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!!

When it’s hot outside it’s fun to do any kinds of activities that involve ice, water or anything cold. Check out my water and ice activities here, and read on for sensory and science experiments using and inspired by ice cream, and maybe grab a sweet treat after you’re finished.

In the Playroom has a bunch of ice cream inspired STEM challenges that would be great for older kids. These include things like designing an ice cream cone holder that will hold cones upright, making the highest stack of “scoops” (using cotton balls) and making a cover that can keep ice cream from melting so quickly. The challenges and printable pages kids can use as they work on their experiments individually or in teams are included in a free download.

This ice cream water table from Happy Toddler Playtime doesn’t use real ice cream, but you could try chilling the shaving cream for the fake ice cream base (though cans of shaving cream should not be frozen). Or just throw some ice cubes in there while you play.

You could also make fluffy ice cream slime (not edible) with this recipe from STEAMsational Family and use that in a sensory tray or table if you like.

Happy Toddler Playtime also has an ice cream cone volcano idea, which is the classic baking soda and vinegar project with an ice cream twist.

Turn building an ice cream cone into a lesson about sharing with this idea from Extremely Good Parenting. Read the book Should I Share My Ice Cream? and then make paper into an ice cream ball you can share with someone else (or just make for fun).

Learn about states of matter and sequencing with a melting Popsicle experiment (you could also do with ice cream) from Mrs. Jones’ Creation Station. This is a good one if you have a sunny spot on the playground or in the yard where kids can observe and time the melting of a frozen treat, ideally while eating their own. There’s also a free printable for kids to record their observations if they didn’t get too sticky.

Have you read?

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