In a few months your child

will transition from the

NIDO classroom into the

Toddler classroom. Your

child will most certainly be

ready but will you be?

The Toddler classroom is

headed by Ms. Cindy

Draper. Ms. Cindy has been

with TMS for 16 years and

has had her AMI accredita-

tion being a lead teacher

for the past 14 years. Ms.

Cindy has four children who

have all attended TMS. Ms.

Sara and Ms. Felicia are the

assistants in the Toddler

classroom. Ms. Sara is the

mother of Ms. Odet in the

NIDO classroom and has

been with TMS for the past

7 years and Ms. Felicia has

been with TMS for the past

6 years, she is also the lead

of the aftercare program

for the Primary and Ele-

mentary students.

The Toddler classroom

maintains a 6:1 ratio with a

max classroom number of

18 students ranging in age

from 14 months to 36

months.

There are two main re-

quirements for a child to

enter the Toddler class-

room. They must be walking

steadily on their feet both

barefoot and in shoes, and

they must be weaned from

the bottle/ breast of

breast milk or formula.

Your child has grown and

developed in the NIDO

classroom during the past

year and it has been a

pleasure to have them with

us. Yet, now they need more

than the NIDO classroom

can provide for them.

This letter will provide in-

formation for any ques-

tions. Please remember that

Ms. Lauren and Ms. Odet

are always here to answer

questions and be a pillar of

support not only while your

child is in the Toddler

classroom but throughout

all of their years at TMS.

In the next few months

your child will be ready to

transition to the toddler

classroom.

The transition process is

handled with sensitivity and

care.

The first step is for the

NIDO parents to observe

the Toddler classroom.

Please contact Jessica in

the office to schedule your

classroom observation soon.

We expect both parents to

observe the toddler class-

room before your child

completes their transition.

Once you have observed,

your child will begin the

process of visiting the tod-

dler environment. Each day

your child will spend as

much or as little time as

needed and come back to

the NIDO room until one

day they make the choice

to begin and end their day

in the toddler room.

So, your child is ready to transition

Transitioning to the Toddler Classroom

Volume 1, Issue 1

Transitioning

Inside this issue:

walking 2

clothing 2

weaning 2

Toileting 3

Napping 4

transition 5

Observation/ schedule 6

Tempe Montessori

School

Special points of in-

terest:

☺ Transitioning into the

toddler room

☺ Requirements/ expecta-

tions

☺ Differences

☺ Observations of a new

classroom

The toddler children must be walking

steadily on their feet for different

purposes. The children will be carry-

ing materials to and from the shelves

to work on rugs or at a table, and

they will also be carrying their plates

and silverware from the table to the

dish racks and vise versa.

The children are either barefoot or in

socks inside the classroom environ-

ment and are required to wear a pair

of shoes while in the outdoor environ-

ments. We ask that parents provide a

pair of shoes that the children can

put on and take off with ease and in-

dependent of help. Shoes free of

laces and buckles such as Velcro or

slip on are a good choice. Being as

though your child has been steady on

their feet for a short while, a shoe

with good support on the sole is also a

good choice. Children will learn to tie

later on in the process of learning but

now can become an obstacle to their

development. The teachers will guide

the child put their shoes on until they

can complete the task themselves.

foods are eaten in the toddler class-

room. Please do not provide baby food

in their lunches. Please provide a

lunchbox for your child to carry their

lunch.

Just as in NIDO, the Toddler room

children eat from a plate and with

silver wear and real glass cups. Bot-

tles and sippy cups remain at home.

The children eat a group snack at

10:30 am daily, lunch at 12:00pm daily

Your child is now at a period in his/

her life where they need more. At

this point in their development, the

child has sprouted teeth and now re-

quires more nutrition than breast milk

or formula can provide. In order to

transition the child must be fully

transitioned from breast/ formula

milk to either cow/ soy etc. as well as

from the bottle. Children drink from

a cup rather than a bottle. Solid

and an afternoon snack at 4:00pm

daily. Water is provided through out

the day and as needed. Parents pro-

vide lunches and TMS provides snacks

and liquids unless specified differ-

ently by parents. Children refrain

from eating baby food.

In order to help prepare, please pro-

vide silverware and a cup for your

child to eat with at home.

Page 2

Weaning

Transitioning

Walking

Children in the toddler room refrain

from wearing “onsies” as they will be

learning to use the toilet. Separate

items of shirts and shorts/ pants will

aid in the ability to undress in time to

use the toilet. Clothing should also be

comfortable and non restrictive in

order to move around and easy for

the child to put on and take off.

Shirts and pants free of buttons, zip-

pers and ties are preferred. Cotton

clothing and clothing with stretch

waistbands are a preferred choice

for the child dur-

ing this age group.

Please leave jeans

and overalls at

home.

