Tot School

"A" is 18 months old.

I really enjoy the blog 1+1+1=1 as well as Carisa's other blogs, Totally Tots, and Raising My Lil' Ladybug. I especially like reading all of the Tot School posts and seeing what everyone else is doing.

Since my daughter turned 1, I have been trying to incorporate some Tot School activities, but have been feeling bad about my efforts. As a teacher, I have been putting some pressure on myself to "formalize" curriculum for my daughter (who is 18 months), but I don't think it needs to be a precise as when I was teaching older students.

I know that little ones are learning so much every day, through all of our interactions and activities with them. I am going to try and record some of the books and activities that we do each week, mostly as a way for me to look back and see how much we really do each week!

Books We're Reading:

• Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton
• My First Read and Learn Bible (She has been asking each morning for her Bible. She is especially fascinated with Moses and the story of Jesus healing the blind man.)
• Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle (She loves the goldfish! They remind her of the ones she eats.)
• White Rabbit's Color Book by Alan Baker
• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.

Signs We're Learning/Using: (These are some of the new ones she is doing. She has several other signs she has been using for a few months.)

• Library
• Kitty
• Rabbit
• Daddy (All of a sudden she is using this one!)
• Please
• Mail

Activities:

• Naming animals/sounds on her farm See 'n Say
• Helping put items, especially fruits in the cart at the grocery store
• Sweeping the front porch
• Visiting the animals at a local barn
• Coloring with crayons
• Shaking a single-serve milk jug filled with sprinkles (I heard this idea at a summer reading workshop. The best part of the sprinkles is that they are harmless to little ones if they were to eat some! They also make a really nice sound.)
• Playing computer games at Kneebouncers
• Writing with chalk on our chalkboard easel ($10 at Pat Catan's! The other side is magnetic, also.)
• Using alphabet magnets on the dishwasher (Purchased the letters for $2 at a garage sale!)

Sorry for the lack of pictures! I am not in the habit of taking them, plus our camera is not working right now, so hopefully we'll have more pictures in the near future!

Visit 1+1+1=1 for more Tot School ideas!