Toddler program has been designed to meet the needs of our smallest and youngest children at ECLC.

At ECLC we recognize that each child needs to develop a sense of autonomy, and an independent self. We enable the Toddler children to develop this sense by treating them as important individuals and by creating a colorful and stimulating environment that fosters an interest in and love of learning through play. Play is after all how children learn.

At ECLC, we carefully consider the personal needs of children of this age. Recognizing that it is critical for Toddlers to be comfortable and familiar with their environment, we provide a place where they may grow and personal expression is encouraged.

We offer 2 program options at the Toddler level - Full Day and Half Day. The Full Day program runs from 9:00am until 2:00pm and will be a self-contained classroom. For the 2012-13 school year, the Half Day program will be offered in a morning and afternoon format and each of these classes will have only Half Day students. The morning class will run from 9:00am until 12noon. The afternoon class will run from 12:30pm until 3:30pm. We prefer that the Full Day program be reserved for those children who would be able to benefit from 5 hours at school. Students on the younger or less mature end of the spectrum would be more suited for the Half Day program.

The Toddler program is therefore all about experiences:

Large and Small Motor Experiences: Gripping, throwing, manipulating, walking, climbing, pushing, pulling

Sensory Experiences: Exploring texture, color, patterns, size and shape, smell, taste, weight, height.

Cognitive Experiences: Object permanence, spatial relationships, classifying, collecting and 'dumping', cause and effect experiences, problem solving

Language and Music Experiences: Adult-child conversations, reading and language play, explorations in music, rhyming, and sound.

Personal Expression: Art, movement, imitation and beginning dramatic play, doll and stuffed-animal play.

Parents' Prime Time: The staff understands that the parent-child relationship is primary. Parents are openly encouraged to share ideas, questions, or concerns and a communication book between home and school is used daily.

Toilet Training
Students are accepted in to the Toddler program at ECLC with the hope that they have at least a ‘beginning awareness’ of their toileting needs. While diapers or “pull-ups” will be allowed initially, our plan is that the child will gradually become more capable of taking care of his/her own toileting needs - including no longer needing to wear diapers. For students on the youngest end of this spectrum ECLC has personnel specifically designated to help out with their diapering and toileting needs. After a reasonable amount of time has elapsed, and taking the child’s developmental level into account, if there seems to be no noticeable progress in this area, the parents may be consulted by the teachers to work out a temporary plan to address the situation. Options may include a reduction in the time the student spends at school each day.