Crabapple Montessori School

PROGRAMS > Toddler - 15 months (+/-) to 3 years (+/-)

“To assist a child we must provide him with an environment which will enable him to develop freely.”  - Dr. Maria Montessori

Montessori child looking at the camera

Program Options

The Toddler Program is offered 5 days per week. The following options are available:


  • Half-day: 8:20am to noon
  • Extended-day: 8:20am to 3:00pm
  • All-day: 7:30am to 6:00pm (care provided to All-day students for an additional 12 days during the academic year)
Montessori children playing outdoors

An environment for social, emotional, and language development

Visit a Toddler classroom at Crabapple Montessori School, and you may see a child lending a supporting hand to a younger classmate who is learning to walk on the balance beam. Or maybe you’ll see children taking turns at one of their favorite activities, selecting an object from the mystery bag to match it to a picture. Or maybe you’ll hear a child excitedly announce, “I did it!” at the moment he masters the skill of zipping up his jacket.


All of these activities are examples of the foundational life skills defined by Dr. Maria Montessori for the first three years of life. She described this as a period of intense mental activity, when the child is taking in everything the environment has to offer with what she called the “absorbent mind.”

Montessori child and guide working in the classroom

A critical time for learning

Dr. Montessori identified the first six years of life as a sensitive period, when the child has a natural desire to learn certain things. If the skill is not acquired during this period, learning it later will be harder.



The Crabapple Montessori School classroom provides an orderly environment that supports toddlers during the sensitive period, so they can learn what they are ready to learn. At this age, they are learning to walk, control their hands, develop coordination, and expand their vocabulary. They are acclimating to the world and becoming independent.

Montessori child watering plants

Fostering early life independence and social interaction

The Crabapple Montessori School Toddler curriculum, for children ages 15 months through 3 years, curriculum is built around language skills, cooking, music, gardening, and movement activities.


Underlying all of the Toddler activities is the development of social skills. Children learn to take turns, negotiate, follow rules, help others, and create order. You’ll see them putting things back in their place when they are through using them. You may see a child pick up something someone else dropped or see a group of children waiting, with hands in their laps, for others to join them at the lunch table.


While the Montessori classroom is orderly, it’s also a playful place, where children are allowed to experiment – to make a mess or make a mistake. It’s all part of learning by doing.

What Our Parents Say

"My daughter currently is in the Toddler program at CMS, and we are amazed at the progress she has made since she started. It is exciting to see her become more independent as she learns how to navigate the world around her. We are grateful for CMS. The teachers are amazing, the administration is professional, the classrooms are spacious, and the campus is well-maintained."


– AARON


"Our oldest daughter has been attending Crabapple Montessori for 2 years. We could not be happier with our school. We are seeing great progress in her development and education. The staff is extremely helpful, attentive and genuine in their desire to educate and better our daughter. Rita’s teachers have been exceptional. We have full confidence in their technique and methodology."


– OLGA & LEONARD

If you think your child would thrive in a Montessori environment, schedule a phone tour. We would love for you to visit our school and learn more.

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