i! I’m Megan. I am a pediatric speech language pathologist and my husband is a middle school English teacher. We have two kids. Jack is a spunky, smart and verbal 2.5 year old and Libby is a sweet and calm 3 month old. During the school year our son, Jack, goes to an incredible daycare and has learned so many skills not only academically but socially and in things like following routines and self help skills and more. We absolutely adore his daycare, however, because my husband and I are both off in the summers and for budgetary reasons (daycare is expensive ya’ll, and next year we will have 2, yikes) Jack (and Libby) will be staying home with us for the summer. We wanted to figure out a way to continue to encourage his learning, stick to a routine, and generally not go insane… hence, I am getting started with tot school!
Now, I am NOT a homeschool mom. I applaud all of you homeschool mamas out there, it is not for the faint of heart BUT combined my husband and I have over 20 years of experience in education at a variety of age levels and I have spent 6 years creating speech and language resources for students with disabilities and language delays so you can trust that we aren’t just throwing cute pictures on a page and selling it. We have put a lot of thought and care into creating the resources, goals, and ideas that we plan to share with you during our summer of tot school, I promise you can trust us!
Also, I needed tot school to be EASY to follow. I do not have time to gather 1000 materials, set up a ton of different play invitations, or use up 100 spaces in my house. And as teachers we don’t get paid in the summer so I don’t have a huge budget for this. So if this sounds like something for you keep reading, I would love to have you follow along!
First, some FAQs
What ages is Tot School for?
In a perfect world, ages 2ish – 4ish. We will include some ideas for younger and older kids but you know your kids best!
What do I need for Tot School?
You will need a handful of “all the time” materials that you likely have on hand like markers, glue, and paper, (list here) a printer would be super helpful, and some toys and books. Each week you will get a shopping list of unique to that theme materials. There are many many options materials, just grab what you can afford and go from there. Tot school does not need to be expensive!
Do I have to do everything in the pack?
ABSOLUTELY NOT! In fact, you probably shouldn’t. These materials are intended to supplement PLAY, play is the most important learning your tot can do. And not all of the resources and games will be engaging and interesting to your tot. Learning should be fun so don’t force it.
Do I have to do a theme every week?
Nope! Stretch them out for 2 weeks or a month. I also encourage you to repeat activities as many times as your tot is interested. Repeated exposure is GREAT for learning, so if your tot wants to make pig bagels every day, let them! Do they want to read the same book 10 times? Do it!
Do I have to buy your tot school packs?
Nope! I will include detailed ideas and directions in a blog post each week, however, the pack might make your life easier since you can mostly print and go.
How do I get set up?
So glad you asked! I am trying to keep this SIMPLE, so we only have a few things set up for our tot school. You can grab the all the time supply list and step by step set up for free HERE
- Drawer cart for storage – I grabbed this drawer cart from Target to store all of our tot school supplies in. I like that it is on wheels so that I can roll it wherever I want in the house or tuck it away in a closet if needed. I plan to print/prep ahead as much as I can and tuck them away in this cart. You can grab the labels on my cart for free HERE
- Caddy for most used art supplies – I am storing this on top of the drawer cart to keep our most used art supplies in
- Display board – My son has a chalkboard in his playroom which is where we plan to display our targets of the week (letter, number, shape, color). Cards are included in each week’s tot school pack. After the week is over we will put the cards on a ring and hang them on a hook by the board, but you can put them on the fridge, the dishwasher, or just a wall!
- Sensory Bin – I ponied up and finally grabbed a sensory bin. We will also have this set up in his play room with the weekly sensory bin ideas
- Visual Schedule – If I have learned anything working with itty bitties at school it is that visual schedules are a game changer. It reduces a lot of anxiety and struggles when kiddos can see what is coming up. You can grab the visual schedule we are using for free HERE. We use it in this pocket chart
- Thematic Bookshelf (or book space) – So, like I said, I am a speech therapist and my husband is an english teacher, so books are a big deal in our house. I am a big believer in BOOKS and we have a bookshelf in our most used space in our house that I display seasonal/thematic books on (we also have bookshelves in about 4 more areas of our house). You do not have to buy a new bookshelf or buy a ton of books. You can display books on top of your toy shelf, on an end table, or even on the floor! And dont underestimate checking out books from your local library to go with the theme. I do include book suggestions in my tot school packs and blog posts if you are looking for ideas.
- Play dough tray – this is totally optional, but I LOVE play dough so It is something that I like playing with my kids. Grab a divided tray like THIS and some colors of play dough. Each week you will get suggestions for manipulatives to add to your tray and play dough mats.
Stay tuned for more posts with our weekly tot school themes, ideas, and inspiration! Want to make sure you stay connected? Make sure you subscribe to my Tot School Email List!
