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: [email protected]
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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