.jpg)
Two Birds Toddler Program & Childcare
Toddlers
In our Toddler program, your child builds skills to develop both independence as well as social and emotional engagement with classmates through the lens of a play based approach to learning. We encourage children to build curiosity for the world around them while exploring new materials, and environments, all while working on the building blocks for fine motor, gross motor and cognitive skills inside and outside of the classroom.
Toddler Curriculum
The Two Birds curriculum is inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach to learning, which is founded in emergent practices, meaning the way we think about classroom work and lesson planning responds and adapts to the interests of the child. It is a play based program that incorporates small group work, choice time, project work and centers and utilizes open ended materials. We begin this approach in our infant program and build upon it as children graduate through each of the programs and age groups at Two Birds. In our Toddler program, teachers’ planning focuses on providing opportunities for students to build gross and fine motor skills as well as develop social/emotional skills.
Imaginative Learning
At Two Birds, we emphasize utilizing natural materials within our curriculum. This can mean anything from materials children have discovered and collected on walks outside, to menus from local restaurants for the dramatic play area, to pieces of cork, fabric, clay etc. This allows children to explore a range of materials, both traditional and non traditional, as well as utilize and re-imagine materials children see in their everyday lives as opportunities for learning and investigation.
A day in the life of a Toddler at Two Birds
The toddler program introduces daily routines and structure that we build upon in our Preschool and Pre-K programs. Providing a consistent flow to the day gives children a helpful framework into which we can integrate play, small group work, child led decision making, and typical daily routines. Following breakfast, teachers introduce new topics of focus during Morning Meeting and then transition into small group activities, project work, center time and outdoor play. Toddler classrooms include a nap after lunch as well as an afternoon snack before transitioning back into small group activities before pick up.
Morning Meeting
Morning meeting is an opportunity to gather the entire class and introduce new topics of study, promote social development within larger group participation amongst peers, and to establish recurring routines to kick off the day, such as reading, singing, creative movement and dance.
Family Style Meals
Children eat as a class to promote family-style meals for breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack. By replicating the style in which meals are served at home, we promote conversation, independence, feeding skills and social engagement.
Small Group Work
We utilize small group work to introduce new learning skills, materials, and topics the classroom is investigating. Project work is often initially teacher led, and then as children revisit skills and topics, can be child-led as well.
Open Centers
All classroom environments are organized around centers within the room, such as dramatic play, art, construction, a cozy corner, library, and science. Centers provide an opportunity for teachers to curate the materials presented to encourage productive play, and for children to make choices about how they spend their time and exhibit agency in the classroom.
Outdoor Play
Outdoor play focuses on engagement with the environment and neighborhood. Teachers bring equipment such as parachutes, chalk, hoops, bubbles and balls as well as explore and observe what’s happening in the community.
Rest Time
The toddler program incorporates a 2 hour rest period following lunch. All toddlers select a Two Birds blanket to snuggle with during rest and sleep on cots in the room. For toddlers who do not require two hours of sleep, teachers work with them to read quietly and allow their bodies and minds to rest.
"Thank you for your amazing organization of, and communication regarding the center. The lack of spread of Covid is a testament to your thoroughness and excellence in dealing with this unprecedented situation, and I cannot tell you enough how grateful we are to be a Two Birds family. Since moving to the US we have become big fans of the Thanksgiving holiday (family time, good food and articulating what we are thankful for without all the consumerism of Christmas is wonderful!) and we will certainly be saying our thanks for you and your amazing team tomorrow."
- Jessica S.
Our Classroom - Toddlers
In our toddler classrooms, we introduce the concept of classroom environments that are founded around centers. Each classroom integrates areas of the classrooms (center), such as dramatic play, construction, cozy corner, meeting and movement, and art and science. These centers are designed to promote development in different domains while working independently and/or with classmates. Teachers curate the materials that are offered in each area to encourage productive play, while simultaneously introducing child led and child driven choices and work. Classroom environments are also designed in a way to serve as a canvas for children’s work and to showcase the interests of the classroom as a whole. Over the course of the year, teachers fold documentation and displays of children’s work into the environment, often showcasing this at the child’s eye level to encourage reflection and to allow children to see and celebrate their own work.
.jpg)
Join the Two Birds family!
Ready to enroll your little one at Two Birds and enjoy Reggio-Emilia inspired curriculum, family classes, and a professional workspace? Find your nearest Two Birds location!
