Early Exploration Begins Here

This formative second year between infancy and toddlerhood deserves a program especially designed for one-year-olds, and Bright & Early delivers. Young Toddlers are eager to explore, which makes our program perfect for your child to feel the inspiration of investigation in an increasingly independent way. Our teachers complement this emerging confidence by providing gentle challenges in a supportive environment, allowing children to awaken their sense of self-reliance and exploration. These curious crawlers are encouraged to walk the path of discovery toward whatever interests them. Young Toddlers are primed to begin identifying what they’re passionate about, and we give them the freedom to do so.

Young Toddler Classrooms with Room to Explore

Our young toddler classrooms are filled with all of the necessary and fun items for a child this age to blossom as they being to feel comfortable exploring their environment.

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    YOUNG TODDLER CLASSROOM FEATURES:

    • Young toddler-sized cots for napping
    • Clean, comfortable, and secure diaper changing stations
    • Sturdy wooden “low-chairs” with safety belts for table time
    • Extra floor space to explore
    • Furniture with smooth, rounded corners
    • Small-modeled floor shelves with baskets of colorful and stimulating manipulatives

    YOUNG TODDLER LEARNING CENTERS:

    Floor Area

    Where children have access to toys and soft blocks.

    Circle Time Area

    Where children and teachers gather daily as a class.

    Literacy Center

    Where children curl up with a favorite book to read quietly.

    Manipulatives Center

    Where shelves hold baskets brimming with curriculum toys for fine motor development.

    Sensory Table Center

    Where children conduct science experiments with sand and water.

    Dramatic Play Center

    Where toy food and plastic dishes are stocked in a play kitchen area, and where costumes and props are available for children to dress up and play or act.

    Outdoor Classroom

    Where teachers bring activities and items outside to continue the group learning through play.

    What will my Young Toddler learn today?

     

    Our days are structured to fit the needs of every child while offering plenty of room for each child to grow in their own unique direction. There is no “standard” day, but this flexible structure developed by our team allows you to see what types of activities your child will engage in with us each day. Young toddlers begin to fall into the rhythm of a schedule with more regularized times for eating and napping, which allows them to feel comfortable exploring to their heart’s content.

    DAILY ACTIVITIES for a YOUNG TODDLER

    • Morning Outdoor Experience
    • Morning Snack
    • Planned Curriculum Activities
    • Circle Time
    • Learning Center Exploration
    • Lunch
    • Nap/Rest Time
    • Afternoon Outdoor Experience
    • Afternoon Snack
    • Planned Curriculum Activities
    • Storytime
    • Learning Center Exploration

    Sharing the Moments & Milestones

     

    We believe in technology that improves the classroom experience for both teachers and children. Each classroom is equipped with a Bright & Early iPad that teachers use for Tadpoles, Pandora Radio, and the B&E Meditation App.

    Through Tadpoles, parents are sent a Daily Report each evening with information about the following happenings:

    • Daily notes
    • Naps/Sleep
    • Snacks/Meals
    • Individual and class activities detailing development standards

    Teachers may also send parents snapshots of their children engaging in activities and having fun throughout the day.

    Bright & Early hosts two parent-teacher conferences each year, during which each child’s developmental assessments are reviewed in depth. In addition to these sit-down meetings, we highly value daily communication between parents and teachers, which means our teachers are available to provide updates to parents throughout each day, and we encourage parents to use pick up and drop off times to discuss their child’s progress and mindset with their teacher.

    How Children Grow, Explore, Discover, & Learn

    Each moment of caring for a child is a potential learning experience. Everyday activities allow for valuable interactions between teachers and children. These experiences, such as diaper changing and meal time, are opportunities for individualized learning experiences. Our teachers know that learning occurs in the tiny moments, and these small lessons have a significant cumulative effect on a child’s development. When you entrust us with the care of your child, the Bright & Early community loves and knows how to educate and care, engaging together with smiles, laughter, and learning.

     

    Our Young Toddler Program focuses on the following Early Learning & Development Standards:

    Cognition

    When young toddlers enjoy taking things apart and putting them back together as well as sorting objects and putting them “in order.”

    Social & Emotional Development

    When young toddlers seek cues from their teachers on how to respond to what’s happening in the classroom, and when they begin to express emotions with physical gestures, such as a hug.

    Physical Development & Health

    When a child uses two arms to catch a ball tossed from a short distance, and when they put their coat on themselves, understanding it will keep them healthy and warm.

    Early Language, Communication & Literacy

    When young toddlers chime in on nursery rhymes, when they start to use two word phrases, and when they begin to understand that words stand for people or objects that are out of view.

    Creative Arts

    When young toddlers move creatively while listening to music, such as stamping feet, waving arms, and swaying, and when they enjoy trying different art materials like dough and fingerpaint.

    Early Mathematical Discovery

    When a child begins to match and sort shapes and colors, and when they begin to say or sign a few numbers.

    Early Scientific Inquiry

    When children delight in seeing small animals, reptiles, and insects in a book or during enrichment experiences (don’t worry, these are professionally supervised), and when they can differentiate characteristics such as four legs on a puppy, eight legs on a spider, and no legs on a snake.

    We are proud to offer “EVEN MORE!”

    B&E Meditation App

    We partnered with Cloud9 Online, a meditation and healthcare company, to develop a customized mindfulness and meditation app specifically for Bright & Early. During the day at the centers, our teachers will use the app on the B&E classroom iPads to practice meditation and mindfulness with the children. Teaching children to be mindful, to connect with their minds and bodies, and to practice breathing helps them learn to reduce stress and stay calm.

    Young toddlers particularly enjoy the “Mindful Melodies” category, which includes songs like “Little Lamb Lullaby,” and “Warm Sunshine Hug,” for relaxing and sleeping. Families have access to the app at home so that they can enjoy the “Mindful Family” category, which includes meditations to help children start their day off with positive energy as well as meditations to help them settle into their nightly routine to help them drift off to sleep.

    The meditations were written and selected to be beneficial for the physical and mental well-being of our children. The library of meditations is large, with over 30 guided meditations and songs written for children, nature sounds to soothe, and even some meditations for the whole family to practice together at home!

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    American Sign Language (ASL)

    Bright & Early teachers use a number of basic ASL signs with young toddlers. Learning and using ASL provides a number of benefits for children, including an increase in communication and language processing skills, a strengthening of connections with parents and teachers, and a decrease in frustration. Please visit our American Sign Language page for more information on our program.

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