Waddlers: 13-20 months. Our Waddler program is designed to develop and reinforce each waddler’s individual needs. Waddlers have grown into the mobile stage and are walking and exploring their fascinating environment. We have added tons of fun learning activities into your child’s schedule. As a waddler, your child is engaged with songs, finger plays, and exciting games, which encourage learning, friendship and cooperation. As their fine-motor and gross-motor skills develop, they learn how to feed themselves, hold a crayon, and paint with a brush. A parental daily report is given to update each family on meal times, nap times, diaper changes and supplies needed. One room is available to cater to this age group with a 1:5 adult to child ratio.
Social and Emotional Skills
We start with the waddlers becoming aware of their classmates and move on to encouraging simple sharing activities. Your child will be encouraged to wave goodbye and take turns stacking blocks. We also assist waddlers with exploring all of their emotions, from joy to frustration. Children begin to gain the skills needed, such as patience, cooperation, and sharing to deal with all their emotions in a calm, supportive manner.
Communication Skills
Our caring teachers have a deep understanding of how waddlers communicate. They teach waddlers to put their wants and needs into words. Waddlers are encouraged to sing simple songs, recite nursery rhymes, and expand their vocabulary in both English and Spanish. In order to help our waddlers develop their verbal skills, our caregivers talk to them constantly about everything, from the clothes they are wearing, the textures and body parts they touch, to all the objects they use and see every day.
Fine Motor Skills
Waddlers’ fine motor skills, which include finger and hand movements, need to be encouraged in different ways in order for them to progress. We offer a wide variety of activities for your child to develop his/her fine motor skills, ranging from playing musical instruments, finger painting, picking up finger foods, to nesting blocks, puzzles and table toys.
Gross Motor Skills
Our program focuses on all gross motor skills, which include ball throwing and kicking, climbing, balancing, going down a slide, jumping, walking and running.
Cognitive Skills
Cognitive skills include thinking, learning, and the accumulation of knowledge. Our program focuses on allowing our waddlers to explore their environment. Your waddler will be encouraged to make associations based on prior knowledge and explore the concept of cause and effect by dumping out toys, building and knocking down towers, and manipulating stacking rings. Our waddlers are exposed to shapes and colors with stacking and sorting shapes toys. At this stage, our program encourages children to select books for story time and to explore their emotions while a story is being read. Shaking or banging musical instruments and playing with toys that have levers, wheels, and moving parts are also part of our Waddler program.
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