Toddler

Welcome to Our Toddler Program!
Our toddler classrooms are busy, happy places where children can learn, explore, sing, and dance. Our program for toddlers was designed to encourage each child’s growing need for independence and to foster the development of their self-esteem in a safe, supportive manner.

Our Teachers
Teachers create opportunities for exploration to help children build a foundation of literacy, math, and science skills. Through hands-on activities, teachers encourage discoveries in the developmental areas of social and emotional, language (including sign language), small and large motor, sensory, and cognitive development.

Our Curriculum
Our teachers use Triumphant Discoveries and HighReach Learning Curriculum for Toddlers® to create monthly themes from our weekly lessons and literacy plans to provide developmentally appropriate and engaging activities for toddlers. The lessons include a focus on colors, New Horizon Academy

shapes, sign language, self-help skills, and character-building skills. Teachers tap into children’s natural curiosity using the K-W-L (Know, Want to Know, Learned) method. Teachers gain children’s background knowledge as children share what they already know about a topic. Teachers obtain information from children regarding what they want to know about the topic to delve deeper into the topic and incorporate that into the lesson plans and learning centers. At the conclusion of each theme, teachers and children explore what they learned. It is a wonderful way to provide meaningful learning opportunities.

Our Classrooms
Careful consideration is given to classroom arrangement and to the selection of developmentally appropriate materials and equipment to encourage learning at each stage of toddler development. Our carefully designed toddler classrooms offer the following six learning centers:

Let's Create - filled with toddler art materials for expressing creativity
Let's Build - including blocks and building materials to construct tall towers, roads, and bridges
Let's Pretend - for imaginative play and pretending
Let's Discover - for exploration of science, math, and sensory concepts
Let's Read - books, storytime, and puzzles to encourage discussion and thinking skills
Let's Move - singing, dancing, and active play

Teachers design hands-on activities to enhance learning opportunities in each learning center. From “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” during group time to active play in learning centers, teachers create a balance of child-initiated and teacher-directed activities, and a balance of individual attention with group experiences to ensure that children are developing to their full potential.

Communication with Parents
Every day, you will receive a written, detailed account of your child’s schedule, activities, and development. This open communication is ongoing throughout your child’s experience at New Horizon Academy.

Supporting Children’s Development
Because ongoing evaluation is an integral part of the education process, New Horizon Academy uses the nationally recognized and award-winning Teaching Strategies GOLD Assessment for assessing each child’s development. The assessment focuses on children’s strengths and provides an accurate picture of each child’s emerging skills. Our comprehensive assessment system helps our teachers be intentional in their teaching by accurately pinpointing where children are in their development and learning. Our teachers use the results of the assessment to design an individual development plan for each child to promote the school readiness of the child. Information is shared with families during formal conferences twice a year (in the spring and fall). Our center director, assistant director, and/or teachers are available for a conference at any time.

The toddler classrooms at New Horizon Academy are places where toddlers can grow and learn every day by exploring and making new discoveries.