Tot School Time!

Wow, it's been almost a week with no blogging! We have been super busy lately, between Maddie's activities and my tutoring, and I've been really tired. Of course, that means I'm totally backed up on blog posts, but I'll get to them. Eventually. I still have Christmas posts of things we did that never got published....

Anyway, we had quite the week. We started off by having seventeen of our buddies over for our first ever group Tot School. Check out all of the trays we did right HERE. It was a blast (I have a post about it, also unpublished as of yet!) and we can't wait to do it again next month.

Also, we celebrated Groundhog Day and did lots of activities that I posted HERE.

But, that wasn't enough. Well, actually it was enough for me, but Maddie kept asking for new tray work and when Mari-Ann blew me away with all her great ideas, I totally copied her. Ha! Seriously, check out her blog for better descriptions and pictures than what I have!

Onto the pics...

Language Arts

I'd dragged this bookcase in for Tot School (my brother got it for my classroom years ago) but Mike and I have decided to keep it in the family room (for a while, at least). Maddie loves how accessible all the books are and I love that they're presented in an inviting way for her.

We've read each one (all Valentine-themed this week) several times!

You know how I keep mentioning Maddie's interest in writing her name on her work? Well, I wrote her name out on a sticky sentence strip and stuck it by her table. She loves it! She sits and "practices" writing her name, she checks the letters off or she sits and sings the letters in order.

Practical Life

This was totally her favorite tray this week. She has an activity bag full of open and close items, but it's been months since she's done this work on a tray.

She loved it, and hiding in each box is a small ceramic Valentine cookie that made her so happy. Honestly, she opened and closed all these things, hiding the cookie again and again, for what seemed like forever!

I think I'll keep this out for a while and rotate the items in and out. She can unscrew the jar (and she loves smelling it since it once held cinnamon!) but I think we'll try a drawstring bag next, too.

Fine Motor Skills

This was one of the extra boxes that I'd originally bought for THIS project.

The purpose was patterning, while tweezing the pompoms.

I thought it might look like this.

However, Maddie decided that she would make her own design, which was far more beautiful. :)

This is an inspiration from a fabulous blog, Montessori Moments.

She used the bath mat (seriously, these things get so much use around here!), tweezers and cinnamon hearts.

It was very hard for her, and just when I thought she was going to quit, she got the hang of it (you have to pick up the hearts just so) and finished it. She didn't return to it, but she did finish it.

Art

After reading so many love-themed books, we started talking about all the people that she loves. We went through a huge stack of photos (handy, since I haven't scrapbooked in months and we're drowning in pictures) and she found her loves.

I don't know why I don't have a completed picture of it, but after she glued them all down, I laminated it. It's actually become a really fun game that we sit and do together. I'll give her clues, like, "Can you find someone with pigtails?" or "Find the person who takes ballet with you," and she searches. It's like a beginner's I-Spy page. :)

Math

For this, she had to sequence the tiny heart boxes (Dollar Tree; I just wrote the numbers on them in Sharpie). Then, she counted out the correct number of heart erasers (Target) and placed them inside. They couldn't fit more perfectly, which delighted her!

We found another use for our ornament box by adding conversation hearts to the mix. First she puts a number card in each well (one through five). Then, she counted out that number of conversation hearts and dropped them in.

On a side note, she asked if she could eat a conversation heart. I told her that she could and she put it in her mouth, made an awful face and ran to the trash can to spit it out! I agree, Maddie. I think Tums taste better than those things! :)

She used the tongs to move flowers (or, Valentine bouquets as she called them) to each number square.

I cut out five hearts, labeled with a number sticker (this time, we did zero through five) and laminated them (still loving my laminator!). Then, I put out a bowl of conversation hearts, holding exactly the correct number of hearts.

She laid the hearts out in numerical order and counted out conversation hearts to line up underneath.

After she'd completed the math portion, I showed her how to check her work, by turning each card over...

Which revealed her name! She loved this and we did it nearly everyday!

Check out the happenings of other tots by visiting Carisa's blog!