Toddler (0 - 3 Years)

Birth to three are the most important development years of a life because this is the period when the foundation of the personality of the person is prepared.

At MABIS, we understand how to help the child develop herself holistically from a physical and psychological perspective. A young child needs to be offered freedom within appropriate boundaries and choices to develop her will power. She needs to have purposeful work that engages her mind and body fully. When this happens, she develops deep concentration and her personality begins the process of integration and unification.

Work in the Toddler classroom helps the child develop movement, language, the intellect, emotional well-being and the will. Through work, the child gains self-esteem and learns to have trust in herself and in the world around her.

The sooner a child joins the Toddlers program, the sooner she can benefit from the wonderful prepared environment and care of the loving and skillful teachers.

Toddlers can choose to join the half-day or full day program. The key areas of the Toddler program include: Practical Life, Language, Psycho-Sensory Motor, Movement and Self-Expression.

Practical Life Exercises are the foundation of the program. Through these activities, the child learns useful skills for daily life, gains functional independence, learns new language, and develops the will, intellect and movement.

Practical Life activities include Care of the Self, Care of the Environment, Grace and Courtesy, Movement of Furniture and Food Preparation. Some examples are fastening buttons on the frame, hand washing, brushing teeth, watering plants, feeding animals, washing dishes, sweeping, scrubbing the table, mirror polishing, cutting fruit, peeling vegetables and baking bread to name a few.

Developing a sense of connection with and responsibility towards the natural world starts when the child is most impressionable. Children learn to appreciate the natural ecosystem and food chain through a hands-on approach when they sow seeds, water the plants, harvest vegetables from the school garden and use them in their cooking. They also enjoy time outdoors exploring our beautiful garden.

Young children are in the Sensitive Period to learn language. They absorb all the language they hear in the environment and make it part of themselves. We offer a rich language environment to support the acquisition of vocabulary and the use of language in a natural social context. In the Toddler classroom the child hears clear models of English, Chinese and Thai languages in daily conversations, specialized vocabulary lessons, throughout lessons with physical materials, while listening to stories, poems, rhymes and songs. We support the child’s self expression by offering a listening ear and showing interest in what the child wants to express, and an environment where they feel safe to share their thoughts and ideas without judgment

Children develop their fine motor skills using psycho-sensory motor materials such as puzzles, working with nuts and bolts, opening and closing objects, imbucare and infilare activities, stereognostic bags, cutting, pasting and even sewing.

Young learners are in a Sensitive Period for physical movement. This is a time where the joy of moving physically creates the need to walk, run, dance and climb with confidence. They can’t resist being involved in gross motor activities, and become physically daring. At the same time young children are developing their fine motor skills. Practical Life and Psycho-Sensory Motor activities offer wonderful opportunities for them to use their hands with precision when executing a task.

Self-expression is supported through free form art activities such as scribbling, working with chalk, painting, working with clay, etc. The focus is on skill development. We encourage the child to express himself freely without judgment or pre-set requirements.

Music involves appreciation of a variety of musical genres and also experimenting with making music. We introduce the child to a variety of music, bringing the child’s awareness to the sounds made by specific instruments and to how these instruments are played. Sometimes we listen to music just for pure enjoyment. We also introduce a variety of percussion instruments to the child so that she can learn how to work with the instruments and create her own tunes.

Children are introduced to diverse and rich cultures through celebrations, activities that are culturally focused such as cooking food of a particular country or making crafts specific to a group of people.