Step into any of our three Turtles classrooms during the camp season, and you'll get a glimpse of what our toddlers do during the school year. For our Turtles, our youngest camp group, Camp Montessori is a continuation of school-year learning. Campers engage in daily circle time, explore Montessori materials, and participate in art, science and nature activities centered around bi-weekly themes. This summer, Turtles in different classrooms have been focused on themes from frogs and turtles to sea life to transportation.

Underscoring the importance of routine and continuity for toddlers, all our Turtles lead teachers are year-round Montessori teachers. One group of Turtles is our year-round classroom, which is taught by year-round lead teacher Lauren Harris. In this classroom, the school-year curriculum literally continues through the summer months.

"Consistency is important for young children," Lauren said. "Having the same teachers through the full year enables a stronger connection and allows us to continue everything the children have learned during the school year in the summer."

Turtles take advantage of the warmer weather to spend more time in their outdoor classroom spaces and playgrounds, exploring water tables, sand and their natural surroundings, and each classroom is assigned additional staff members during the summer months to help support more indoor-outdoor learning.

Children build independence through practical life activities like changing into water shoes and changing out of bathing suits following water play. Summer is also a great time for community-building, as new and younger students often start their WMS experience at camp before joining a classroom for the school year.