Tot School Week in Review - "Pizza" by Frank Asch

This week we had another simple week of tot school with Zeke. I'm still busy planning for and preparing our homeschool curriculum for this year. We will be starting homeschool August 9! 

One of Zeke's favorite books is "Pizza" by Frank Asch, so I decided to create a book companion to go along with it! This is available in my Etsy shop for $3.00 as a digital download, or it's free to my existing blog subscribers. Subscribe to my blog to receive exclusive free printable resources!

This week-long unit has a five-day lesson plan, but feel free to use these resources however you wish! Here is an overview of our week, and you'll get to see exactly what you'll be receiving with this download.

Monday:

Today we talked about circles. There is a page in the book that says the moon, the car tires, and the manhole covers reminded Baby Bear of pizza. We discussed how that was because they were circles! 

First we did some circle stamping using different sized plastic lids. Zeke really enjoyed this activity and stamped the entire outside of his paper!

Next he did a cut-and-glue worksheet matching circle-shaped objects to their outlines. This is a great visual discrimination activity that Zeke and I do quite a bit.

Tuesday:

Today we talked about pizza toppings. The bears ordered a cheese pizza, but you can discuss your family's favorite pizza toppings. 

We did another cut-and-glue worksheet matching pepperoni shapes to their outlines. It was a quick way to name shapes Zeke already knows and introduce shapes he isn't familiar with (like the trapezoid).

He also colored his P is for Pizza worksheet, but he wouldn't trace the letters. He loves tracing, so I'm not sure why he refused to do this. Oh well!

He also colored his own placemat like Baby Bear did in the restaurant. This can be laminated and used as a placemat with your supper! We took a trip to our local pizza place in town for lunch. 

Wednesday:

Today we talked about all of the strange toppings the aliens put on their pizzas. Zeke traced the numbers 1-10 (and did an excellent job, may I add!) and then dotted each pepperoni with a red dot marker. He did such a good job and it was a great way to get in some counting practice.

Next he traced the lines from the pizzas to the letters. He can trace so well for a 2 1/2 year old! 

We then worked on scissor skills. He does not have great scissor control yet, but he can snip. Then he finishes off by tearing the paper! A cute little story - he calls cutting "scissoring." 

Thursday:

We combined two days into one day today. First Zeke glued paper cut outs to the pizza template to make his own pizza! He stayed very focused and glued every single piece on his pizza. I told him he didn't have to use all of the pieces and he said, "Yes. I do."

He also made a breakfast foods collage from pictures I cut out out of magazines. Baby Bear doesn't want any of the breakfast options his mom and dad give him because all he wants is pizza! We had fun naming each of these breakfast foods.

Other Activities:

Of course we do tons more activities each week. Zeke loves to do tot school! He loves these two-piece puzzles and put them together several times this week. 

He also enjoys this button art toy, which is a great fine motor and visual discrimination activity. He doesn't pull it out as much as some of his other toys, but I'm always excited when he does.

He also did some water play this week. This was super simple set up, just using an ice cube tray, a syringe, and colored water. I asked him to fill each of the tray compartments with water. He stayed focused for awhile with this activity!

He also played with this busy bag. I put in a six-trayed paint palette along with some cards I created that have different colored circles. Zeke had to use the palette as a sort of grid and match the colors that are on the cards. He did really well with this, although I had to help quite a bit at first. A few more times and he probably won't need any help.

If you'd like to purchase this digital download, click here to go to my Etsy shop! Have you read this book before? Are you familiar with Frank Asch? 

Heart of Dakota - Preparing Hearts for His Glory: Getting Started

 This year we chose to go with Heart of Dakota for my children's main curriculum. I needed something open and go, already planned out for me, with all of the Charlotte Mason-y elements I love like living literature, narration, dictation, and enrichment.

Silas is going into 6th grade and Titus is going into 4th grade. We decided to use Preparing Hearts for His Glory with both of the boys. I love the way it does a broad sweep of world history, something the boys haven't studied yet. Last year we used Expedition Earth, which gave them a really fun overview of world geography. I think that will be beneficial to their world history study this year.

