Toddler Daycare: Learning Through Play
Our Toddler Program – The Caterpillar Room
The Age of Exploration and Constant Motion
Children of toddler age are full of exciting spirit. They need an environment that is carefully planned to channel their new found energy.
- Castle Academy’s program is designed to help your child learn through play.
- The ratio of children to teachers is 5 to 1.
- Students will enjoy more group activities in both the classroom and in our rubber matted playground.
- Circle Time is one of our favorite activities. They start with singing a welcoming song, and then learn about the calendar, weather, review colors, shapes and numbers.
- Playing and learning together is one of our greatest learning tools your toddler will grain from our teachers. There are many group activities throughout the day. Each day your toddler will work with flash cards, read books, dance, and work on fine motor skill activities like art, coloring, puzzles, and build with stackers. Our toddlers find our introduction to signing a fun way to communicate.
- Weather permitted, the children will play outside in our safe, matted playground. Our students enjoy rides, slides, balls and toys. There is plenty of room and things to do that playtime is just that, playtime and to enhance their gross motor skills and increase their natural abilities.
Social/Emotional
- Seeks to remain in company of familiar adults
- Seeks familiar adult as secure base when around new people and in new situations
- Uses others’ facial expressions, gestures or voices to guide own behavior
- Begins to respond to verbal redirection
- begins to apply strategies to manage feelings by self
- becomes aware of others expressions of emotion
- Responds to emotions of others, sometimes with adult prompting
- Reaches out to and engages momentarily with other children
- Has brief play encounters with other children
- Begins to participate in group routines
- Attempts simple personal care task
Cognitive Development
- Continues an activity when an adult interacts
- Focuses on activity of choice but is easily distracted
- Learns how objects work by handling them and watching others use them
- Uses familiar objects in conventional ways
- Discovers that repeat actions yield similar effects
- Explores ways to make something happen
- Begins to manipulate objects according to particular attributes
- Imitates the way others solve problems, immediately after seeing them do so
- Experiments with trial-and-error approaches to simple problems
- Engages in pretend play
Language Development
- Demonstrates understanding of simple multi-word speech in familiar contexts
- Uses gestures, words-like sounds and single words to communicate
- Imitates and exchanges sounds and gestures with other people
- Exchanges single words, word-like gestures with others
- Engages briefly with books as they are read aloud and finds pleasure in the experience
- Becomes increasingly engaged with the content of books that are read aloud
- Recognizes and shows a beginning understanding of pictures
- Begins to handle drawing and writing tools
Physical Development
- Gains balance and moves from place to place
- Walks forward with increasing coordination
- Uses one hand to hold an object and the other to manipulate another object
- Begins using eye-hand coordination while doing simple tasks
“From day one we found the staff to be nurturing, and the center to be a safe and stimulating learning environment. Each classroom and teacher brought a different skill set to the table for our daughter. I do not hesitate recommending Castle Academy to anyone.”
Steps to our community
As you schedule your childcare center tours, it is important to find a good fit for both you and your child. We recommend touring multiple centers, so you when you make that decision to enroll you are confident that the chosen center is a good fit for your family and meets all your needs.
When you come in for a tour at Castle Academy you will see an atmosphere of highly engaged teachers with their students. Experience our state of the art facility, meet our teachers and our Administrator staff including John and Tracy Castle (the owners) and feel free to ask as many questions as you like. It’s important to us that parents feel confident when choosing a childcare facility.
From the moment you arrive at Castle Academy you will experience the warmth, love and attention we provide to our children's’ safety, well being and education.
Selecting the best early childhood learning center for your child is one of the most important decisions you will make. We invite you to explore the Castle Academy Early Childhood Experience… Today!