Community Theme packAugust 19, 2018
This pack looks at Community and it’s the first of my pre-writing packs suitable for toddlers and preschoolers. While this pack is building fine motor skills it is made from 7 diverse ‘pen control’ free activities.
Like all packs it’s been test run with my child and we had a blast completing activities over 3 days. Our favourite was clearly the fireman’s hose. I really enjoyed making and leading Adam through this pack and it looks beautiful up in our dining room door where we stick our work. (more…)
Tot-school | Week 25 | Letter ZJuly 14, 2018
This past week’s tot-school…
…was lost in life
It’s been many moons since we worked our way through the alphabet and I’ve always felt regret that letter Z didn’t reach the site, this therefore is a post long long overdue and yet with the pack mostly made I dusted it out and added a few extras for those of you still going through the first, or second pass of phonics.
Letter Z is one letter I didn’t particularly cherish teaching. The sound is usually one of the last that children learn and it’s so infrequently used in words that it’s not a particularly helpful knowledge block early on. I honed in on the obvious Zebra as my main feature but I managed to find a few other words to supplement it.
The pack I’ve made is available for download at the end of the post.
This weeks read more questions:
From this we moved to themes as we had a second child in the morning who spoke a different language. slowly the practice of totschool became less frequent.
I write this as Adam is now three and three quarters and has just started with two or 3 letter words. Decoding is a skill he showed little interest in and so we just concentrated on letter and other preschool skills.
Yes, I plan on making a lot more resources and while those plans are still fluid I’d like them to be able to supplement and build on what is here.
Holy week is comingMarch 17, 2018
Holy week with a toddler or preschooler is something special. That story we breath within is still new to them. It’s a dark and deep story but it’s peppered with symbolism and young kids greet symbolism with a beautiful open acceptance.
I had dreaded last Easter unable to travel, but I leaned heavily into the traditions I had, built upon them and ended with the traditions of Orthodox Easter as cultures merged. It turned from dread to joy. As this years Easter approaches traditions are even more important to me. Locally the day has no significance as Orthodox Easter falls on a different Sunday. Outside our door people will walk back and forth to the market as they do every Sunday, businesses will open usual hours.
As I review last year I see someone who dove into holy week pushing the boat out and delving into the stories for each day. Plus, my family came along for the ride. The coins clattered on the floor as we entered the temple, the flames flickered in the oil lamps, the smell of baking and taste of roasted meat brought Passover to our table.
Over on JWL I’ve published my updated Holy week activities that can be used with a toddler or preschooler. If you are a totschool reader you may enjoy the tactile version. LINK
Wishing you all a happy Easter when the time comes.