The infant and toddler program at MCMS accepts children ages six weeks through two and half years. The focus of the program is on the individual child’s needs to help him become independent. Children of this age want to contribute to their society and will then mimic the actions of the adults around them. Dressing themselves, taking care of plants and animals, serving themselves food and drink, and washing eating utensils are just a few of the many tasks they want to accomplish.

Dr. Montessori believed that from birth to six is the time of the absorbent mind, when a child’s mind is like a sponge soaking up information. At perhaps no other stage of life is the joy of learning so evident. When given the opportunity children will grow and develop through experience, training and practice. The age of birth to three years is when a child will learn more thoroughly, quickly and efficiently than at any other time of life.

Dr. Montessori and modern neuroscientists have agreed that:

During the first three years of life, the brain absorbs more inform-
Ation than at any other time.

Repetition helps develop and maintain strong neural pathways in
the brain.

Neural pathways developed through repetition and in the first three years of life are the most stable over a person’s lifetime.

Given opportunity and training, young children are capable of developing many more skills than most people assume.

Development that occurs in motor abilities, the brain, and sensation and perception during the first three years of life lays important groundwork for such skills as language, reading, writing and mathematics.

We here at MCMS follow Dr. Montessori’s philosophy of creating a prepared environment that allows for learning. We offer a classroom that is calm, secure, ordered, and has materials and activities that are designed for learning. Our preparation not only applies to the physical environment, but also to the people and experiences the child encounters in our program. The teachers strive to model the behavior they want the children to emulate (i.e. treating others with respect, speaking in calm, quiet voices, and returning materials to their proper places).

The infant/toddler teachers here at MCMS are prepared to help children to learn at their own pace and are willing to work with the primary teachers to bring additional work into the classroom as needed. Students also learn beginning phonics, math, geography, science, art and music. Our program also encourages a close personal relationship with Jesus. We attend Chapel weekly and our daily lessons include Bible stories, Bible songs, Bible overview and prayer.

Practical Life
These activities include tasks children see as part of the daily life in their home: self-care, preparing & serving food, cleaning, polishing, sewing, weaving, carpentry skills, etc. Our children develop coordination, concentration, self-discipline, and learn to complete a task from beginning to end.

Sensorial
Children build cognitive effectiveness as they touch, see, smell, taste, listen, and explore the physical properties of their environment through the use of specially-designed materials.