Infant and Toddler Training
THE FIRST THREE YEARS ARE A TIME OF EXPLORATION, EXPERIMENTATION, AND IMMENSE GROWTH
“There are many who hold, as I do, that the most important period of life is not the age of university studies, but the first one, the period from birth to the age of six. For that is the time when man's intelligence itself, his greatest implement, is being formed. But not only his intelligence; the full totality of his psychic powers." -Maria Montessori
This curriculum is uniquely specialized to prepare the adult to understand and guide the child in their tremendous effort of self-construction.
The AMS Infant and Toddler credential meets the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families requirement for those supervising young infants and toddlers in state-licensed facilities.
Academic Phase
Courses include Philosophy, Pedagogy, Environmental Design, Child, Family and Community, Observation, Personal Growth and Development, Program Leadership, and Child Development. For course descriptions see: MEIPN Student Catalog
- Consists of 222 contact hours of instruction and independent observations.
- Begins in June and continues for one year
- Hybrid program - in-person classes (143.5 hours) held on one or two Saturdays each month, and online classes (66.5 hours) with Zoom sessions throughout the year.
- Students without a MACTE/AMS-recognized Early Childhood Credential will take an additional 24-hour online Early Childhood Overview class immediately following the Infant Toddler course.
Practicum Phase
- Practicum offers practice in applying information and strategies that have been communicated during the course.
- AMS allows three Practicum models at the Infant and Toddler Level:
- infants only (birth to 18 months)
- toddlers only(18 - 36 months)
- both infants and toddlers
- Practicum begins on or after the start of the academic phase.
- Requires a minimum of 3.5 hours per day, five days per week in a Montessori Infant or Toddler classroom (a minimum of 540 hours per year).
- Ideally, you will work under the supervision of an experienced, credentialed Montessori teacher. In some cases, you may be the lead teacher in the classroom.
- Interns choose their own practicum site.
- Sites must comply with the requirements in the Practicum Site Agreement and the Supervising Teacher Agreement to ensure the best training outcome.
- Schools that have not hosted a MEIPN intern in the past must first be pre-approved by MEIPN.
“The discovery that the child has a mind able to absorb on its own account produces a revolution in education. We can now understand easily why the first period in human development, in which character is formed, is the most important. At no other age has the child greater need of an intelligent help, and any obstacle that impedes his creative work will lessen the chance he has of achieving perfection. ”
Maria Montessori - Absorbent Mind
