Tot School – Letter Ii

Every week, I put out six tot trays out for the week and I try to be intentional with activities that correlate with each of the four Montessori learning categories: Language, Sensory, Mathematics, Practical Life.  Our Tot Trays are out on our shelf all week.  I’ll take one out intentionally for us to play together, but he can also play wiht them at any time.

A clothespin color matching game I made with markers, clothespins, and an old Melissa & Doug wooden box. A simple rainbow puzzle. Some awesome iiiinstrument shadow matching from Memorizing the Moments. Here is a slotting game with all of the letters we have worked on so far.  These are letter discs made from laminated letters and wooden discs I found at Michaels.  Check out Confessions of a Homeschooler for her letter template. Matching Unifix cubes  to the Igloo number cards 1 through 5.  1:1 correspondence.
An igloo magnet page with circle magnet pieces.

I made this schedule to organize our Tot School time, according to the Montessori principles: Language, Mathematics, Sensory, and Practical Life.

You can read my post about it and download the free Tot School Planning Form here.

Bible verse of the week:

Let my prayer be set before you like incense.  Psalm 141:2

We use the ABC bible verse songs from Songs for Saplings.  These songs are so catchy, beautiful, not “children’s music annoying,” and I find myself singing and learning and memorizing the bible verses along with John.  Carisa at 1plus1plus1equals1 has made coordinating ABC Bible Verses posters which have really helped with his memorization as well.  

Letter of the week: Ii

Our curriculum consists of 1plus1plus1equals1‘s Tot School ABC’s.

Do-A-Dot markers on his I is for Ice Cream Truck pages that I made — very simple, but you can get them here.

And his Igloo pages. I presented the color cards in a new way this week and it was a huge hit.  I cut them out and put them on his tray with the corresponding colored crayon. John was so excited and got to work.

Stamping an I on the Igloo.

For our vocabulary this week, we played a match-up game.  I printed two copies and cut the cards out and put them face-down on the floor.  John loved this.  Next time I think I’ll laminate them and hide them in rice or beans : )

Book of the week:

Mama Do you love me? by Barbara Joosse

I looked and looked around my house for a book that has an igloo in it.  And this sweet story about an Eskimo girl and her mother is the only one I could come up with.  It is the sweetest story about a mother’s enverending love for her child.  (There is also a Papa Do you love me? book about a little African boy and his father.)

We did some Ice cream truck size sorting, and number counting with his Tot Tray manipulatives.

Here he is gluing his shapes onto a piece of paper with glue sponging.  He loved this!  And then he matched some of his toys’ shapes to the page on the window.

Making the letter I with playdough.  I rolled snakes for him to create the Ii.

We played Ice Cream Truck.  I taped a picture of an ice cream truck on one of his Monster Trucks and put a yogurt popsicle on it and drove it over to him.  He was so excited.  He loves the little truck and after eating it, he was in and out of the freezer putting them in his truck.

Dad enjoyed an Ice cream treat too : ) (He’s super excited I’m taking his picture.)

Here he is putting together his interlocking Letter Puzzles from Melissa & Doug.

John loved cutting cantaloupe this week.

And he helped tonging our tortillas on our plates.

Love my little ones!

I hope you have a wonderful week — I love comments — please leave a link so I can see what you are doing in your Tot School.