Montessori noted this irresistible urge which unites the child’s activity and their interest in things. It is like the “Push-me—Pull-me” llama in the story of Doctor Dolittle, the toddler’s urge is to be close to the adult but also to move freely, exploring and handling everything in reach. Now is the time for the toddler to begin on the road to both physical and emotional independence. The Toddler Program at the Winston-Salem Montessori School provides the sheltered support and the content oversight in a uniquely designed environment that allows the child to learn skills and develop their physical coordination.

Montessori recognized the young child’s interests in doing things they saw adults do and observed the child’s frustrated attempts to use adult tools and furnishings without success. The Toddler Program is thoughtfully designed with real tools and child-sized furnishings to make it possible for the child to “do house”, not just play house. She discovered the satisfaction and independence that these activities provided the young child. Dr. Montessori, at the turn of the century, was the inventor of child sized tools and furniture that we now take for granted. For the child, the tedious chores in the adult’s world become the liberating activities in the Toddler environment that are, in part, the great work of this developmental cycle.