← All programs العربية Ages 2–3 Tiny Manners, Big Hearts Kindness is a habit we practice before we can spell it.
Toddlers build first manners — greeting, thanking, sharing, saying Bismillah — through warm daily rituals, while learning to sort and name their biggest feelings.
👨👩👧 For parents: Your child learns the first habits of a good heart — greeting, thanking, sharing, and naming big feelings — through warm daily rituals. These tiny manners become the character that carries them for life.
Ethics & Values (Akhlaq) Emotional Intelligence Cognitive Role-play Play-based Storytelling
6 · 3 · 25 — weeks · sessions/week · min/session
Learning objectives Use a greeting (Salam) and a thank-you (Shukran) at the right moment. Ethics & Values (Akhlaq) · apply Point to a face that matches how they feel right now. Emotional Intelligence · understand Sort objects into two groups by one property (e.g. big / small). Cognitive · apply Modules 😊 🤝 🕊️ Big idea: When I greet, I make someone happy.
🔬 Why this works: Habits form through warm repetition, not instruction (relationship-based infant-toddler care, Lally). A daily greeting ritual lets manners become identity — something the child is, not something they are told to do.
☾ Spreading peace (Salam) — The Prophet ﷺ taught us to spread Salam — even a smile is a gift. (Sahih Muslim)
Good Morning Circle Role-play · 8m
Each child greets the next with Salam and a chosen gesture.
▶ Show me how 🎭 Role-play Turn to your friend and say "Assalamu alaikum!" — wave or high-five.↳ Facilitator cue: Model warmth; never force eye contact. Celebrate any attempt.
↳ Support: Greet them first and let them echo you; a wave alone counts.
↳ Stretch: Add the reply: "Wa alaikum assalam" back to a friend.
Greeting Match Role-play · 8m
Toddlers match a kind greeting to the moment it fits.
▶ Show me how 🎯 Challenge We meet a friend — which greeting do we use?↳ Facilitator cue: Model the warmth; a smile is half the greeting.
↳ Support: Offer two greetings and let them choose.
↳ Stretch: Say the greeting in your other language too.
🎭 Role-play Turn to a friend and try the greeting — wave or smile.↳ Facilitator cue: Celebrate any attempt; never force eye contact.
↳ Support: Greet them first and let them echo you.
↳ Stretch: Add the kind reply back to your friend.
😊 🤝 🕊️ Big idea: My feelings have names.
🔬 Why this works: Affect labeling — putting a feeling into words — measurably calms the brain’s alarm centre (Lieberman, UCLA). Naming a feeling at age two lays the neural groundwork for lifelong self-regulation.
Happy, Sad, Sleepy Play-based · 10m
Match a felt-face to a feeling and act it out.
▶ Show me how 🌙 Reflect Which face is you today? Show me with your own face!↳ Facilitator cue: Accept any answer without judging; mirror their face back warmly.
↳ Support: Offer two faces to choose between.
↳ Stretch: Ask what made the feeling come — a person, a moment?
💬 Discuss When we feel big feelings, we can say "Bismillah" and take a deep breath.↳ Facilitator cue: Breathe with them, slowly, so calm is caught, not taught.
↳ Support: Put a hand on the belly to feel the breath rise and fall.
↳ Stretch: Name one thing that helps you feel calm again.
Show the Feeling Play-based · 8m
Toddlers make a face for a feeling word and guess each other’s.
▶ Show me how 🎯 Challenge Can you make a happy face? Now a sleepy one?↳ Facilitator cue: Mirror their face back; naming makes feelings smaller.
↳ Support: Make the face together in a mirror.
↳ Stretch: Show a feeling and let a friend name it.
💬 Discuss When we feel a big feeling, what tiny thing can help?↳ Facilitator cue: Guide toward a breath, a hug, or saying Bismillah.
↳ Support: Offer one idea and try it together now.
↳ Stretch: Pick your own helper for next time.
🖐️ 🧩 Big idea: I can put things where they belong.
🔬 Why this works: Sorting by one attribute is a toddler’s first act of classification — the seed of logic and number (Piaget). Pairing it with a real act of sharing fuses cognitive and prosocial growth in one joyful move.
Big Bowl, Small Bowl Montessori practical life · 10m
Sort toys by size, then share one with a friend.
▶ Show me how 🎯 Challenge Big things in the big bowl, small things in the small bowl. Ready?↳ Facilitator cue: Let mistakes self-correct; ask "does it fit?" instead of fixing it.
↳ Support: Sort the first two together to show the idea.
↳ Stretch: Add a third group — or sort by colour instead of size.
🎭 Role-play Now give one to your friend and say "Tafaddal" (here you go).↳ Facilitator cue: Name the kindness out loud: "You shared — that was generous!"
