No doubt everyone’s attention has lately been focused on wellness, and our toddler community
is no exception. We have recently added the book “Germs Are Not for Sharing” by Elizabeth
Verdick and Marieka Heinlen to our reading corner. It is amazing how many wellness practices
currently being emphasized by health officials are the same as we learn in Toddler House: wash
your hands frequently while singing ABC two times. Catch your cough and sneeze in your
elbow. Throw your tissue in the trash. Excellent advice. Rest assured as teachers we are also
keeping vigilant to stay on top of disinfecting practices in our classroom. Thank you so much to
our parents for so graciously following our school guidelines for dealing with illness; we are
grateful for everyone’s cooperation and looking forward to all our friends being present and
healthy!
In keeping with that, we are making a few adjustments to our classroom activities to maintain
healthy practices. We have swapped out our water table and baby washing for other activities,
and will not be offering mouth works, to minimize the chance of sharing of germs. We would
like to ask for your help by keeping toys, dolls and stuffed animals (except the one your child
uses at nap) at home or in the car, again to minimize the number of objects that may be passed
around.
Happily, there are still many things we can share together as a group, especially since the
toddlers’ favorite thing is to be together. At this age, toddlers naturally gravitate toward group
activities. They are in a sensitive period for learning to interact socially. They are naturally
curious about their peers and look to adults as models for how to navigate their feelings and
needs as social beings in a classroom community. At group time we engage in a number of
activities that act as guides for introducing such lessons in grace and courtesy, interpersonal
relationships and cooperative play. Many group activities have quickly become favorites:
passing the tambourine to a friend and singing “Buenos Dias” to each person, taking turns
holding the rain stick while listening to the song “Earth, Wind and Water”, making silence
together as part of the song “Ram Sam Sam.” We have many opportunities to practice taking
turns; for example, offering the red stool to sit on while waiting for a turn to wash hands.
Occasionally a child will test the boundaries by running off with a friend’s work; the interesting
thing is their cooperative response to consistent guidance toward resolving conflict. As
Montessorians we honor the child’s choice to work alone. But sometimes, when an altercation
arises, the teacher might say, “Would you like to do this work together?” Sometimes, it is as if
just hearing how much we value cooperation and collaboration in our little community is
enough to satisfy their learning experiment (for sometimes what adults label misbehavior is
actually an attempt to learn), and they will engage with each other or go off inspired to choose
work of their own.
“What is social life if not the solving of social problems, behaving properly and pursuing aims
acceptable to all?” Dr. Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind
Thank you to Aaron Mitchell for coming over to affix our new bird feeder in just the right spot,
and to Ambra for the continuous supply of bird seed. One day as we all sat on the rug for music
with Corey, we looked over and saw the cutest little chickadee perched on the feeder having its
morning snack.
The next time this newsletter comes out, our dear Tia will be on her maternity leave! We are so
excited for Tia and her family, and can’t wait for the arrival of their newest member. Acadia
Prestidge, currently the morning assistant in T2, will be stepping in as late day lead. Acadia is
already beloved of the T2 children, and we are delighted to welcome her to our team.
Warm regards,
Becky Jones, Carolina Diaz and Tia Thao