Little Bears – Two Year Olds

About this class

In the Little Bear’s classroom, learning for two-year-olds is dynamic, engaging, and focused on further developing key skills through play and exploration. Here’s an overview of what learning typically looks like for this age group:

1. Play-Based Learning

• Exploratory Play: Two-year-olds learn best through play. The classroom is equipped with various play areas that encourage exploration and imagination, such as play kitchens, building blocks, and art stations.
• Role Play: Activities that involve pretend play, such as playing house or acting out different roles, help children understand social roles and practice language.

2. Motor Skill Development

• Gross Motor Skills: Two-year-olds are improving their coordination and balance. The class has scheduled gross motor times on the playground or in the gym that features safe spaces for running, jumping, climbing, and other physical activities.
• Fine Motor Skills: Activities like stringing beads, using playdough, and simple puzzles help refine hand-eye coordination and dexterity. They might also engage in more intricate tasks like using child-safe scissors.

3. Cognitive Development

• Problem Solving: Children at this age begin to solve simple problems and understand cause and effect. They like to experiment with stacking blocks, fitting shapes into shape sorters, or figuring out how toys work.
• Memory and Understanding: Two-year-olds develop better memory skills and start to understand concepts like size (big/small), quantity (more/less), and basic patterns.

4. Language Development

• Vocabulary Expansion: This is a period of rapid language growth. The classroom is rich with verbal interactions, including reading books, singing songs, and engaging in conversation. Two-year-olds start to use more words and simple sentences.
• Communication Skills: Children begin to express their needs, preferences, and ideas more clearly. They also start to understand and follow simple instructions and engage in more meaningful conversations with peers and adults.

5. Social and Emotional Skills

• Social Interaction: Two-year-olds start to engage in more complex social interactions. They practice sharing, taking turns, and playing with peers in cooperative ways. Group activities and structured play help develop these skills.
• Emotional Expression: The classroom environment supports the development of emotional awareness and regulation. Teachers help children label and manage their emotions, offering guidance and comfort as needed.

6. Routine and Structure

• Consistent Routine: A predictable daily schedule helps two-year-olds feel secure and understand what to expect. The routine typically includes time for meals, naps, play, and structured activities.
• Transition Strategies: The classroom uses strategies to help children transition between activities smoothly, such as visual schedules or transition songs.

7. Self-Help Skills

• Independence: Two-year-olds show increasing interest in doing things for themselves, like feeding themselves, washing hands, or choosing their own clothes. The classroom encourages these skills with appropriate tools and opportunities for practice.
• Self-Care: They might start to participate in simple self-care routines, like helping with clean-up or dressing with minimal assistance. In this classroom, teachers work on potty-training with each child. Teachers coordinate with parents to mimic strategies, processes, and rewards used at home to have more consistency across environments.

8. Exploration and Creativity

• Art and Music: Creative activities are a key part of the curriculum. Children might engage in drawing, painting, or making simple crafts. Music and movement activities, like dancing or playing with instruments, are also common.
• Curiosity: Two-year-olds are naturally curious and eager to explore their environment. The classroom provides a variety of materials and experiences to satisfy their curiosity and encourage discovery.

9. Social Norms and Rules

• Learning Boundaries: At this stage, children are learning about social norms and classroom rules. Teachers gently guide them in understanding concepts like waiting their turn, listening to others, and respecting shared spaces.

Our Little Bear classroom is designed to nurture growth through active exploration, play, and social interaction. It provides a structured yet flexible environment where children can develop their motor skills, language, and social abilities while exploring their creativity and building independence.

Classroom goals

The goal of this classroom is to help children begin to develop skills needed to be prepared for kindergarten. This includes things like dressing self, washing hands, sitting for short periods of time, following simple 2 step directions, using words to express wants and needs, cutting, pasting, counting, and many other important skills to know before going to kindergarten.

Connect online with our classroom

Email us at weelittlelambs@gmail.com or connect with us on BAND