Toddler

Work

In a Montessori environment -- and the Montessori toddler environments are no exception -- students work rather than play. The students are given "work that is worthy of them" as Dr. Montessori said, and this engages them, builds their self-confidence and self-esteem.

In the toddler environment, the focus is on four main areas:

Language activities, including vocabulary building, reading awareness, poetry, and singing;
Hand-eye coordination exercises, which allow a child to develop fine motor skills and self-control;
Self-expression, including art, music, spoken language, and grace and courtesy in interactions with peers and adults;
Practical life exercises, which aid both fine and gross motor skills, sequencing, and self-control.

In the photos below, the students are focused because the work is engaging. They are achieving through intrinsic motivation, as opposed to extrinsic motivation such as punishments or rewards.

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History of AMI Assistants to Infancy
Although Dr. Maria Montessori opened the first Casa dei Bambini in 1907, she did not open a Montessori toddler environment until 1947. One of her students, Adele Costa Gnocchi, began training adults to be toddler guides the following year. One of Adele's students was a pediatrician, Dr. Silvana Montanaro, who herself began training adults in Montessori for infants and toddlers there at Rome Montessori in 1955, and who only recently retired. Based on her background as a pediatrician, and in collaboration with Adele and with Gianna Gobbi, who was trained by Maria Montessori in 1940 to work with two-year-olds, Dr. Montanaro fleshed out the Montessori toddler program during her over half century career. In 1979, Mario Montessori, Maria Montessori's son and co-founder of AMI with her, encouraged Dr. Montanaro to resume teaching Assistants to Infancy. Judi Orion was one of Dr. Montanaro's few U.S. students in that first class, held in Rome in 1980, with Gianna Gobbi assisting Dr. Montanaro. Judi Orion is credited with bringing AMI Assistants to Infancy to the U.S., founding The Montessori Institute (TMI) in Denver in 1994, and continues to train guides not only in Denver, but around the world.

Tribute to Dr. Silvana Montanaro
The video below from the AMI-USA channel of YouTube is a 2010 tribute to Dr. Montanaro. This 10-minute video covers some of the same history described above and include photos and video scenes of infants and toddlers doing advanced work independently.