Toddler Program (2-3 years of age)

Little Earth School's toddler classroom (which is part of our preschool) offers a high-quality, developmentally appropriate program which focuses on four major areas of child development:  physical development, social-emotional development, cognitive skills and language development.  Our toddler classroom is designed and organized to encourage children's learning through play, to support creative forms of self-expression and each child's emerging independence. Teachers scaffold children's learning, challenging and inspiring children to extend their competencies beyond what they are able to do on their own, supporting children as they solve problems and make meaning of their world.  Hands-on activities predominate.

For most children entering the toddler classroom, Little Earth is their first school experience,  their first opportunity to learn about being a member of a classroom community.  To support children as they make this adjustment, we keep our class size and teacher-student ratio small.  Activities in the toddler classroom include art, music, story time, dramatic play, pre-writing, many different kinds of sensory experiences, group circle time and outdoor play. We do go outside every day.

Teachers provide many opportunities for children to be active, both indoors and outdoors, and so develop both their gross motor and fine motor coordination.  Teachers model social skills such as sharing and apologizing and validate children's feelings, encouraging them to express their feelings in constructive ways.  Teachers talk to children throughout the day in the context of every activity so children learn expressive language, new vocabulary and how conversations are structured.  Finger plays, songs and simple stories also support children's language development.

Children in the Toddler Program and Preschool/Kindergarten Class have a low teacher-student ratio of 1:7/8. Children in the Elementary Classes are a maximum of 16 children.