On this page: Practical
Life Activities, Care of Self,
Care of the Environment, Control
of Movement, Grace and Courtesy, Outside
Area, Eating Area, Language,
Art, Music
Infant Communities are very special environments for toddlers
aged approximately 1-3 years. As the baby grows, the physical
environment takes on increasing significance. An environment is
required that differs greatly from that of the infant, yet continues
to meet the child's need for warmth and nurturing.
Safety must be insured in order to allow for freedom of movement,
exploration, and cognitive and motor development through interaction
with the environment. Increased mobility in the toddler, as well
as an intense need to develop independence, demands an environment
that encourages the transition by the child from the dependent
state of infancy. At the same time, the avenue for retreat and
reassurance must be constantly available. The Infant Community
environment is unique in that it provides a very specific structure
which fulfills the social, physical, emotional and psychological
needs of each child.
In these environments, there is space for
movement, space for individual work, and space for group
activities. The eating area and the sleeping area are separate
from these other areas. Everything in the environment is
proportionate to the child's size, and is designed to be safe and
aesthetically pleasing for children.
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Practical
Life Activities
Practical Life activities are those that all human beings do
for their survival and continued well-being. These activities
give children the skills to take care of themselves and their
environment.
Practical Life activities are simple and can be accomplished
by each child. They offer a repetitive cycle, which helps the
child establish patterns of order and sequencing. Due to the
fact that these are all very real activities, each child becomes
grounded in reality. Building the child's self-esteem is the
ultimate goal and this is accomplished through repeated successes
with these activities.
| Areas of Infant Community |
Description |
| Care
of Self |
In the Infant Community, each child is shown activities
that will help him/her learn how to care for self, thereby
aiding in the growth of independence. Each child has an individual
cubby where s/he can access personal items by him/herself,
enabling him/herself to undress, dress, and store belongings.
A dressing table provides children the opportunity to see
themselves in a mirror and to learn to brush their hair and
clean their noses.
The children enjoy washing their hands, cleaning their shoes,
and working with the dressing frames, which help them learn
how to button, snap, fasten with velcro, and zip. These are
all skills which can be applied to their own day-to-day lives.
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| Care
of the Environment |
In the Infant Communities, care of the environment is emphasized.
Activities include table washing, dusting, sweeping, mopping,
polishing, watering and misting plants, flower arranging,
cloth washing and dishwashing. All of these activities aid
in building independence, as well as refining coordination
of movement. The activities help increase the child's sense
of self-worth and self-esteem, and also allow each child to
really become calm and centered. Collaboration is also learned
as children work together to maintain their environments.
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| Control
of Movement |
The movement area enhances and challenges a child's mobility.
Two large exercise mats are provided for babies who are not
yet crawling. Materials which encourage visual perception, batting,
grasping, kicking and mouthing are available. Once the child
is scooting and crawling, ample floor space enables mastery
of these skills. The child can crawl to very low shelves containing
manipulative materials which stimulate the visual, tactile and
auditory senses. The child who is ready to pull up to a standing
position enjoys the help from the kiosk bar. The stair structure
encourages going up and down stairs, cruising and walking using
one or both hands.
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| Grace and Courtesy |
In these exercises, children learn that niceties are a
social custom. Through role modeling and direct lessons, they
learn the language and accompanying body movements associated
with common courtesies such as -- please and thank you, excuse
me, serving selves and others at a table, etc. |
| Outside Area |
Activities in the outdoor environment include gardening, plants
to water and weed, tree leaves to rake in the fall, sidewalk
sweeping, rugs and mats to beat clean, and when possible, pets
to take care of, and of course playing. Activities in the outside
environment greatly enhance the children's gross motor development. |
| Eating Area |
All of the activities involving food are used as occasions
for education --integrating language development, nature study
and observation, ecology and life skills in meaningful ways.
The child-size community dining tables and chairs are accessible
to toddlers so they may work there while preparing food, such
as snacks. They may also set the table. The low carts, for
portable services and storage, allow the children to reach
and help themselves. Tablecloths, place mats, cloth napkins,
plates, glasses and silverware (no plastic wares) are used
to enable children to experience eating as a social occasion
in a beautiful setting. The children are always invited to
prepare some food, serve it family style, clear the table
and clean up. The small bucket is used for compost collection. |
| Language |
The facilitation of language development is one of the important
aspects of the Montessori environment. The toddlers (12-36)
months are in the second stage of language learning; the linguistic
phase. They continue to absorb language and also practice verbalizing
it.
In our Infant Community, there is carefully planned and practiced
language exposure to children. The Directress speaks in English
while the Assistant speaks in Spanish to the children. A large
selection of books, language cards, and objects for matching,
touching and naming are rotated every two weeks on the low
shelves. The adults speak in clear, simple and normal ways
to the children. Language enrichment is crucial for later
reading and other academic and cultural learning. |
| Art |
In the Infant Community, the children are given opportunities
to express themselves through art activities. The children's
scribbles, representing beginning artistic attempts, happen
when their hand moves all over the paper, filling the space
with energy. The children's different activities in art include
paper tearing, chalk and chalkboard, painted art and clay. The
activities allow children the opportunity to engage in activities
that are not necessarily product oriented, but process oriented.
For the young child, what is most important for their learning
is the process involved. |
| Music |
In the Infant Community, the children are exposed to different
musical activities. There is a specific area for music, in which
various instruments can be found in a basket. The children learn
about bells and maracas, drums and clacking sticks, the xylophone
and the tambourine. They refine their sense of rhythm using
these instruments.
Daily, children gather together as a group and learn different
songs about their world, their community and about themselves.
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