Words, wonder and growing independence.
Helping children develop language is especially important during toddlerhood. Our staff encourage children to initiate language and celebrate the use of words in every part of the program. Toddlers learn through their own experiences — trial and error, repetition, imitation and identification — and we guide that learning in a safe, emotionally supportive, positive and stimulating environment.
We are firm believers in showing respect for children, their preferences and their emerging abilities. Testing limits and asserting autonomy are natural — and a sign of developing intellectual ability.
Our toddler program
Our program for children under three invites play, exploration, touch and movement. It offers a broad array of stimulating experiences within a framework of routine, with protection from stress. Interaction and language development are viewed as essential to every toddler’s day.
A typical toddler day
Greetings & breakfast
Families share news with staff, children eat breakfast from home, and the room opens for exploration, stories and songs. At snack, toddlers practice passing, pouring and serving.
Outdoors & centers
Chasing bubbles, digging in the sand, swinging, sliding and mastering tricycles. Inside: problem solving, role play, paint, playdough, glue and glitter.
Family-style lunch
Children wash up and help set the table. Colors, textures and table manners are part of the conversation — then soft music for rest.
Snack & big play
Shoes on (as best they can!), puzzles and stories, then outdoor chalk, water painting, twirling leaves — or baking muffins for tomorrow’s snack.
Games & pick-up
Group games, creative play and outdoor time as daylight permits. Check your child’s mailbox for their Daily Note and artwork.
Toilet learning
We toilet-train children as soon as they are ready and partner with you along the way, using only positive reinforcement — no punitive measures, ever.
- Your child shows bladder control (consistently dry at diaper checks)
- Cloth training pants (not Pull-Ups©)
- Regular trips to the toilet, with lots of encouragement
- A progress chart posted daily for parents
- Accidents taken in stride — children help clean up
Please send several complete changes of clothes (including socks and an extra pair of shoes) during training.
Group organization
Each toddler group is limited to 8 children between 15 and 35 months. Groups are led by a Head Teacher or Teacher with an Assistant Teacher or Teacher’s Aide, maintaining a ratio of one adult to four children or better.
This month’s toddler calendar
See what your toddler is exploring right now — books of the week, sensory play and special days.
Come see Cornerstone in action.
We invite you to visit as often as you like. Book a tour and meet our educators, see the classrooms and explore our playgrounds.