TODDLER CARE

Learn how toddler care can help early childhood development.

Our program uses hands-on exploration and social interaction in safe, engaging surroundings to help your one to two year old learn about his or her expanding world. Through the guidance of our early childhood development professionals, toddlers enjoy learning experiences that promote their blossoming independence and social skills, and foster self-confidence.

Beyond day care, our Creative curriculum for toddlers is designed to adapt to each individual child’s age and stage. Experienced teachers promote emotional, physical, social, and intellectual development in a fun, engaging environment.

CHILD CARE AND CURRICULUM FOR TODDLER DEVELOPMENT

Our Creative curriculum creates a developmentally appropriate learning environment that empowers toddlers to be confident, successful, lifelong learners.

LITERACY: Building language and the foundation for pre-reading skills in toddlers

Language is starting to blossom as toddlers expand their vocabulary from single into multiple-word phrases. Our teachers continually model language and engage toddlers in rich conversations. By providing a language-rich environment that encourages your child’s progress towards achievement of two-way communication, your toddler will have the opportunity to:

• Participate in conversations with teachers and peers
• Follow one-step directions
• Develop an appreciation of books through stories and read alouds
• Increase short-term memory and recall
• Use writing tools and make purposeful marks such as scribbles on paper

MATH : Guiding toddlers’ first steps to mathematical understanding.

A toddler classroom is full of math activities from figures for sorting, to shape boxes for matching, to cups to stack by size, to sensory tables to learn comparison of quantity and volume. With our toddler curriculum, Bright Horizons teachers help one and two-year-olds take their first steps towards understanding math by:

• Using "number talk" such as more/less, under / over, inside / outside, full / empty
• Counting to two or three during activities such as snack time
• Talking about time in daily conversations ("Now…then…last")
• Playing sorting and matching games

SCIENCE: Supporting toddlers in developing scientific thinking through investigation.

Toddlers have a strong sense of curiosity about how things work and an innate desire to make sense of the world. From stomping in puddles to investigating a sandbox, our curriculum nurtures and builds on these natural instincts, offering toddlers meaningful learning experiences that continually foster and develop their scientific thinking and skills. Our teachers weave scientific learning into all aspects of a toddler’s day by offering opportunities to:

• Explore multiple solutions during story times
• Play with puzzles and busy boxes
• Manipulate playdough with tools such as cookie cutters and rolling pins
• Experiment with volume through sand, water, and rice play at the sensory table
• Formulate "why, what, how?" questions in daily interactions

ART: Encouraging creativity and innovation in toddlers.

Meaningful engagement in the arts allows toddlers to think flexibly, generate creative solutions, and enhances development in other areas including literacy, math, and science. Our teachers encourage creativity and innovation by engaging children in artistic experiences that allow them to explore art with all their senses. Your toddler will have the opportunity to:

• Explore sensory materials - squishy clay, textured sponges, and scented paint
• Experiment with and explore colors
• Play, shake, and strum instruments from rain sticks to xylophones
• Dance with scarves to varied types of music
• Participate in pretend play
• Play with puppets

THE WORLD & ME:Fostering positive attitudes in toddlers towards others and the world.

Daily activities such as watering flowers, viewing diverse family photos, and playing with differently-abled figurines help toddlers begin to step outside their own boundaries and to embrace concepts such as acceptance, diversity, and personal responsibility. Toddler teachers encourage children to reflect on themselves, their peers, and the world they live in by:

• Talking about feelings
• Having "show and share" times
• Encouraging play between peers
• Expressing compassion and empathy in books and daily interactions
• Connecting actions (i.e., taking a friend's toy) to an effect (crying from the friend)

HEALTH AWARENESS

Helping toddlers develop healthy habits and a positive attitudes about wellness.

The relationship between a child's physical health and his social, emotional, and cognitive achievements makes it crucial to ensure he feels strong, healthy, and well nourished every day. Health Awareness focuses on child nutrition, safety, and wellness, and lays the groundwork for a lifetime of healthy habits. Our toddler teachers enable children to understand how their bodies work, what they need, and how to protect them by helping children:

• Practice small muscle skills like drawing, writing, cutting
• Spend time in the natural world
• Identify healthy foods and growing vegetables from seed
• Practice proper hygiene
• Follow simple safety rules