Lesson Plans

Today I'm going to include an example of a week's (VERY lofty goal) lesson plans. I have been an over planner since my first year of teaching in the inner-city of Los Angeles. You simply cannot "wing" it with those kids (really with any kids, but even more so with those) or they will TAKE YOU DOWN! So, I over plan which can sometimes be a good thing, but sometimes a frustrating thing when you feel like it takes forever to accomplish a week's worth of plans. However, tot school is about the tot, so we move at his pace!
These plans did not take us a week, in fact we stretched them over two weeks! We had several busy days in there, and ended up doing only one activity a day, instead of the two it shows on the plans.

You will notice the plans sort of go by themes. The shape he learned was circle, so I chose letters that use a circle (Q, O) and numbers that also use circles (8 and 6). I want to provide support so he can make connections between everything we are learning. Also, these lessons give me opportunities to point out and explain how they are connected.
Over the next few posts, I will break down each activity with pictures and descriptions.
The first one I want to show you is the circle lesson (Tuesday). Supplies: White construction paper, crayons or markers, various objects that include a circle as part of their shape for tracing (ie: cylinders).

Random things I used to trace circles.

I started by reading him a shape book, "Shapes that Roll," but really you could read any book that talks about shapes. Throughout the book I continually drew attention to the circles. He pointed them out after reading, and we "drew" circles in the air.

The book we read.

Next, I showed him the items I had collected and pointed out the circle part. I took his finger and traced the circle part of each piece. I then helped him trace the circles on a piece of paper. (This kind of tracing was pretty difficult) I let him color them and we counted and numbered them. I tried to get him to think of things that were circular, but that was WAY too difficult. Far too abstract for his little brain, so I drew a pizza and a smiley face to show him.

The finished product.

This will go in his room on his "work wall" so he can constantly have a reminder of what he has learned.

(Click here for lesson plans)

First things first

There are several "rules" with teaching a tot.
1. Things don't always go as planned.
2. Lessons range from 5 to 30 minutes, are focused on the child and are over when the toddler loses interest.
3. Toddlers learn best from hands on experiences and opportunities to explore.
4. Things don't always go as planned...

Here is an example of losing interest...

Before I started formal school time with Maverick, I wanted to see what he already knew. These assessments on this awesome tot school blog I found were a great place to start. I asked him very casually, one on one when he wasn't doing anything else and knew I could hold his attention for longer than half a millisecond. He actually kind of thought it was a game and kept asking, "what next?"
I was quite shocked at how much he already knew since I had not formally "planned" what I was teaching him yet. It's amazing what "Super Why", singing ABC's and counting EVERYTHING can teach a child! Once I had a clear picture of what he already knew, I looked at what he still needed to learn and designed my lessons around that.
I also thought about the most important things for him to learn now, that will help him succeed later on with more "formal" education. Name recognition, letters/sounds (developmentally appropriate sounds), colors, shapes, gross motor (jumping, running, skipping, etc) and fine motor skills (holding a pencil, lacing, etc), counting and character education were the most important to me. However, every child is different and starts out in a different place. Especially if a child is younger and his language skills are just now developing, the focus will probably be more on colors, motor skills, shapes, and exposing him to the other "stuff" as much as possible.

Why I decided on "Tot School"

They say a picture says a thousand words...
THIS is one reason I decided to start "school" with Maverick. This picture was taken by my sister, a very talented photographer who is excellent at capturing moments that otherwise might go unnoticed, several weeks after giving birth to my second son. He was obviously bored, needing some structure and routine in his life once again.
I have learned and do believe that toddlers and preschoolers are sponges that soak up EVERYTHING around them, so why not capitalize on this and give them an opportunity to learn?
I first heard about tot school from my friend Beth, whose sister in law does it with her little girl. I did some of my own research and found great blogs all over the place with ideas galore. I decided to chronicle my own effort for several reasons. First, I have a REALLY bad memory and this is a great way to remember these important years. Secondly, I have lots of friends who are in a similar stage of life who have expressed an interest, so why not?! Oh, and third I have no plenty of spare time.
I would love your comments and feedback and to hear what YOU try and how it works... or doesn't.