Toddler Program

Toddler Mission Statement


Guided by the work of Maria Montessori, we create an environment designed for the toddler’s unique growth and development.

The mission of Starlight Montessori School is to:
  • Provide a safe, secure, and loving environment.
  • Meet the toddler’s strong need for independence, mastery of physical skills, creating a sense of order in his environment, social and emotional development, and intellectual growth.
  • Inspire the imagination, mind, and heart of each child.
The Toddler's Voice

Just think what it would be like if suddenly your two-year-old could speak clearly within the context of "articulate assertive communication." What would be the 11 most common requests your toddler might make of you?

  1. Please don’t grab things out of my hands or touch my activities without asking, "May I?" You’ll be respecting my personal space and giving my a choice, and I’ll probably say "yes."

  2. Slow……down……your……speech. Crisply enunciate beginning, middle, and ending sounds in all words. You will make it easier for me to understand what you’re saying and help me to communicate my thoughts and feelings earlier.

  3. If I am in deep concentration, please wait until I take a break before you wipe my nose. Better yet, show me how to wipe my own nose (and always keep boxes of tissues on hand within my reach).

  4. Please look into my eyes when I am talking to you or you are talking to me. Bend down if you must. If you wear glasses, take them off. This will increase my visibility into your eyes and heart. A fringe benefit is that you will have my undivided attention, which will promote good concentration skills throughout my life.

  5. Talk lovingly to me even when I’ve made a mistake. Tenderness will attract my attention and compliance much quicker than yelling. Remember, your emotional energy is contagious.

  6. Please don’t say anything if I get food all over my face and in my lap as I feed myself. I’ll clean it up if you show me how. I am perfecting a new skill. Nature didn’t just graft wings together to make a butterfly - allow me to be a gooey, messy caterpillar for a while.

  7. I want to need to be with you and feel like I’m a contributing member of the household. Stop buying me toys that have no purpose. Set up tables, chairs and work areas in designated rooms of the house that are my size. Let me sand wood with Dad or peel carrots with Mom. (If you’re nervous about my cutting myself, you can dull any sharp peeler or knife with an emery board).

  8. Please don’t interrupt me when I’m talking or speak for me. I might become shy or stutter, and you’ll have to drive me to the speech pathologist later on.

  9. Please laugh with me, but not at me. I haven’t had enough life experience to understand that you think I’m cute. I may begin to feel self-conscious and hold back from showing you my new accomplishments.

  10. Always pay attention to my nutritional needs. Serve me foods that will give me an inner sense of peace and harmony. This might mean you’ll have to get out of bed twenty minutes earlier to prepare a balanced breakfast. I’ll gladly get up with you if you let me help and we eat breakfast together.

  11. Make sure my living environment is designed for my complete sensorial exploration. I see with my fingers and sometimes even my mouth. Inhibiting that deep craving within me would be like having someone put a blindfold over your eyes while you are trying to enjoy a beautiful sunset.
If we look into our own eyes, feelings, needs, and hearts, we gain a simple understanding of the toddler’s seemingly unexplainable behavior and language, even when there are no words.

Adapted from A Stroll Down the Road Less Toddled, by Jan Katzen-Luchenta