M: The Magazine for Montessori Families
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18 months to 3 years old.
As the Infant becomes a Toddler, his mind is moving from the "Unconscious Absorbent Mind" to more "Conscious" choices and actions.

When a child moves from the "Unconscious" to the"Conscious Mind", he moves through a series of Sensitive Periods or windows of opportunity in which learning skills come easily to the child. The Sensitive Periods are Language, Movement and Order. When you see your child wanting to put his toys on a mat or rug to play with them, this is something we teach at PMSR to establish boundaries and create order.

Toddlers are given the opportunity to work in the development of language, art, music, sensorial and practical life. The Practical Life is particularly emphasized, as the activities in this area give children the chance to develop skills to care for themselves and their environment in the following areas: control of movement and grace and courtesy. Practical Life activities are simple and can be accomplished by each child. They offer repetitive cycle, which helps the child establish patterns of order and sequencing.

The freedom of choice in a safe environment is crucial to the Toddler Program. Toddlers learn respect for others and for the environment. Through song and dance, and freedom of choice, the Toddlers have access to a variety of large muscle activities that offer them the opportunities to jump, climb, balance, crawl or skip. These exercises, as well as creative art activities, present the child with a range of choices.

PMSR helps meet the child's needs during the Sensitive Periods by providing a prepared environment that facilitates the development and growth of the child psychologically, spiritually, emotionally and intellectually.

  • Ground Rules
  • Grace and Courtesy
  • Control of Movement
  • Care of the Environment
  • Care for One's Self

The purpose of the Practical Life area is to offer the child an opportunity, within a prepared environment, to develop and perfect the fundamental skills of order, concentration, coordination and independence. Mastery of these skills is fundamental to the development of one's intellect and acquisition of knowledge.

  • Sight
  • Sound
  • Touch
  • Taste
  • Smell

The 5 senses have been called the child's "keys to the universe" because everything the child takes in from his environment comes through the senses. Concrete exposure to experiences through the five senses is a fundamental step towards learning. The more developed and refined one's senses become, the smoother the progression from the concrete to the abstract of learning.

The Sensorial area of the classroom reinforces the attainment of order, concentration, coordination and independence while adding a logical structure for the processes of thought and development of judgment.