Ages 0-3 Program

Christ the King Montessori School is pleased to offer both an infant and toddler program that is faithful to Montessori philosophy and education, and works to support the developing child at the most essential phase of their lives.  Through the Montessori understanding of human development, we know that both the power of the absorbent mind and the sensitive periods of children from birth to three, form who they will become for the rest of their lives.  By having a secure attachment to their parents and caregivers, they learn how to have secure and healthy relationships with everyone else they will encounter as they grow as well.  We carry this respect and awe for this phase of development into every encounter we have with the children in our care, and know that our role in forming relationships with and guiding your child, is a high responsibility and privilege.  Following Dr. Maria Montessori’s vision for infant and toddler programs, we call the baby program, “the Nido”, and the toddler program, “the Infant Community”.  Both the Nido and IC were created with the intention to provide quality care for the staff members at Christ the King Montessori School, along with offering as many additional openings to school families who need quality care for their children.  If there are openings available after being filled with staff children and school families, then we joyfully welcome additional applicants into our 0 to 3 program!

For additional information on our Nido and Infant Community programs, you can read the Christ the King 0 to 3 Program Manual.  To inquire about available spots for your children, please reach out to our school’s main office. We look forward to meeting you and your family! 

Christ the King offers a Nido environment for children ages 2 months to around 15 months old or walking confidently.  The maximum number of infants we have in the Nido is 6 children and two full time teachers. We use the term “Nido”, meaning “Nest” in Italian, for the space for a baby outside the home.  Dr. Montessori wanted this to be what the environment was called, because she saw how this space needed to feel like a second home for the child, like a warm nest where the child feels loved, seen, and has the ability to be supported in their exponential growth of the first year of life.   We offer a classroom environment that supports freedom of movement for the youngest child, with materials that support the different phases of fine and gross motor movement.  The children and teachers also try to soak up as much time outside as they can, with weather permitting, and explore the beautiful outside world!  The teachers lay the foundation for language by communicating with the children in their care as the individuals that each of them are through what we call a “conversation dance”.  The teachers speak with the babies while maintaining eye contact, and using normal language, and then pause to allow the baby time to respond.  This lets the children know that we see them, and that we want to hear what they have to say in response.  Similarly, we do not support the “cry-it-out” method in any way, and strive to be as responsive as possible to each child in our care.

Additionally, the teachers in the Nido work closely with the families of the children they care for to support the child’s unique sleep, feeding, and developmental needs.  The Nido doesn’t follow a set schedule other than each baby's individual schedules for sleep, feeding, and active play.  We encourage the breastfeeding relationship between mothers and their infants, and so welcome mothers to come in at any time during the day to breastfeed their children.  We also support the bottle-feeding journey, and our staff are fully trained to bottle feed your children according to your child’s unique needs.  We support the baby-led weaning approach, and our entire 0 to 3 staff has received additional training on this approach in regard to feeding babies and toddlers. 

The environment for the toddlers is called the Infant Community (IC), a term that Maria Montessori wanted to be used for the environment for children outside of the home who are around 15 months or confidently walking to three years old.  The maximum number of toddlers we have in the IC are 12 students and two full time teachers.  Compared to the Nido, the IC follows more of a set schedule throughout the day.  You can see the daily IC schedule below:

• 8:15am Arrival

• 8:15-10:15am 2-Hour Montessori Work Cycle & Snack

• 10:15-11:15am Gross-Motor Play/ Outdoor Play

• 11:20am Half-Day Pick-Up & Lunch for Full-Day Children

• ~11:30-2pm Nap

• 2pm Snack

• 2:20-3:15pm Gross-Motor/ Free Play/ Outdoor Play

• 3:15-3:30pm Pick-Up

Dr. Montessori emphasized how the youngest child craves to learn how to do things on their own, while still needing a strong attachment to their caregivers. We support this growing independence in the children in our IC by offering freedom within limits, and teaching them how to do things independently.  The environment offers five main curriculum areas: practical life (care of the environment and care of themselves), language, art, music, and food works. We also offer active gross-motor play throughout the day, along with Catechesis of the Good Shepherd materials for this age. As much as possible, we spend time outside, and engage with the wonder of the outside world. Another large piece of the IC is assisting the children in becoming independent with toileting. Thus, we focus on the toileting process with each student, and lead each child to toileting independence with the support of the families.  As quickly as possible, we encourage children to transition from pull-ups or diapers to cloth training underwear, except for when they sleep.

The IC lays the foundation of how to engage in a Montessori environment and the required skills to do so, which sets them up for success in the Children’s House environments.  However, this is not the primary goal of the IC. Rather the main goal is to meet the needs of the children exactly where they are, and see the beautiful fruit of the community that is formed along the way. The children in the IC form a true community, hence the name, and learn more from each other than they could on their own. They increase in fine and gross motor development, oral language skills, social and emotional skills by interacting with their peers, independence, and a deep love for learning through the Montessori Method.  In an essence, we strive to support their development at this moment, and help them become the best version of themselves.

1. Is the Christ the King 0 to 3 program licensed in the state of North Dakota?

We are a licensed childcare in North Dakota.

2. When is the Nido and IC open? Both the Nido and IC follow the school calendar with the same days open and closed as the rest of the school.  It is not a year round program, and the school day for both environments begins at 8:15am and ends at 3:30pm.  
   
   
   

3. Is there 0-3 before or after school care? There is no after school care provided for this age; however, once children enter the Children’s House environments, they are able to attend the Christ the King before- and after-care program.  
   
   

4. What training does the staff in both the Nido and Infant Community have?    The lead guides (lead teachers) in both environments have their Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) teacher certification in Assistants to Infancy (0 to 3 development).  We take the training of our staff members, including our assistants, very seriously, and work to continually grow professionally in our understanding of young children and how best to support them.  Since the most important phase of development for the human person is from birth to three, we believe it is important to have well-trained and educated staff in order to best support this incredible and exponential time of formation for the child.
   
   

5. Does the school offer food for the children? Children can receive school lunches, snacks, and milk in the Nido and IC, or they can send in their own food and snacks from home.
   
   

6. Where do the children take their naps?
   We follow licensing standards for safe sleep for children in both the Nido and IC.  The babies in the Nido take naps in pack-and-plays, which are located in a quiet nap room attached to the main Nido environment.  Since the toddlers in the IC take naps at the same time every day, they rest on individual cots that are spaced out throughout the IC classroom.  If a child wakes up earlier than the other children, then they play outside, if weather permits, or inside in a separate play area with one of the teachers.
   

7. Does the 0 to 3 program offer financial assistance to families to lower the cost? Because the Christ the King 0 to 3 program is a licensed facility of North Dakota, many parents benefit from the state’s financial assistance programs for childcare including the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) and the ND Working Parents Childcare Relief Program.