Tot Boxes

 

I needed activities quick & on hand, but I also wanted to make sure I was getting a variety of activities that would benefit him as well as keep him busy.  In addition I wanted to try to tie in a few of our themes (color, letter, shape) as much as possible so here are Truman’s Tot Boxes for Letter A & the Color Red.

 

On the top shelf are a rice box to practice pouring, scooping, & just fun, a  moon sand box with the Melissa & Doug wooden play dough set, & a sand tray to encourage beginning writing skills.  *Be not mistake, the 3 boxes get mixed together in his kitchen area FREQUENTLY.  ~no big deal – either way he is using his imagination & having a good time.  The other boxes have cutting practice, shape/color sorting, an alphabet sensory box (I put letter “A” beads, foam letter, & magnet + an apple, ax & alligator, transferring practice, stamping (with an alligator stamp), & painting.  I tried to use item that were the color we were focusing on (red rice, sand, paper, pom-poms, paint).  As it is now, we are sticking to the same themes for about 2 weeks so that will be the time frame I plan to use for re-doing these.

I currently have 10 busy bags, mostly of activities I already had in our schoolroom.  I have just found that by storing them in the manner of “busy bags” has made it so much easier in our schoolroom & on the go . . .

  In his main notebook I printed pages from 1+1+1=1, Homeschool Creations, & Confessions of a Homeschooler (*I did not print EVERYTHING each site had – ONLY the ones I thought he would enjoy/I liked.)  I put the printouts in page protectors so he could reuse it (otherwise, it would last 5 minutes).  The first page is his scripture (letter related from Raising Rockstars Preschool Pack) followed by letter pages, then shapes, colors, numbers, & lastly a page with his name on it (for name recognition).

I had no true intentions of beginning letters with him until August so at this point I am just following his lead.  We will work on a letter as long as he needs/wants.  I’m not doing a “letter a week” schedule.  I will lightly focus on a different shape & color each week, but his folder content is not exclusive to this.