Young Children’s Community

Journey to Independence

2 - 3 years

“The education of even a small child, therefore, does not aim at preparing him for school, but for life.”

- Dr. Maria Montessori

“I Can Do It Myself”

Young children have a natural instinct to be independent.

Our specially prepared environments have child-sized tools that fit their hands and teach self-care skills and toileting.

Social Skills

Your child will learn how to be a contributing member of her special community and develop friendships that last throughout her time at Little Flower.

Language Development

This is a precious time for language development in your child's life. Dr. Montessori noted that a young child's mind can effortlessly absorb more than one language at this time. Your child will experience rich and stimulating conversation from both English and Spanish speaking adults.

Art

The children use different mediums like scissors, clay, paint and crayons.

Outdoor Learning

Your child has the opportunity to work in the garden, feed the birds, work with water, paint "en plein air" as well as observe caterpillars, butterflies and our school tortoise outdoors. These first experiences help to develop in our young children a love of the natural environment.

Music

The children sing, dance and listen to songs and music in English and Spanish. In addition, they learn about musical instruments and have a chance to try them out!

The first few years of a child’s life are crucial to his or her personality and intellectual development.

The purpose of our Young Children’s Community is to encourage, assist and protect the normal development of each child. Children in the program flourish in a prepared environment that respects, supports, and responds to their basic needs for independence, exploration, and the building of trust and self-esteem. We refer to this space as a ‘community’, instead of a classroom, because the children are learning to participate in a cooperative group, as they experience their first contact with other children.

Young children need not only love, emotional nurturance, and a healthy physical environment, but also an environment that promotes their very real need to learn. The Montessori approach provides a basis for individualized learning activities, appropriate for even the earliest stages of a child’s development.

Dr. Montessori recognized the need for young children to participate in purposeful activity. Baking for their own class community builds confidence and concentration and their sense of contributing to the world around them.

Multi-sensory Development of the Whole Child

The curriculum is based on developing the child’s social, emotional, sensory, perceptual, physical, motor, language, and self-help skills.

Dr. Montessori emphasized the need for a rich environment and noted the speed at which children can develop:

“If our own adult ability be compared with the child’s, we should need sixty years of hard work to do what he or she does in three.”

Care of Self Skills Activities

Activities like dressing, toileting and recognizing their own needs help to instill that sense of confidence and independence.