Toddler Curriculum (14-36 Months)

Work

In addition to language vocabulary exercises and sensorial exercises, the toddler environment is characterized by the exercises of practical life. Through these exercises, the student learns fine motor skills, gross motor skills, self-control, and grace & courtesy to interact with the other students.

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 (which do not exist in a true Montessori environment).

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.

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 is still teaching to this day. 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 in 1994 The Montessori Institute (TMI) here in Denver (actually in the same building currently occupied by Bergamo Academy, so that Bergamo Academy was able to utilitze her classroom configurations). Judi Orion, still based in Denver, is the only U.S.-based AMI Assistants to Infancy Director of Training, and she also is called to train teachers around the world. Judi Orion and Dr. Silvana Montanaro, who is still based in Rome but also still comes to San Diego to teach, are the world's top two AMI Assistants to Infancy teacher trainers.

Bergamo Academy has no affiliation with TMI other than contracting for occasional consulting from TMI, but Bergamo Academy is pleased that its two toddler guides were trained by Judi at TMI.

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.