tot school

"Tot School" is off to a great start. We began our first session on Tuesday. I had planned to go to the library and then head home for school, but it didn't happen that way. Tuesday was a very busy day and we ended up not getting to have school until that evening. It worked out great though. Jared was able to watch her first session that way!

We began with calendar time. I bought a little hand pointer for Spicer to use to point to the calendar as we talk about it. She loved doing this. Then we did the alphabet chart, a, a, apple, /a/a/a/ etc. After the alphabet chart we headed over to the number chart and counted to ten, making sure to touch each object as we counted (1 to 1 correspondence-very important). Next, we had a short bible lesson. I made a chart from the Sunday School lesson her teachers sent home with her. The chart included the picture she colored, short lesson, title and scripture. (Note to self, think/research fun ways to teach scripture.) Then, finally, it was time for the much anticipated "tot trays!"

I sat out two trays for Spicer to choose from. One tray had cups, bowls, spoons, beans and a measuring cup. The other tray had play dough, cookie cutters, mason jar lids, and a spatula. She chose the bean tray first and absolutely loved it! She played with that tray for about 15 minutes and then chose the play dough tray. She loved that one too! This was only her second time to play with play dough. She kept chuckling as she played with it, a mom's delight! The next day when we were in the playroom (this is where we have school also) she wanted me to get the trays out of the closet. She kept going to the closet saying, "plees." So cute! And of course, I let her play with them again. Needless to say, the "tot trays" were a huge success with miss beth. :)

We finished our school session with a few books. Spicer loves books!

All together we focused on "tot school" for about 45 minutes the first day. I think that's a great start and what can be expected from a 21 month old. :) I'm super excited about the other ideas I have. I made a "tot pack" from the same website I got the "tot tray" idea from yesterday. It is centered around the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?. It has a mini book, abc fold out page, sequencing activity, matching heads and tails game, counting activity, and a coloring book! I also look forward to making some fun file folder activities as well.

The teacher in me gives our first attempt at "tot school" an A+! It was fun for all involved! Even the hard work of getting it all organized and put together is so worth it. Plus, it allows me to express the teacher in me with my very own sweet little girl! I think "tot school" is going to be great for both me and Spicer!

Here are a few pictures from our first "tot school" session:







You can learn more about "tot trays and tot packs" by visiting http://lapbooksbycarisa.homestead.com/TotSchool.html. :)