Programs
Toddler
A nurturing Montessori environment for ages 24-36 months old.
At Chestnut Montessori, our Toddler curriculum is designed and implemented in a warm and nurturing environment with educated and dedicated teachers, where the classroom has been set up like a home and many daily activities are reminiscent of home life to assist your child to learn with joy in his or her new “home away from home.” Students receive lessons in Practical Life, sensory motor activities, language development, music, geography, math, art, physical and life sciences, and mapping.
Our dedicated teachers observe students at work to facilitate their understanding of each little person. The Introduction to Montessori Toddler classroom and outside areas have been specially prepared to provide a warm, nurturing, and beautiful learning environment where your child will feel welcome and comfortable at Chestnut Montessori School.
What to Expect
Our Program's Unique Features
Practical Life
Practical Life activities include puzzles, pouring and spooning exercises, dressing frames, folding cloths, and art activities. These activities build visual memory and increase the student’s concentration and fine motor coordination. Other areas of the classroom support their developing skills of sleeping, eating, dressing, toileting, and washing, to increase their independence. Areas within and outside the classroom offer sensory motor activities. Young students spend as much time as possible outdoors during the morning and afternoon.
Social Awareness
Children enjoy being with other children, even before conversational skills are developed. During class time they are invited to join in with classmates for story time, lessons, music, and special projects. Students may also choose to engage in individual or parallel activities. After observing and working with students to understand their interests, engagement, and readiness, teachers plan individual, small, and whole group lessons and activities. During these times students may participate when they choose to and may find something else when their interests draw them elsewhere. This ability to make appropriate choices supports the child’s decision-making skills.
Language
In our language-rich environments, young children have a special innate ability to learn to process and speak different languages simultaneously. We encourage families to use native languages at home; we support the student’s receptive and expressive English language skills at school by teaching students the names of the animals and plants in the environment, songs, books, demonstrations, and fingerplays. We find that young students pick up words and phrases, then sentences, very readily through these activities.
Grace and Courtesy
Our students are given deep respect by teachers for their individuality. With lessons in Grace and Courtesy, students learn to use kindness with one another. We often see classroom friends helping one another and taking turns. The classroom becomes a lovely environment of children happily working together.
What People are Saying
Parent Reviews
"We have been at Chestnut for over two years now. The staff is amazing, the independence they teach the children is wonderful, and our son loves it there."
— Darya M.