I also love how each week there is a history project - sometimes an art project, sometimes a hands-on project, sometimes a research project. The variety will keep the boys from getting bored. Plus they love anything crafty and hands-on!

Silas will also be using the Independent History portion of Preparing, where he will read a different book in addition to our studies and compete a separate notebook page. This will really prepare him to start working more independently next year. I placed the boys notebook pages (which are really beautiful) into three-ring binder. I divided them into three sections (four for Silas) - Written Narrations, Vocabulary, and Timeline (and Independent History for Silas). Easy!

During the time that Silas is working on his independent history, Titus will be working on his handwriting using A Reason for Handwriting T (Transition), teaching him how to write in cursive. We worked on this some last year, but his penmanship really needs some fine-tuning. 

They will be studying science this year using living books such as the One Small Square books, narrating, notebooking, and experimenting. I really like how there is one experiment scheduled each week, and they are totally doable! The supplies needed are easy to find and they aren't elaborate or time-consuming, yet they are engaging and fun! They'll be using unlined paper, three-hole punched and placed into a three ring binder - probably behind their history pages!

The other subjects that I always want to cover but usually don't get around to doing are already scheduled in the teacher's guide! Poetry, art, and scripture memory are already planned out for me, making things so simple. They'll be using a CD to memorize scripture chunks. I also like how they have their independent Bible study scheduled in.

We decided to go with Rod and Staff grammar this year, the boy's first year using it! I used this with my older kids and it was an excellent grammar program. I chose R&S 3 for Titus and R&S 4 for Silas since it's a rigorous program. We'll be using a plain notebook for their written work. They will also be using the dictation included in the teacher's guide, also in the same notebook.

We are continuing with Masterbooks Math Lessons for a Living Education 6 and 4. I like this math program for elementary, although I know many who think it's too light or too easy. It does start out slow in the early books, but it quickly builds up speed and becomes more difficult. It's a solid math program! We've used everything except Kindergarten. 

For reading, we're going to use Drawn into the Heart of Reading by Heart of Dakota. I bought the 2-3 level book for Titus and 4-5 level for Silas. In my experience, leveling down in this program is wise! They'll be reading books from 9 (I believe) genres. I didn't buy the book packs, but I will be using the suggested book list to choose these books. 

I have all of our books on a built-in bookshelf in our den/homeschool room. I have a cube shelf for the kid's daily books. Each child has a column of cubes. In the top, there is a bin for their math and grammar books, as well as any independent reading books. In the middle shelf, they keep their individual supplies - colored pencils, pencils, sharpeners, markers, calculators, and other items like that. The bottom shelves are empty right now.

I have all of our history, science, and read-aloud books on this tall shelf, right next to the cube shelves. I have them separated loosely by subject. I will grab the books we need each week and put them in a basket so they'll be easy to access. 

Setting up Preparing Hearts for His Glory was really easy. I am so excited to begin this curriculum! What are you using this year?

My Favorite Tot School Resources! And a GIVEAWAY!

 It's hard to believe, but Zeke is my sixth toddler! I've tried many different resources for this age group over the years, and I've done my best to shrink down my "favorites" list into my top ten! I'm also going to be giving away a few toddler resources, so be sure to read all the way to bottom to see how to enter. 

1.) Dot Markers

Dot markers seem like such an obvious pick, but they are seriously so useful! We use them almost every day for something from dotting letters to counting to finishing pictures. I would say this is probably the most common tot school resource, and for good reason! I will also say that Do-A-Dot is the hands-down best brand for dot markers.

2.) Dot Stickers

I know, I know...it's almost the same thing as dot markers - but it's not! You can use them for the same things, but dot stickers give an extra boost of fine motor practice. Peeling stickers is great for strengthening those hand and finger muscles! I love the ones that come in all the colors. This is the pack that I always order. 

