Tot School-Week #1 – Lesson Plans

I love the concept of Tot School (found on 1+1+1=1) and have decided to do something similar with my son at home. Once a week, I will post our “Lesson Plans” (really an outline of actvities) that we are going to work on along with links. Hopefully some of it will help you as you work with your preschoolers/toddlers at home!! Some of the activities can also be modified for younger elementary students.

I’ve already ordered (and received) the trays to set up activities on, so that’s where I am starting with my Tot School. I will put out 6 activities this Wednesday as an experiment and see how it goes.

Here’s what we’ll be doing:

Tray One: playdough and cookie cutters

Tray Two: Transferring large craft pom poms into ice cube trays with tongs

Tray Three: Hide and Seek bowls with sand and hidden magnetic letters

Tray Four: Stickers and contruction paper

Tray Five: Apple prints with paint

Tray Six: A-Aliigator coloring page and crayons. Jakson already knows his letters, but I like these sheets for review and he loves to say “A, Alligator!!” so I thought it would be appropriate.

There you have it-pretty simple, but I want to see what works for him and what doesn’t. If you have any other ideas that you do with your toddler/preschooler, please leave them in the comments! I’d love to get more ideas!!

Next Plan Idea:

Playdough Learning Activities

The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

Next Plan Idea:

Have you read?

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