate all the extra TLC and effort the teachers have put in to helping our toddlers transition from home to school. Everyone has been so kind, patient, and helpful, and it means the world to us." {Mrs. Beaton}