Young Toddlers Gallery

		Math skills are a part of our young toddlers day. The children learn counting skills, number recognition, patterns, and making predictions. We teach the many ways things are measured; weight, length, time, temperature, etc. Our math program focuses on the part of development that encourages memory and problem solving abilities.
		All of the children at Sunny Skies start and finish art projects by themselves. They learn to draw, glue and cut on their own. This helps to build small motor skills and, moreover, gives them the satisfaction of doing a project, start to finish, by themselves. Art assists with cognitive development; the children use their senses and ideas to explore people, objects and the environment.
		Doing art projects as a group expands communication and relationships with others. This social interaction helps their emotional development. As well, their ability to understand instructions and interact with their teachers is a wonderful first step in their education.
		Our sensory table for our young toddlers is changed to coincide with our weekly themes (each of our other groups have their own sensory table). The children use their senses to explore objects in the environment. The photo at left has plastic bottles filled with different materials as part of "Discovery Science" program. The children explored how the materials sound, how they move, whether they are warm or cold, etc. This is all part of their exploration of the world around them.
		Art projects take many forms. Here the young toddlers use balloons to "paint" a picture. They were excited to experiment with something new and fun! It is amazing to watch these children determine on their own how to produce these special works of art. The children are encouraged to talk about their creations. And they do - often with hilarious explanations!
		Block building develops cooperative skills, teaches them to take turns, to communicate, to work on fine motor skills and helps with intellectual development. We teach cause and effect (when might it fall?), how many (next we will build a 10 block tower), colors and patterns. The concept is simple- learning and fun, rolled into one.
		Life skills are an important part of every child's day at Sunny Skies. Self-help is a wonderful way to build confidence. All children who are exposed to active learning and are given choices are more successful in school than children who are not given opportunities to explore.