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Young Children's Community

Montessori Education for Children Ages 18–36 Months

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A toddler program and community that supports your growing child.

Are you searching for a nurturing community, highly-trained teachers, and a school that feels like a second home? Then join us at Butler Montessori. Our faculty know and love your children and they're committed to helping your child learn the skills that will help them thrive now and in the future. Learn more about the Young Children's Community and how it can serve your child in this video.

 

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DISMISS MESSAGE

"For us, the school truly feels like a community and a nurturing environment for the children and for the parents as well. I always know that the children are raised in an environment where they are respected and supported in every possible caring way!"

Andreea
Primary and YCC Parent

How are we different than the daycare or preschool down the street?

Our AMI-certified Young Children's Community (YCC) teachers are trained to support the social and emotional growth of children ages 18-36 months. We spark the love of learning by creating a caring and prepared environment for learning. In this video, discover how Butler Montessori's YCC program supports your child more than a traditional daycare or preschool.

 

"Both my children love their "work" and often give us lessons at home, emulating their guides. The friendships they have developed and the experiences they have had (visiting the horses and chickens, going on hikes, enjoying the campus, mastering their work) are priceless. "

Jessica
YCC, Primary and Elementary Parent

Elements of our Young Children's Community Toddler Program

Practical Life

Children learn through observing what the people around them do and our practical life activities allow children to practice the skills they see adults using. All of these activities support fine motor or gross motor development while children practice real life skills. We have simplified activities with realistic but child-sized versions of tools.

Toilet Independence

Opportunities for toilet independence are a significant part of the children’s time in the Young Children’s Community. Most children are physiologically able to begin practicing bladder and bowel sphincter by the time they begin walking. Toileting is a natural and normal part of our daily routine and the children quickly acclimate to the toileting process. We work collaboratively with parents to support toileting independence at home and offer parallels between home and school for the child.

Nature

We strive to spend time outside everyday with the young children by going on walks, playing on the playground, or working in our garden bed. Spending time in nature offers many opportunities for sensorial experiences like smelling dandelions, walking in sand, or tasting mulberries. As children walk around our beautiful campus they practice gross motor coordination while walking up hills and along paths.

Language

We read daily with the children and foster a love of reading by modeling a love of books and exposing the children to a diverse array of children’s literature. We have language activities that focus on acquisition and expansion of vocabulary, as well as sharing poems and songs that exemplify the beauty of words.

Watch this video to learn how food tasting is a part of building language skills.

Art

Young children are more process-oriented than product-oriented and benefit from the opportunity to freely explore with the artistic medium available. Art activities like coloring and clay support development of fine motor skills and the wall chalkboard and easel support development of gross motor skills.

Learn More About Butler Montessori's Art Programs

Music

In the classroom the children have access to an array of instruments to use for musical exploration. We also sing daily with the children and as they hear songs repeated over multiple days, they  exercise their memory. Music supports the foundations of literacy in young children through uniquely framed phonetics and often artistic use of vocabulary. Songs that involve movement offer the children opportunities to coordinate their movements and thoughts, often following external directions given by the lyrics of the songs. Music is also a tool for human connection and is a way to share our own feelings and learn about the feelings of others.

Learn More About Butler Montessori's Music Program

Frequently Asked Questions

We are unable to provide extended care hours for our YCC students.

The children arrive and are greeted by their teachers and their friends before putting away their belongings and beginning their work cycle. During the two-hour morning work cycle the children choose from our carefully selected materials and experience peer social engagement. Around 10:30 the children enjoy a community snack where all members of the class sit together for a ‘family style meal’ where they get to eat peer-prepared food while learning mealtime etiquette. After snack the children spend time in nature, either by going on a walk to visit the school’s chickens and horses or spending time on our intentionally designed playground. At noon, half-day children go home for the day and the full day children set up for lunch. After lunch time, the children transition to nap, which occupies their afternoon until 2:30 when the children wake up to end their day at school by a 3:00 dismissal.

A maximum of 9 children. The class size in the Young Children’s Community is an important part of why the program works so well. We have a small number of children to ensure safety and support for the children as individuals, but our 1:5 ratio also encourages the children to look towards each other if they need assistance in simple tasks like cleaning spills or zipping coats.

How do our teachers compare to traditional teachers? Our teachers receive vigorous training through Association of Montessori International and specialize in a particular age group (ex: ages 0-3 in the YCC classroom).

This allows them to respond to a child's emotional, social, and academic needs and give them the support and love they need to thrive.

Teachers calmly help children resolve conflicts and model behavior for the children. They are kind and caring and know when a child needs a hug or is having a rough day.

We attract and retain the highest level of teacher because they believe in the Montessori philosophy and the benefits to the children. They love being a part of our close-knit community and support our school's mission.  

In our environment we focus on offering children independence while they practice and refine practical life skills. Here the children spend a lot of their time doing activities like dressing, cleaning, preparing food, baking, and other tasks that they observe adults doing in everyday life. These activities help children feel actively involved in community life as they work collaboratively with one another in a shared space.

If you want a sense of how influential the Montessori method can be, just ask today’s accomplished CEOs, business leaders, innovators, and artists. People such as Larry Page and Sergei Brin (the founders of Google), Jeff Bezos (CEO of Amazon), Grammy Award-winning artist Taylor Swift, and author Helen Keller all enjoyed an early Montessori education that helped provide them the foundation for their careers.

In many ways, the Montessori classroom mimics the world of work, offering your child practice at developing skills that will serve them well throughout their career.

Your child will be encouraged to develop a sense of teamwork with both older and younger children. And by allowing your child to pursue their education at their own pace, one-on-one, your child can foster the independence, self-discipline, and confidence needed to spearhead work projects, find innovative solutions, and be a leader in their job.

See our toddler program in action!

Interested in learning more about our Young Children's Community program? Visit our beautiful 22-acre campus for a personalized tour of our award-winning green school programs, organic student-run farm, and our experiential academic learning environments.

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