Aug. 7, 2009 - Tot School -- Week 1
Well, I must say, Tot school is a massive hit around here. My big discovery this week? If you put it in a box, Peanut (4) will beg to do it! He did things this week he has resisted for months. Yes, he is more developmentally ready for "school" than he was a few months ago, but when I said school last week he was defiant. Now I just announce it's time to go see what's in his boxes for today, and that boy goes scurrying down the stairs.
At the Tot School site, the woman who came up with this brilliant plan puts everything on trays. We have a tray we pull out for messy things, but some of our things are just done on his desk. I must say, we're really doing a combination of Tot School and Workboxes. This is clearly what is going to work for us! Okay, enough babble....on to our boxes!!
I can tell it's going to be difficult for me to keep up with everything in pictures, so I'll just need to describe some things. Frankly, some items he did so fast I didn't have time to finish what I was doing with one of his older brothers to take a picture before he was running off to grab another box. I am STUNNED at the enthusiasm he had for these boxes. I had originally thought I'd be happy if he went through four of the boxes, but that boy won't stop unless they are all empty. I'm going to go through each day, mostly for my own benefit to see what we've accomplished each week. Oh, and if you want to see what other families are doing with their tots, visit the Tot School site either HERE or HERE.
Monday:
- Snap, zipper, clip pieces from "dress yourself" puzzle (O.T. time--fine motor skills)
- Roller stamps on blank piece of paper
- Kumon tracing book (O.T. time--fine motor skills)
- Shapes puzzle cards
- How to build an A book with pieces (BEST. BOOK. EVER!!)
- Match puff balls to color in muffin cups, use tongs (O.T. time--hand strength builder)
Pictures from Monday:
Tuesday:
- Tangrams
- Abeka ABC-123 letter A worksheet
- Handwriting without Tears worksheet -- "alligator slide"
- Math U See page, paired with abacus & popsicle sticks for manipulatives
- colored plastic chips, put in slot in can (O.t. time)
- Color snap blocks, sequencing.
Here's where we ran into an interesting item. It has taken Peanut months upon months upon months to learn his colors. Blue and purple have always been inconsistent. Hmmm, let's just see what happens when we put blue and purple blocks next to each other. "Peanut, do these colors match?" Yup, they sure do he says.....repeatedly. Note for appointment with Neuropsych: may be blue & purple color blind!
Pictures from Tuesday:
Wednesday:
- Letter A worksheet, glue apple & alligator pictures inside letters
- Spooning beads into paint tray (O.T. time)
- listen to a book on tape (his favorite--Curious George)
- Kumon coloring page (O.T. time)
- File Folder game: puppy faces
Pictures from Wednesday:
Thursday:
- Alligator paper bag puppet (his favorite thing all week!)
- Letter A sandpaper letter, tracing with finger, doing sound
- Math U See page
- Dot paint (O.T.)
- Q-tips in a parmesean bottle (putting them in the little holes) (O.T. time)
- ABC-123 number 1 page (he was so proud when he actually wrote the number 1!!!)
Picture from Thursday:
Friday:
- Sticker book (O.T. time)
- Math U See page
- Little Hands to Heaven, Letter A hide and seek page
- Paint tray with numbers taped inside, put appropriate number of beads in each section
We had to end Friday a little early for a trip to the Art museum. That counts for Tot school too! He did really great at the museum....even if he did like making his stomps echo a little too much! 
In addition to these things, we read oodles of books (letter A & short A sound oriented) and did our speech homework. Next week, I'll add in Earobics. He should be pretty happy with that. He's usually happy about anything computer game related.
I can't really believe how well this week went. I really don't think it could have any better when it comes to his enthusiasm. Now I just need to get the mommy balancing act perfected between the three kids and we'll be all set! Next post I'll explain some of the things our 9 & 7 year olds are finding in their boxes. No pictures there, sorry! Oh, and if you made it this far, you must be one of the grandmas! HI GRANDMA!!! 
Comments
Aug. 8, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Anonymous
lol Not a grandma..at least not yet. I realluy enjoy your blog. Im so excited tyhat you found a fun way for him to lerarn. I look forward to what you planned for your older kids. I have a 9 yr old and am alwys looking for new ideas.
I noticed that you did a puppet, wanted to tell you what my friend did. She introduced several new puppets when teaching her kids at first.Like usig an egg carton to make a carerpillar for the letter C. She also, and i did too, wiould make different puppet charactyers, anbd then tell the story when they have made them all. My son especialy liked 3 Billy Goats Gruff.I liked putting some of mine on popsicle sticks. This is good for older kids too. You can get the paper dols that go with various time periods and they can renact parts of history as a narration. It really helps them to remember. Leena
Aug. 9, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Anonymous
Welcome to Tot School! Looks like a fun filled week! :)
Little Miss Sunshine (and her momma too!)
Aug. 9, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Casey @ http://bumpinalongtheroadlesstraveled.blog
Great pictures - great ideas! You look soooo organized. I'm envious.
Aug. 10, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Anonymous
Love your idea about 'boxes' instead of saying 'school'. My 4 yr old sounds similar to yours ;^)
2 of my older children are color blind (which does not mean they only see gray , lol) blues/greens are a very common blend with them. Also, some colors side by side will cancel one of the colors out, ex: semicircles of red and green, they will only see green? It is odd. My 4 yr old does not grasp colors AT ALL, which is making me think his color blindness may be a bit more extreme.
Please continue to share at tot school...loved your post!
~Sheri
Aug. 10, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Anonymous
Oh my goodness - you did a LOT of things!! And it looks like he really enjoyed them. I think my son may be purple/blue color blind too... hm, I'll have to bring it up with his doc at his next appointment. Thanks for all the great ideas and welcome to tot school!
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