Programs
Toddler
The first three years
Maria Montessori described the first three years of a child’s life as a period of incessant absorbing of the world around them and their own self. Children experience an explosive growth of movement, language, and thinking through the first 36 months, and we love to see that energy, determination, and curiosity manifest itself.
What to Expect
Our Program's Unique Features
A learning environment
As they emerge from infancy, toddlers begin to explore the world around them with enthusiasm and verve. Children this age are determined to "do it by myself" and investigate everything that catches their interest, and we encourage those traits.
We provide indoor and outdoor spaces where our toddlers can learn to use their bodies, voices, and minds. We focus on developing their concentration, independence, and gross and fine motor coordination.
With appropriate support toddlers can be quiet, focused, and peaceful. Calm teachers, clear expectations, and a carefully designed environment influence young children to cultivate their impulse control and sense of community. These are the foundations of the Montessori learning environment, and necessary precursors to the more academic lessons in the Primary classroom.
A Community
Our students grow together into a close-knit, caring community. When children work, learn and grow together, they learn much more than any of them could learn alone. But school is a community for more than just the children: we view our relationship with parents and extended family as a partnership, working together for the benefit of your child and their friends. Outside of that, our entire neighborhood is a place of learning, from Dimond Park, to Dimond Library, to walking to the grocery store.
“Help Me To Do It Myself”
All children have a drive for independence, which we encourage by creating an environment where everything is just the right size, both physically and conceptually. Child sized serving utensils that fit tiny hands allow children to serve themselves and their friends. Miniature brooms and mops empower children to clean up on their own. They are taught skills of self-care, changing clothes, toilet training, and putting on shoes and jackets. Your child learns a set of practical life skills and self-confidence, and more importantly, confirms their belief that they can make a genuine impact on their world.
A Beautiful Environment
Our bright and sunny toddler classroom is specially designed for your newly independent and exploring child. It is a world scaled down to your child’s size. Here, your child paints, sings songs with friends, eats in a communal environment, and plays with materials that develop fine motor coordination.
Our spacious outdoor environment, gardens, sandboxes, and play structures encourages toddlers to develop their gross motor skills by climbing, carrying, and pedaling. They also learn to care for their own environment through watering plants, cleaning up, and sweeping our long walkways.
Absorbing the environment
We surround your child with a rich, stimulating, and carefully cultivated environment to support this once-in-a-lifetime period of rapid language and conceptual development. A child’s mind effortlessly absorbs the new vocabulary and ideas, providing a foundation for later abstract thought. Research implies that children will know 50% of all the words they will ever know by age 10, indicating the importance of early language acquisition.
A Joyful Experience
Maria Montessori once said, “One test of the correctness of the educational procedure is the happiness of the child.” We know the children who learn best are children who are happy, engaged and deeply connected to their friends and teachers. As a result, children at OMS develop a deep affinity for school and a true love for learning.
One school, many environments
Our toddler classroom and primary classroom are connected by our expansive yard, and younger children are always welcome to visit the older classroom. This way, they can begin to imagine themselves in their next environment, and once they are ready, they naturally move on.
Sometimes readiness is not continuous. Because the classrooms are always open to everyone, children may always return to visit their previous classroom as long as they need, to remind themselves of the support, friendship, and care that their teachers offer.
What People are Saying
Parent Review
"Our son attended OMS for 3 years and during that time we found the staff to be very attentive to his ever adapting needs from toddlerhood to childhood. We were fond of OMS from the beginning, in part because of its large open outdoor space, as our son needs ample room to explore and play in the sunlight. The Montessori school style suited our child’s needs well as it provided structure and education while also introducing music, arts, gymnastics and lots of peer-to-peer interactions. For our son, he had some struggles with various areas of growth but the educators were constantly informing us of how he was doing, strategies they were employing to help him advance, encouraging tools to try at home and working closely with us to monitor his progress. Overall, we’ve been impressed by their dedication to help our child and others grow as engaged, intelligent and sociable little humans. We feel that our son is thriving and we would happily recommend OMS. We are grateful for this school and the time our son spent time there as he forged healthy relationships with both the educators and fellow students."
— Melissa