Tot School: A New Year Begins

I found out about Tot School a little over a year ago, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed doing school with my 2-year-old.  She’ll be 3 in a few weeks, and then we’ll be getting ready to go back to England.  Because of our hectic schedule and me trying to fit in 3 weeks of school with the other two before we go back, I haven’t really done much with Gabriela yet.  When we get back and settled, I’ll be using the Letter of the Week Preschool Curriculum from Confessions of a Homeschooler, but I’ll also be doing regular sort of Tot School stuff with her.  I’ve been searching stores, yard sales, and my own storage boxes for things I can take back to England to use in Tot School, so my mind has been busy working on ideas!

In this post, I’ll show you photos of what Gabriela has done so far here in the US.  I have plenty of tot toys and activities in storage that I could have gotten out for her, but that hasn’t been as easy to do as I thought!  Still, we have managed to do a bit.

1.   We began school while visiting my husband’s parents in Iowa.  Gabriela enjoyed playing with some tiny erasers (whales and monkeys) I found at the Dollar Tree.  She sorted them and took them in and out of the little zipper bags they came in.  She also poured them from one container to another.

2.  I found some Same/Different flash cards at Target, so I did some of those with Gabriela.

3.  Field trip:  Family picnic at lake

4.  Field trip:  Omaha Zoo 

5.  Field Trip:  Wildlife Safari Park

6.  Playground

7.  One of the most important things Gabriela has gotten out of her time in the US is being with family—lots and lots of family!  She has spent loads of times with her grandparents in Missouri (my parents) and also with my sister and her husband.  On our trip to Iowa and Nebraska, she spent time with her grandparents (my husband’s mom and stepdad) and loads of aunts, uncles, and cousins.  She also got to see a few great-grandmas, one of them for the first time.  At the end of the trip, she got to meet her grandpa who was visiting from Arizona (my husband’s dad) for the very first time.  Though I have loads of photos, I’ll respect the privacy of our relatives and not post their pics on my public blog.  This is only the second time Gabriela has been in the US, and last time she had just turned 1, so it’s been great to see her bonding with family members here.

8.  Field trip:  Brookfield Zoo, Chicago

9.  We’ve had school a few days out at the cabin my parents are working on.  I’ve left a few things out there for Gabriela to work on.  One is this Oreo Matching Middles game.

10.  Another is the magnetic fishing puzzle:

11.  I also have a variety of wooden peg puzzles:

12.  A nice, BIG preschool book (My Big Book of Early Learning):

13.  Winnie-the-Pooh blocks.  These are typical wooden alphabet blocks, but some of the sides make a picture when placed correctly.  I made the pictures for Gabriela, but her favorite thing was stacking the blocks:

14.  Hyperdash—I’ve been wanting this game ever since I read about it on 1+1+1=1.  I couldn’t find it anywhere in England, so I determined to buy it on my next trip home to the US.  I was waiting until I had an extra $21-$22 to buy it, but then I found it at Wal-Mart on clearance for only $5!!!  I was so excited!  Anyway, all 3 of the kids love it!  It’s a great game for all ages (including me)!

15.  Pink bouncy ball—My mom took Gabriela to the grocery store with her and bought her a ball.  So we’ve been playing with it together.

16.  Cardboard Puzzles

17.  Sweeping skills…she does this one on her own and loves it.  I really need to find a child-sized broom for her.  Our house in England is all carpeted (all but the tiny bathroom), so she doesn’t really get to sweep there unless I let her practice outside on the patio.  : )

That’s all for this week (and this was more than one week’s worth of Tot School).  For more Tot School posts, visit 1+1+1=1.