Two's Classes
Meet our teacher teams for the 2021-2022 St. James Day School Two's Classes!
Ms. Joni Buckner, Ms. J.K. Thomas, Ms. Patti Whitley
Ms. Jan Bridgers, Ms. Stephanie Burney, Ms. Courtney Easley
Twinkle Twos
What can we say? Our classes are perfect in every way. From the moment the children walk through the door to the moment we sing the “Goodbye Song”, our room is filled with laughter, smiles, giggles, and creativity. The children are learning to become more independent and interested in playing with other children which is evident through dress up and pretend play. Seeing the world through the lens of these children is so magical and a skill that we as adults should practice.
Cognitive development is fostered by:
- Asking open ended questions - naming items in a picture book such as dog, cat, bird etc…
- Asking the children to complete sentences or verses in stories or songs.
- Asking children to complete two step instructions - “pick up the red truck and put it in the basket.
- Asking children to find the missing toys - for example, hide a toy under a blanket and give clues to find it.
- Asking the children to sort objects by color.
- Practicing the Alphabet, colors, shapes and counting.
- OFFERING CHOICES
Social and Emotional Development is fostered by:
- Allowing the children to be assertive about what he or she wants - giving them to words to use
- Allowing the children to engage (albeit briefly) in cooperative play.
- Encouraging the children to realize they can do things without our help.
- Praising the children when they are enthusiastic about the company of other children.
- Understanding that defiant behavior is normal of a typically developing child.
Speech and Language is fostered by:
- Reading books books and more books - asking children to point to objects on the pages of the book
- Asking children to point body parts and objects - done through singing and dancing.
- Asking children open ended questions to promote two to four word sentences and creativity.
- Encouraging children to repeat words used in adult conversations.
- Allowing children to create stories using the flannel board.
Fine Motor Skills are fostered by:
- Allowing children to use markers, crayons or chalk to create masterpieces.
- Allowing children access to puzzles.
- Allowing children to peel and use stickers.
- Using tongs to separate and sort beads, pompoms etc...
- Using large beads to string necklaces.
Gross Motor Skills are fostered by:
- Playground time and encouraging children to:
- Run
- Kick and catch a ball
- Walk up and down stairs holding on to support
- Walk or tip toe along the balance beam
- Climb up and down furniture/equipment unassisted (slide, swings and climbing structure)
- Playing songs that encourage children to move, dance, and jump. Play is the key to the development of children because children learn through play. They learn best when they are interested in an activity so we strive to offer them an array of activities to encourage growth. Children at play are experimenting, thinking, problem solving and learning all the time. By playing with them, we hopefully are building their confidence and sending them the message that “you are important to me!”