Montessori Toddler Program

The Montessori Toddler Program provides children aged 2-3 with hands-on learning opportunities that are active, self-paced, and based on real-world experience. Learning goals focus on developing independence, social skills, confidence, and a solid academic base in preparation for future learning.

Learning in the Toddler Community 

The Montessori Toddler Program is active, self-paced, and involves learning using all five senses. Children are introduced to the five areas of the Montessori Curriculum, including: Practical Life, Sensorial, Mathematics, Language and Culture, and develop competence through repetition and practice.

Between the ages of two and three, toddlers move through sensitive periods for language, order, small objects, toilet training, music, grace and courtesy, and the senses. The design of the toddler classroom, and the educational materials within in, reflect these interests and provide rich opportunities for learning that nurture children’s complete development.

Similarly, the daily routine reflects this age groups need to learn through movement and hands-on experience, while embracing children’s individual needs, interests, and learning style. Once children complete the Toddler Program, they progress to the Montessori Preschool Program, where they master the progression of the Montessori Curriculum, and prepare for their transition to school.

Toddler Learning Goals 

  • Can identify common objects, body parts, and colours by name
  • Recognises numerals and counts by rote
  • Speaks in sentences and expresses thoughts and feelings
  • Participates in physical activities
  • Ability to use the pincer grip when writing and drawing
  • Shows self-confidence and interacts well with others
  • Distinguishes between sights, smells, tastes and sounds
  • Demonstrates problem-solving skills and shows curiosity

Toddler Curriculum

Practical Life

Practical life activities focus on care of self, care of others, and care of the environment. In addition to teaching daily life skills, practical life activities promote independence, social skills, grace and courtesy, concentration, and coordination. 

Example materials and activities include:
  • Spooning
  • Pouring
  • Gardening and plant care
  • Grating
  • Window washing

Sensorial

Sensorial activities are designed to help children develop and refine the senses of sight, touch, taste, smell and sound. These skills assist with classifying, sorting and discriminating between objects to interpret their sensory impressions. These skills are necessary foundations for language and mathematics.

Example materials and activities include:
  • Pink tower
  • Brown stairs
  • Red rods
  • Geometric tray
  • Thermic tablets

Mathematics

Montessori mathematics materials assist children in developing an understanding of abstract mathematical concepts through hands-on experiences. Through the mathematics materials, students learn to identify and quantify numerals, count and sequence numbers, add and subtract, identify patterns, and learn about number systems.

Example materials and activities include:
  • Sandpaper numbers
  • Spindle box
  • Number rods
  • Cards and counters
  • Cut-out numerals and counters

Language

Montessori toddler language materials assist children in learning letter recognition, phonics, simple word structures, vowels and consonants, and the early stages of writing and reading.

Example materials and activities include:
  • Sandpaper letters
  • Three part cards
  • Metal insets
  • Plain paper cutting strips
  • Object picture matching

Culture

The Montessori Culture Curriculum covers the study of the arts, geography, science, environment, national culture, music, and history. Through cultural activities children learn about their community and the world. They discover similarities, differences, and develop an understanding, appreciation and respect for diversity and all living things.

Example materials and activities include:
  • Land and water globe
  • Flag puzzles
  • World map puzzle
  • Life cycle puzzle
  • Botany cabinet

Early Years Learning Framework

In addition the Montessori Curriculum, all Montessori Academy childcare centres also teach the Australian Government’s Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF): Belonging, Being & Becoming. The EYLF incorporates five learning outcomes that work hand-in-hand with the Montessori Curriculum to support children’s learning from birth to age five.

Five Key Outcomes of the EYLF:
  • Outcome 1: Children have a strong sense of identity
  • Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world
  • Outcome 3: Children have a strong sense of well-being
  • Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners
  • Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators

Daily Routine for Toddlers

The toddler routine outlines the typical daily flow for children aged two to three years in the Montessori toddler community.  The toddler daily routine provides a consistent pattern of activities for learning time, meals, rest, and outdoor play. The predictability of the routine helps children to feel secure and positively influences their emotional, cognitive, and social development.

Toddler Daily Routine

Montessori Materials for Toddlers

Pink Tower

The Pink Tower teaches children to visually discriminate by dimension. It also develops fine motor skills, introduces the concept of the base ten, and indirectly prepares children for the decimal system.

Water Transfer With Dropper

Tranferring water with a dropper teaches children concentration and care while indirectly preparing them for measurement.

Spindle Box

The Spindle Box clarifies the concept that numeral symbols represent certain quantities. It also introduces the natural sequence of numbers and the concept of zero and its symbol.

Metal Inset

Working with the Metal Inset teaches children to develop their pencil grip, refine their fine motor skills, and learn how to draw within an outline and patterns.

Knobbed Cylinders

The Knobbed Cylinders come in a set of four that teach children to visually discriminate height and diameter. They also encourage development of the pincer grip in preparation for writing.

Number Rods

The Number Rods help children learn the names of numbers and their sequence in order to relate the spoken number to its corresponding quantity. 

Montessori Materials

Pink Tower

The Pink Tower teaches children to visually discriminate by dimension. It also develops fine motor skills, introduces the concept of the base ten, and indirectly prepares children for the decimal system.

Water Transfer With Dropper

Tranferring water with a dropper teaches children concentration and care while indirectly preparing them for measurement.

Spindle Box

The Spindle Box clarifies the concept that numeral symbols represent certain quantities. It also introduces the natural sequence of numbers and the concept of zero and its symbol.

Metal Inset

Working with the Metal Inset teaches children to develop their pencil grip, refine their fine motor skills, and learn how to draw within an outline and patterns.

Number Rods

The Number Rods help children learn the names of numbers and their sequence in order to relate the spoken number to its corresponding quantity. 

Where to next? The Preschool Program

The Montessori Preschool Program is a structured academics and wellbeing program that prepares children for their transition to school. It expands on the foundational knowledge fostered by previous programs and assists in developing confidence, independence, problem-solving, creativity, and real-life skills.

Preschool Program