↳ Support: Hand the toy into their palm and say the word with them.
↳ Stretch: Let the friend say "Shukran" back, and notice how it feels.
Mine & Ours Montessori practical life · 10m
Toddlers sort toys into "mine" and "for sharing", then share one.
▶ Show me how 🎯 Challenge Which things are just yours, and which can we all share?↳ Facilitator cue: Honour that some things are theirs alone — sharing is a gift, not a rule.
↳ Support: Start with one clear "mine" and one clear "ours".
↳ Stretch: Find a thing we could take turns with.
🎭 Role-play Give one "for sharing" toy to a friend and say "Tafaddal".↳ Facilitator cue: Name the kindness aloud: "You shared — how generous!"
↳ Support: Hand the toy into their palm and say the word together.
↳ Stretch: Notice how it felt to give — and to receive.
😊 🤝 🕊️ Big idea: My voice matters, and so does yours.
🔬 Why this works: Self-Determination Theory + emotion coaching (Gottman): honoring a child's "no" teaches that their voice counts — the earliest root of consent, agency, and respect for others. A child who is heard learns to hear.
Yes Please, No Thank You Role-play · 10m
Toddlers practice a kind yes and a kind no, and a real choice.
▶ Show me how 🎭 Role-play Would you like a hug? You can say "Yes please" or "No thank you".↳ Facilitator cue: Honor the "no" warmly and immediately. This is body autonomy — never override it for a lesson.
↳ Support: Offer the two phrases as a choice they can point to.
↳ Stretch: Offer a kinder alternative: "Maybe a high-five instead?"
🎯 Challenge Which song shall we sing? Point to your choice.↳ Facilitator cue: Honor the choice even if it is the same song again; choosing is the lesson.
↳ Support: Hum two options so they can pick by sound.
↳ Stretch: Let them lead the others in the song they chose.
💬 Discuss A kind "no" is still kind. We can say no and still be friends.↳ Facilitator cue: Model a gracious "no" with a warm face so it never reads as rejection.
↳ Support: Practice together: I say no, you stay friendly — then swap.
↳ Stretch: Recall a time someone said no to you — were you still friends?
Ask Nicely Role-play · 10m
Toddlers practise asking and answering kindly — yes, and a gentle no.
▶ Show me how 🎭 Role-play Ask a friend to play — using kind words and a kind voice.↳ Facilitator cue: Practise the words aloud; kindness has a script worth rehearsing.
↳ Support: Give a sentence to borrow: "May I play too, please?"
↳ Stretch: What if the answer is "not now"? Try a kind reply.
💬 Discuss A kind "no" is still kind. How can we say no and stay friends?↳ Facilitator cue: Honour the "no" warmly; this is the root of consent and respect.
↳ Support: Offer a gentle phrase: "No thank you — maybe later?"
↳ Stretch: Offer a kind alternative instead of just no.
Leadership we plant 🌱 Uses a kind voice to say what he wants — and does not want. 🌱 Respects another child's "no". Research foundations Self-Determination Theory — Deci & Ryan
Voice and choice build intrinsic motivation and self-respect.
In practice: Toddlers may decline politely and are always heard; daily small choices.
Emotion Coaching — John Gottman
Naming and accepting feelings — not suppressing them — builds regulation.
In practice: We label feelings aloud and pair big emotions with breath and Bismillah.
🏡 Try at home The Salam Ritual · 5 min Make a warm greeting a family habit — at the door, at breakfast. Model "Assalamu alaikum" and a smile; celebrate every attempt your child makes.
Feelings Weather · 5 min At bedtime ask: "Is your heart sunny, cloudy, or stormy today?" Name the feeling together and take one calm breath saying Bismillah.
Standards alignment CASEL — Social & Emotional Learning
Self-awareness & self-management
Naming feelings and early self-regulation strategies.
Head Start — Early Learning Outcomes Framework (ELOF)
Social & Emotional Development
Relationships, emotional expression, and prosocial behavior.
UK EYFS
Personal, Social & Emotional Development
Manners, sharing, and managing feelings through routine.
Value anchors Generosity (Karam) — The Prophet ﷺ was the most generous of people — we share to be like him. (Seerah) Beginning with Bismillah Everything you’ll need (home or school) Felt feeling-faces, two sorting bowls, soft toys Picture cards: morning, meeting a friend, saying goodbye A few personal items and a few shared toys 🖨 Printable checklist Assessment — observation emerging: Imitates greetings when prompted.developing: Greets and thanks with little help.confident: Initiates kindness and names a feeling.Future skills Emotional regulation Empathy Collaboration Logical reasoning