First Coast Infant and Toddler Center, LLC

Practical Life skills- Montessori Minute: Handwashing Lesson/ children use crucial gross motor skills while creating a logical sequence of order with all the steps provided for the process of washing their hands 🤗

Our Lunar New Year celebration will be held January 17th, 2026. All classes will participate in lessons of this year’s animal, “the year of the Fire Horse” and a tea service in each classroom will be served. We look forward to taking this time to explore cultural traditions, family and friendships, and good fortune in year 2026!

FCM will be closed Monday, January 19th , 2026 for the Federal Holiday, Martin Luther King , Jr. Day Have a great weekend, everyone!

Mindful movement through Practical Life lessons😊Well Done, First Coasters !

We 🩷 FCM 🤗

Please welcome Ms. Amelia to the FCM Teacher Team! Hi, my name is Amelia Scheffler. I moved to this area from NW Arkansas; my husband, Alex, is in the Navy. We love to spend time together watching movies and building lego sets! We have two cats, Cooper and Fuzzy. I love to read and spoil my cats. I first started working with children at my church in Arkansas, and since then it’s become a passion of mine that I’m grateful to continue here. I’m so excited for the opportunity and I can’t wait to see what this year brings!

Practical Life Lessons: Real - Items create independence, concentration, and coordination in the classroom environment. Control of movement refines the fine motor skills, which in turn is needed for future hand-writing 🩷🙌

Thank you , Dr. Montessori

Today we mark the anniversary of a pivotal moment in the history of education: the opening of the first Casa dei Bambini on January 6, 1907.

In the San Lorenzo district of Rome, Dr. Maria Montessori was invited to oversee a small group of children who had previously been overlooked by the educational system. What emerged from this modest beginning was not simply a classroom, but a profound shift in how we understand childhood, learning, and human potential.

Within the walls of that first Children’s House, Montessori observed something remarkable. When children were offered freedom within a carefully prepared environment, meaningful work, and deep respect for their developmental needs, they revealed concentration, independence, and joy in learning that challenged long-held assumptions about education. These observations became the foundation of what would grow into the Montessori approach, an approach grounded not in theory alone, but in careful scientific observation of the child.

More than a century later, the legacy of the Casa dei Bambini continues to shape classrooms across the world. Its influence reaches far beyond materials or methods. It reminds us that education is ultimately an act of trust, trust in the child’s innate drive to learn, to contribute, and to become.

As we reflect on this anniversary, we are invited to return to the essence of Montessori’s work, to observe more closely, to prepare environments with intention, and to honour the child as an active participant in their own development.

From a single room in Rome to a global movement, it all began with a simple yet radical idea: follow the child.

2026 is here! FCM is back in session tomorrow and will resume normal hours. See you soon😊😊😊