Toddlers Program
One Year and Walking Through Two Years
Where the growing independence of walking one-year-olds and two-year-olds is celebrated, and transitions are gentle, intentional, and full of heart.
Toddlers are working on everything at once: walking, climbing, talking, and deciding what they can manage on their own. The Toddler Program at Rise Above gives them room to practice all of it, with educators close by to steady them and to put words to what they’re learning.
A Start Designed Around Your Child
Some children move up from our Infant Room and some are starting at Rise Above for the first time. Starting the toddler year is a real milestone either way, and we plan for it. Before the first full day, you meet the toddler educators, spend time in the classroom, and ask your questions.
Your child then visits the room several times, with visits growing longer as they grow comfortable. Some children settle within a few days and others take one to two weeks. Both are normal, and we’ll follow your child’s pace. You hear how the day works and why: routines, mealtime expectations, naps on a cot, and how we support your child’s growing independence.
An Environment Built for Movement and Discovery
Our Reggio-inspired toddler classroom is arranged for children who need to move. Open areas support walking, climbing, and balancing. Cozy corners give children a place to regroup. Loose parts and other open-ended materials invite play where toddlers test their own ideas and find out what happens. That is where early problem-solving and creativity start, and where a toddler learns they can work something out on their own. Daily outdoor time gives them space to move at full speed and to notice the world around them.
Language and Communication
Toddlers communicate through gestures, signs, single words, long strings of sounds that carry real intent, and shared attention, the look from an object to you and back that means they want you to see it too. Our educators respond to all of it, model rich language, and continue simple sign language so your child has reliable ways to say what they need. Every attempt is treated as real communication, which is what gives a toddler the confidence to keep trying.
Independence and Self-Help Skills
Drinking from an open cup, using utensils, washing hands, and helping put materials away are early lessons in competence. Toddlers practice these with support, and as they succeed they learn that their own effort produces a result. Safe risk-taking on the climbing equipment does similar work: it builds physical strength, and it teaches children to judge what they are ready to try.
Partnership With Your Family
We keep the toddler year connected to home. Shared documentation, daily communication, and regular conversations about your child’s development mean you’ll always know what your child is working on and how to support it.
Visit the Toddler Room
Tours are by appointment. Come see how the room is set up and ask how we settle a new toddler in.