During your child’s time in the toddler

classroom, they will be gaining inde-

pendence through dressing and un-

dressing for themselves.

The toddler classroom ask that par-

ents bring 2 pair of shorts/ pants and

2 shirts for the children as they will

begin the toilet learning process.

Clothing will be left in a cubby in

their classroom and sent home if

soiled.

Clothing

Toilet learning can begin as early as

your child is walking. Once children

are walking steady, they are now able

to control the functions of their body

to use the toilet with control.

The toddler room has a routine and

schedule for toilet learning. The tod-

dlers visit the bathroom every 30

minutes.

The children wear pull ups in the tod-

dler room and when the time is right,

will transition to underwear. Some

families prefer to go directly to un-

derwear, this is perfectly acceptable

and will aid in the toileting process.

In order to aid in the classroom toi-

leting process, please create a sched-

ule for using the toilet at home.

Sometimes, toilet learning can be met

with some resistance. Remember, it is

not a question to use the toilet. Give

simple commands to the child, “It is

time to use the toilet.” or “Lets go to

the bathroom now.” The child is de-

veloping their ego and when the ques-

tion, “Do you need to go to the bath-

room?” is presented, the child will

most likely always answer, “No,”

Dressing and undressing will happen

during toilet learning as well as hy-

giene practices, limits and boundaries.

The children wash their hands after

every time they visit the bathroom

and will also learn to dress them-

selves.

It is important for children to learn

the purpose of the bathroom. We

explain what toilet, toilet paper etc.

is. It is reinforced so the bathroom

does not become a play area.

The toileting process can take as long

or as short as needed. With consis-

tency between home and school the

child can master toilet learning in a

short period.

Toilet accidents can happen and they

do, all soiled clothing will be sent

home to be laundered.

crib mattress placed on the floor for

the children to sleep on.

Music is played during the child’s nap-

time in order to provide restful sleep-

ing. If the child wakes during nap

time, the child remains on their cot

and can rest quietly.

Parents may provide bedding, a blan-

ket and pillow for the child. Please

leave all toys, stuffed animals or

other pacifying objects at home. The Toddler classroom maintains one

nap per day. The children sleep/ rest

from 1:00 to 3:00pm.

As your child approaches 1 year of

age, we will begin to transition them

to the toddler napping schedule to

help ease them into a new routine.

The children sleep on a cot in the

toddler classroom. The NIDO class-

room provides cots, low beds or the

classroom during morning drop off for

school, the parent and child sit out-

side of the classroom. The child re-

moves their shoes, gives mom/ dad a

hug and enters the classroom on their

own with their lunch box in hand.

Your child might cry during the begin-

ning stages of this process. This is

normal and will one day cease.

During this process, please speak with

your child about his/her transition so

The transition period can take any-

where from 1 to 3 weeks. Each day

your child will visit with the toddler

classroom during the indoor work pe-

riod as well as the outdoor playtime.

They spend as much or as little time

in the toddler environment until they

are ready to complete the process of

entering the classroom on his/ her

own.

When your child is ready to enter the

they are aware of what is happening.

You can have simple conversations

such as, “ Today you are going to visit

your new classroom with Ms. Cindy

and your friends. I will help you take

off your shoes and you will walk into

the classroom all by yourself!” Having

a parents reassurance will aid in this

transition. If your child begins to cry

or pull from the door, allow one of the

toddler teachers to help him/ her

into the classroom.

Volume 1, Issue 1

Transition period

Toileting

Napping

Page 3

PO BOX 40755

Mesa AZ 85274

410 S El Dorado Rd

Mesa AZ 85202

Tempe Montessori School

7:30– 8:00 Early drop off

8:00-8:30 Regular drop off. All chil-

dren must be in class by 8:30

8:30-10:30 Indoor work period

10:30-10:45 Snack time

10:45 –11:45 Outdoor work period

11:45-12:15 Lunch time

12:15 half day pick up

1:00-3:00 nap time

3:00– 6:00 aftercare period

Phone: 480-966-7606

Fax: 480-966-6805

E-mail: office@tempemontessori.org

Toddler room daily schedule

Providing a Quality Education since

1978.

Transitioning can be quite the adjustment for not only

the child but the parent as well. Everything in the

toddler environment is for the child during their path

to independence. We afford the child the opportunity

for growth, both physically and mentally as they pre-

pare for their next stage of development. At this

point in your child’s development, they need what is

provided in the toddler room to aid in their path of

independence through the perfection of their fine and

gross motor skills, language development and complete

balance of their knowledge of the limits and bounda-

ries. If you have not scheduled your observation,

please do so today as well as a meeting with Ms. Cindy

to ask any questions about the toddler room that you

may have.

A completed transition

Have you scheduled your class-

room observation yet? Please

contact Jessica to do so!

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