This page is dedicated to my tot, born in 2006. We began *Tot School* around age 1 1/2 and will continue until we begin Pre K!
I host "Tot School" on my blog, 1+1+1=1, where I give a weekly report of our Tot School activities. Other blogs link up with their Tot School posts too! It's a great place to gather and share ideas.
Our #1 goal, above all else is to have fun and to develop a
love of learning, everything else is secondary at this stage.
I keep many of our Tot School toys and games out of sight and only bring them out during Tot School, so Krash is extremely interested! We have tons of toys (thank you grandparents) so it is nice to have these special things put away. Each day I pull out something new for Tot School and through the play we work on various goals.
Many of our Tot School items are just items we have around the home, but I make it a point to bring out something unique each day and make it a big deal during our focused Tot School time.
Currently Krash is watching Leapfrog Letter Factory to help him learn to identify letters and the sounds they make.
Tot School isn't really school at all! Don't let the name confuse you! Tot School is basically a focused time each day on the tot in your family. For those of us with older children that are homeschooled, we often place a lot of emphasis on them while the tots just *play.* This isn't bad, it just didn't work for me. Personally, I felt I was losing valuable 1 on 1 time with my precious tot that I had with my first child since he was the only one then. Tot School is the time each day I spend with him, exposing early learning skills through FUN play. Tot School is not forced, is always fun, sometimes doesn't happen the way I plan, and is always focused on my tot, "Krash."
My older son (who is 7) joins us most of the time and this time is also a big character building time for him as he learns that attention isn't always on him. He is learning patience, leadership, and many other important skills as he helps with Tot School time.
Tot School is fun. If it becomes un-fun, something is wrong. I personally do not believe in forcing early learning, I only believe in exposing. Some of my "best" ideas are rejected by my tot :), he knows best when it comes to Tot School!
If you'd like to read more about Tot School, visit our FAQ page.
Copy the html code below to add our
Tot School button to your site!
Below is a master list of all of the items in my home that we use for Tot School, I linked up as many as I could online, either to where it can be purchased or a post I made about it in Tot School on my blog, since some of them are just household items or things I couldn't find online. Our VERY favorites are in BOLD!
You can also reada post on my blog about the use and storage of these tools by clicking the Behind the Scenes button below...
I also included a blank one in case you have your own specific goals for your tot. To read how I handle assessment in our Tot School, click here to read my blog post about these forms.
Below is my Tot School Planning Form, which is also included in the PDF files.
