Tot School from A to Z

My days with my boy were amazing.  I wouldn’t change them for the world.  Sleepless nights with the baby and early mornings with my two year old.  I made it to his room and we sat down on the floor or at his little table.  We talked about our letters and we read books and we played.  Those hours.  Those times.  His face.  Not that I don’t love our time now, I am learning him more than ever before.  But our tot school from a to z time, that, oh that will be forever on my heart.

{see Connecting with my preschool son and how boys learn and On child-directed learning}

But now it isn’t just the two of us.  We have his sister to tag along.  And oh I want to be present for her too and relish in her wonder and excitement.  I want her to have these chances and opportunities too, even though, inevitably, they will be in a slightly different format; and more likely less organized and less posted.  {And that’s okay.}

These posts will be looked at, by me, I’m sure far more than any of you!!  But I hope that sharing them all in one place will give you some ideas for exciting your child at home with play and with “school.”

Since sharing these posts, my teaching and parenting styles have evolved and progressed and been challenged.  I hope that you do activities that are right, and developmentally appropriate, for your own child.  Teaching a child to become an independent learner is what I want for them.  We focus more on play these days, rather than “sitting down” for “school.”  However, we do still sit down once or twice a week and color or stamp or write.  I do this intentionally.  But never forcibly.

{see Reggio Emilia inspired learning and Montessori learning}

If I read to my children.  And play with my children.  Both together, and individually, then the days are a success.  I pray the same for you.  Too often I have mama guilt over what I did or didn’t do {laundry instead of Zoob warriors or dishes instead of hugs and snuggles}.  But we are always doing our best.  They love us and we brighten them each time we do just spend one extra moment.  It need not be the world.  But we are their world.

So, with all that being said, here are our tot school days with my sweet boy.  My John.

Tot School Posts from A to Z

There it is.  Truly my heart and soul.  And the reason I blog.  I wanted to remember.  We are growing every day.  But I’ll always look back at these times, and with wrenching tears {because that’s the way I roll}, I’ll remember.  His chubby hands and his wandering eyes and his bright and energetic movements and his poor pencil grip.

Need more Tot Ideas?

Carisa over at 1plus1plus1equals1 invented the terms Tot School and Tot Trays, and we not only use her FREE printables, but we also use many of her ideas and admire all the work she does with her children!!