Toddler Program

Staff

Our lead teachers hone their skills through a rigorous training cycle that repeats every five years and covers the following areas:

  • Observation
  • Developmental milestones
  • Curriculum implementation
  • Nutrition
  • Obesity prevention
  • Developmental disabilities
  • Special health care needs
  • Behavioral guidance
  • Social-Emotional Development
  • Language and literacy development
  • Mathematical thinking development
  • Physical development
  • Working with families from different cultures
  • Assessment training

All staff do the following:

  • take CPR and First Aid training
  • submit a comprehensive background study application to the state prior to having any direct contact with a child
  • undergo an orientation to all of our policies and procedures
  • receive training in child development
  • take a training in preventing sudden unexpected infant death syndrome
  • learn about the dangers of shaking a child through training on abusive head trauma

Food

In order to minimize the risk of children being exposed to allergens, we do not allow any food or milk from home unless the child is in the infant program.

Included in tuition is breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack. We provide two menu options for lunch. Both meet the USDA standards for a balanced meal. One is a standard menu that usually includes egg, dairy, and meat and the other is a vegan menu. The vegan option is offered only at our Luther facility.

You choose one menu for your child’s food service. Switching day to day is prohibited except to accommodate allergy restrictions.

Curriculum

From potty training to building a foundation of early literacy for reading, we uplift children. Philosophers, artists, builders, architects, engineers, explorers, athletes. Preschoolers are all of these when given intentional, skillful guidance.

At our Luther location for the prekindergarten and older preschool groups we use Creative Curriculum and the Early Learning Success curriculum. We use the later for all other groups.

Both curriculum align with the Minnesota early learning standards covering the following areas:

  • Social and emotional development
  • Approaches to learning
  • Language, literacy and communications
  • The arts
  • Social systems: cognitive
  • Physical and movement development
  • Mathematics
  • Scientific thinking

Communication

Daily chats at pick up and drop off are common. We will let you know if we need to talk to you and you are always welcome to chat for moment if you have the time and it doesn’t negatively impact your child’s drop off.

Conferences are offered twice each year. These can be a quick chat at pick up or drop off time or a more formal meeting. We know you’re busy. You decide.

We want your child to have our undivided attention. So, if you need something email the director or assistant director of your center. We monitor email in real time and can respond quickly when necessary. In order to keep admin expenses low we process communication at set times. So most communications will be processed slowly. Immediate needs, however, will be processed immediately.

All teachers at the Luther location will monitor email sent directly to them at least once each day during the week.

Naps

Toddlers new to the toddler program tend to be extra tired after a long active morning. After a tasty lunch they hop on to their cots and nap. Naps are not only important for children but they are also an important part of maximizing staff retention, maintaining current tuition standards, and delivering high quality, full day programing.

This is the time we take breaks and use prep time to develop lesson plans, complete assessments, and plan conferences.