#4 Red Ii

Today had to be one of our most entertaining days so far.  Our letter was “I” so we brought out musical instruments for the kids to play with.  They took turns with the tambourine, triangle, bells, wood block & mallet, and rhythm sticks and made their own music while we sang a random assortment of songs from “Jingle Bells” to “Jesus Loves Me”.  It was hilarious!   

  Next we worked on scissor skills by cutting out our verse “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phillipians 4:13) and measured it against our height.    We counted out four red paper ice cream scoops and glued them onto a cone.  Then we used the dot markers to color a letter I activity sheet.   

  We had a tasty red snack: red pepper, apples, raspberries, tomatoes, cherries, strawberries, and punch.  We spent some time singing and dancing to Lauri Berkner’s “Victor Vito” and “Bumblebee” then settled down for some great books.  We read “Llama Llama Red Pajama” by Anna Dewdney, “Red Truck” by Kersten Hamilton, and “Bad Kitty” (alphabet book) by Nick Bruel.

We planned to let the kids roll the letter I with red playdogh but they needed some running around time after sitting for stories so we finished our day with playtime outside (sand table, slide, rocking horse, running around...having a blast).

#3 Blue Hh

Today we started our tot school with a box full of puzzles.  The kids quickly dived into the box and had fun putting together the puzzle pieces.    Next we moved to the table for a shape gluing activity to go with our Bible verse, “Honor your father and your mother” Exodus 20:12.  We got to dip our hands in some squishy paint and make a hand print art project.  We colored some objects that were blue on an activity sheet while the hand prints were drying.  Then we sang and danced with some fun songs - “Three Little Ducks” and “If You’re Happy and You Know It”.   
We sat on our pillows and listened to some great stories: “Three Little Kittens” by Laura Close,“Blue Goose” by Nancy Tafuri, “Blueberry Mouse” by Alice Low, and “My H Soundbox” by Jane Belk Moncure.  The kids were getting hungry so we brought out the blue snacks: blueberry muffins, berry blue blast Gogurt, and punch.  
 It was a nice sunny day outside so we brought out the water table and the kids had fun splashing around in it and pouring water with the different containers.  I think the water table was the highlight of the day for the kids.  They loved it!

#2 Green Tt

Today the kids arrived dressed in green and we started our free play with the Lauri Stacking Pegs. The kids enjoyed making long strands of pegs and sorting the colors. We read a few stories next: "Little Green" by Keith Baker, "Two is for Twins" by Wendy Cheyette Lewison, and "Little Blue and Little Yellow" (a color mixing story) by Leo Lionni. We rolled a “thankful cube” and said what we were thankful for in the pictures. Then we enjoyed a song and dance time with Lauri Berkner Band’s songs “I’m Gonna Catch You” and “We are the Dinosaurs”. We had a yummy green snack: green punch, grapes, celery, granny smith apples, and bell peppers. We practiced counting by handing out snack servings of two, with plenty of refills. After snacks we settled down to work on a letter T activity sheet and “T is for Thanks” color page. We practiced our verse, “Always give thanks to God for everything” Ephesians 5:20. We wrapped things up by playing outside. Janet taught the kids some yoga moves then they kicked a giant green ball back and forth for a bit then just ran around and had fun like kids do. It was great!

#1 Yellow Ll

Today we began tot school and the kids arrived wearing their sunny yellow clothes as yellow was the color of the day – so cute! We started our tot school time with free play activities. The kids each got a yellow balloon to bounce around and they had a blast throwing them up and catching them. Then we brought out a bowl of yellow foam shapes and scattered them around the rug. As we called out a particular shape, the kids scrambled to find those shapes and put them in the bowl. Next we headed outside for some fun. The kids got to play with bubbles, kick around a yellow soccer ball, and we practiced counting to one as we raced to a plastic cone and back. We took a break outside for a yellow picnic-style snack of lemonade, banana slices, golden raisins, and cornbread muffins to match our color of the day. We headed inside for table time and had fun cutting out our Bible verse and taping it together. Then each tot measured their verse to see if it was taller or shorter than them. The verse was “Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” Matthew 5:16. We made a candlelight prop on a popsicle stick to use with our song later. The kids used dot markers to fill in a big letter L and we colored pictures that began with the letter L. We also practiced tracing the lines that make the letter L. Next was circle time. Each of our tots got their own special pillow to sit on and they listened to the stories, answered questions, and joined in the songs. We enjoyed reading several books: "One Yellow Lion" (color and counting book) by Matthew VanFleet, "Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings" (texture and color book) by Matthew VanFleet, and "Little Quack’s New Friend" by Lauren Thompson. We sang a song about ducks and had finger puppets to go with them. We also sang “This Little Light of Mine” to go with our Bible verse. Everything went so well!

Sources:
http://totallytots.blogspot.com/2010/02/now-i-know-my-abcs-l-is-for-lion.html
http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/RaisingRockStarsPreschoolSAMPLE.html

Welcome to Little Tot School

Well, we are starting our first week of tot school and I am so excited to have my good friend Janet to assist me with the planning and activities. It’s going to be fun! I am not a professional preschool teacher, just a mom who wanted to provide a fun way for my toddler to learn and decided to start a preschool program at home to give other kids the same opportunity. I do have a teaching background and did lots of research but this is still a new venture for me. I hope to learn more from this experience and be able to share with other moms that have similar goals of educating their toddlers/preschoolers at home. Kids this age LOVE to learn and play! It’s going to be so much work and so much fun!

Our program will be a 2-hour session, once a week and consists of the following: free play time, arts & crafts/learning pages, large motor skills activity, snack time, circle time (songs & stories), and table time. Our class size is limited to 5 students and the age range is 2-4 years. The knowledge and skills we are emphasizing are below:

Little Tot School Curriculum and Activities:

Alphabet and Phonics
Numbers and Counting
Sorting, Sequencing, and Matching
Colors and Shapes
Pre-writing & Drawing skills
Fine Motor Skills: cutting, gluing, pouring, transferring, lacing, etc.
Large Motor Skills: dance, yoga, outdoor play, etc.
Music and Rhyme
Artistic: free and planned
Puzzles and Building Activities
Reading Activities
Bible & Values education
Life Skills

A special thank you and credit to the following sites for their great ideas, many of which I have used in planning this curriculum:
www.1plus1plus1equals1.com
totallytots.homestead.com
http:/?activitymom.blogspot.com
www.childcareland.com
www.preschoolrainbow.org
www.enchantedlearning.com
www.dltk-kids.com
http://mama-jenn.blogspot.com