Tot School-Week #1

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:

Teach the Teacher Printable Worksheets: A Fun…

Human brains are pretty amazing, allowing us to think, feel, create, communicate, move and more. But humans aren’t the only animals with cool brains, as Crab Museum explains in the book The No-Brainer Brain Explainer (illustrated by Bruno Valasse).

This book, aimed at kids in grades 1-4, is colorful and silly but also educational about how brains actually work, with billions of neurons sending electrical and chemical signals around the body.

“Everything we think, feel and experience comes from an electrical relay race, with neurons passing chemical batons to each other,” the book says. “The constant chatter of billions of brain cells creates your entire world.”

The book compares the brains of mammals to those of crabs (the book is “written” by a crab after all) and notes that crabs have fewer neurons and of course are much smaller, but they have separate parts of their brains that control their eyes and their legs. Crabs are also capable of remembering things, using tools and solving puzzles.

Some animals’ brains allow them to know more about their world in different ways from humans, such as spiders being sensitive to vibrations in their webs and catfish having an amazing sense of taste, with taste sensors all over their bodies.

It notes that 95 percent of brain activity goes toward things we do unconsciously, like breathing, walking and catching a ball flying toward us. It also talks about dreams, memory, how our emotions try to predict the future, where brains came from and fun facts about brains. For example, did you know a sperm whale is believed to have the biggest brain of any creature that’s even lived? Their brains weigh 18 pounds, compared to just 2.5 pounds for humans.

Information on what creatures have the smallest brains, the toughest brains, the most brains and those who actually eat their own brains will delight kids (and maybe gross them out a little bit). They’ll also enjoy learning about the mycelium network of fungi, which is like a brain without a body, and slime molds, which are like a brain without a brain.

It ends talking about why human brains are so special because we’ve found ways to work together, communicate and build communities on a scale bigger than any other animal.

Kids and adults alike will enjoy this colorful, silly and informational book about brains!

About the book: 64 pages, hardcover. Published 2026 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail price $19.99.

Next Plan Idea:

Have you read?

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