Toddlers: Education and Development Program
For most children ages 16 to 24 months, this is their first encounter with school. During this transition from home to a new environment we believe in the importance of creating a strong bond between child and teacher as well as creating a partnership between teachers and parents to support this process. Children have the possibility of building relationships with new friends, adults, and different surroundings.
At the same time they begin developing their own identity, self-image and confidence. Mirrors become an important tool to support this discovery and recognition of themselves. They are in a stage of enhancing their senses to explore the many alternatives and possibilities that the environment offers. Experiences of tasting, feeling, hearing, smelling and seeing become part of their journey of discovering the world around them. We support this by offering experiences and provocations to interact and explore a diversity of materials with different properties such as paper, clay, rice, sand, water, and paint among others. During this phase children frequently play by themselves but start considering and enjoying the presence of others and even notice and question when one of there classmates is not there.
Active Learning© was developed at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center in Chapel Hill NC and tested in 17 child development centers. The Active Learning© Curriculum is designed for children from newborn to 24 months of age. The small group activities are designed to develop the senses, the imagination, and the skills to enjoy the arts.
