Tot School

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Avery is 31.5 months old and Parker is 9 months old

TOT SCHOOL

I don't have too many pictures of tot school this week because we spent most of our time working out in the garden.  Avery was such a big helper!  She helped me pick what we were going to grow, plant the seeds, and water the garden.  In the vegetable garden we are growing cucumbers, peas, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, strawberries (those we have had for years), broccoli, butternut squash, watermelon, cantaloupe, and a bunch of herbs.  Avery also has her very own flower garden where she is growing a mix of wild flowers that is suppose to attract hummingbirds and butterflies.  

We did have a chance to do a couple works early in the week.  Her favorite this week was a sand pouring work that we did with a funnel.  I wanted her to see that the funnel made it easier to pour the sand into a small mouthed bottle so when I gave her the work for the first time I gave it to her without the funnel.  She got most of the sand in the bottle but a lot still went on to the tray.  We talked about what happened and why.

Then I gave her the funnel and let her try the work again.  Afterwards, we, once again, talked about what happened and why.  I think doing the work both ways really let her see and understand the purpose of the funnel.  

She loved watching the sand go slowly down the funnel! 

When I showed her the work I only used the funnel to pour the sand into the bottle.  But after she did the work a couple times she told me that using the funnel would also make it easier to pour it into the pitcher.  So that's what she started doing.  Such a smart girl!  

We also did a grind work with the mortar and pestle.  I knew I was making some rosemary fingerling potatoes later in the week so she used the mortar and pestle to grind the rosemary for me.  She really liked this work also and thought that it was pretty cool that she was helping me with dinner. 

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Tot School and Tiny Tot School

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Avery is 31 months old and Parker is 8.5 months old

TOT SCHOOL
We didn't really have a theme for this week but we still had a lot of fun with Tot School. 

Monday we started Tot School by making some play dough.  Avery helped me do all the measuring and pouring (no pictures, it was a little too involved to have a chance to take any).  Then, while we waited for the play dough to cool, we decorated some clothespins for a project I am working on (I want to make an area for Avery's artwork to hang and/or dry).  I painted the clothespins over the weekend and then Avery glued on different things to decorate them.  I let her choose what she wanted to use (feathers, jewels, sequins, and foam shapes) and they turned out really cute! I can't wait to see how the project comes together!

Of course we had to spend a little time just playing with and checking out the clothespins

The finished product

When we were done with the clothespins, it was time to play with the play dough. I let Avery raid my Tot School supplies and choose some materials to use with the play dough.  She decided on marbles, jewels (they are the flattened marbles but Avery has always called them jewels), stones, shells, and some plastic fruit shaped ice cubes.  She had a lot of fun sticking the different objects in the play dough.  I had hoped that the objects would make cool impressions in the play dough but it was a little too gooey for that to work.  Avery even ended up renaming our play dough, instead of play dough it was gooey dough.  It stuck to everything!  Although it wasn't what I had intended, it was still a really cool sensory experience that Avery loved!

What a mess! But it gave me an idea for a work on Wednesday. She loved the table washing work we did last week so much, I figured we could do another washing work, this time a dish washing work with the objects from our gooey dough playtime instead of dishes.  

We started by adding some dish soap to the water and Avery whisked it until the bowl was full of bubbles.

Then she got to work washing

and rinsing.

After that we read a couple books and played with the Wedgits for a while.  My dad came over Friday morning so we didn't get to Tot School that day.


TINY TOT SCHOOL
When Avery goes down for her nap, Parker is up for about an hour before she is ready for her afternoon nap.  So, we have started using this time for Tiny Tot School.  


We played with a balloon!

We also played with our new ball treasure basket.  Check out the post on our first 2 treasure baskets here.  When Avery was 17 months old, we did this work.  My mom made the pompom and Avery would practice throwing the balls in the basket.  Well, it has always been a favorite so we have kept it out all this time (plus I love having balls in the house that are soft enough that they won't cause any damage if they hit someone or something).  Over the last few months Parker has really gotten into it.  Then for Easter she got some really cool sensory balls that we just threw into the basket with the pompom balls.  Over the weekend I decided to go around the house and find all the balls that I could and add them to the basket, thus creating our ball treasure basket.  Since I took this picture we've added a couple more balls too (Avery loves helping us find more).  

Like the other treasure baskets, she loves it and it keeps her attention for so long!

Sometimes the basket is just as much fun to play with as the balls  : )

She also loves to practice closing this toy.

She spent a lot of time trying to learn to crawl, which she started doing on Saturday.  And a lot of time practicing pulling up and standing on her own.

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 1+1+1=1
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Toddler Table Washing

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This morning while I was nursing Parker, Avery made a bit of a mess at her art table.  She ended up taking the inside ink tube of a marker out and then getting blue ink all over herself and her table.  Without even thinking I helped her clean herself up and then I cleaned up her table.  As I was cleaning the table, it dawned on me...why not have her clean her table herself?  While I don't think she is ready for the all out out table scrubbing work, I did remember another version of table washing we did when I was an aide in a Montessori classroom.  It involved shaving cream, a sponge, a towel, and a bowl of water.  So, when Parker went down for her morning nap, I scraped my tot school plans and Avery and I got to work!


First, we covered the table with shaving cream and Avery spread it all around (and then played for a while of course).  She was a little hesitant at first, which totally surprised me cause she usually loves shaving cream.

But then she got into it!

Once the table was good and covered, it was time to wipe it up with the sponge.  She would wipe the length of the table with the sponge and then rinse it out in the bowl of water.  Then she would wring it out before wiping the table again.

When all (or almost all) of the shaving cream was gone, it was time to wipe the table dry with the towel.

And then we had a nice clean table!

Avery is 31 months old

No Time For Flashcards