3.) Linking Cubes

Again, these are so great for so many different activities! Counting, color sorting, building, measuring...we've used these for lots of different things! They are useful for math lessons when your toddler gets a bit older, so it's definitely a resource that will grow with your child.

4.) Counting Bears

This has got to be a classic resource found in every home and preschool schoolroom across the country. We use them for color sorting when they're young, counting as they get bigger, graphing when they're learning early math concepts, and so much more. I like this set that comes in six colors. 

5.) Simple Puzzles

Zeke loves puzzles, and these are the next step-up from peg puzzles. The fact that there are only two pieces prevents frustration for Zeke, but he also feels like he is doing a "big boy puzzle" like his older brothers. We have several different sets of these, and I'd love to get a few more sets. I normally set the puzzles out for Zeke with the two pieces for each set, and he finishes each set!

6.) An assortment of plastic animals

We use plastic animals for so many things - sorting, counting, pretend play. I like to have fish, farm animals, wild animals, dinosaurs, and insects. You will be surprised how often you pull these out for different activities! We like Terra by Battat, but you get what you pay for when it comes to plastic animals. Learning Resources is also a great brand.

7.) Crayola Markers

This seems so simple, but I really like to use markers for beginning tracing. They're easy to hold because they're chunky, they write really smooth which makes it easy to trace, and they're bright colored which makes them fun! I stock up when our WalMart has back to school sales, but I really like this Big 40 pack!

8.) Colored Buttons in Different Shapes

We use buttons for tons of activities, too! They small, which makes it a great fine motor activity to pick them up and move them around. They're great for sorting colors or shapes or sizes. We've used buttons to make patterns before, too! Lots of my busy bags come with buttons as part of the activity. I have tons of fun ideas on my Instagram account for using buttons. 

9.) Pom Poms

How did this get all the way at the bottom of my list? It's for sure one of our top resources! We use them for sorting, counting, patterns, pushing, and so much more. I have some pom pom shape cards in my Toddler Resources tab for free if you'd like to download those and use them! I like to order this pack of pom poms because it includes all of the colors including black and brown, the size is perfect, and I love the texture of them. Hey, they're even half off right now!

10.) Stacking Pegs

These stacking pegs are so much fun! Zeke loves to stack them as high as he can, and he loves to push the pegs into the peg board. It's a great fine motor skill and it's a lot of fun! Lauri Toys are really great toys for toddlers and preschoolers.

I could add so many more resources, and maybe I'll a follow up to this called "My Next Favorite Tot School Resources"! Now for the giveaway....follow the directions below and the winner will get to choose which of the above resources they'd like to have! I'll ship them to you! Be sure to tell all of your friends.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Zeke's Tot School Curriculum for 2021-2022

 Zeke will be 3 in November, but he already loves tot school. He asks for it almost every day! I've been compiling a really fun, hands-on bundle of curriculum for him. He absolutely loves worksheets, and even though I think worksheets are unnecessary at his age, I try to find him plenty to keep him busy. I know as I'm trying to work with my older kids this fall, he is going to need engaging activities and worksheets to keep him focused. 

His main curriculum is going to be Heart of Dakota's Little Hands to Heaven. This is written for ages 2-5, and is mostly a Bible/letter of the week curriculum. There are very few worksheets, but lots of hands-on activities planned. We are going to use this as our starting off point each week. He will learn Bible stories and songs, letters, numbers, colors, and shapes. There are beginning math activities each week - super simple things like color sorting, counting, and patterns. I did make some worksheets for this curriculum, and they are listed under my Toddler Resources tab. Feel free to print them and use them. If you're interested in this curriculum, you can look at the first week for free! Each day has it's own page of plans. The plans are detailed which I really like.

I know this is not enough to keep Zeke busy. In fact, it will probably take us 15-30 minutes each day to complete the activities. I also purchased a huge bundle of Tubs and Trays activities from Teachers Pay Teachers. I printed quite a few worksheets that will go along with Zeke's letter, number, and color themes as well hands-on centers that I will use as tot trays or busy bags. I also printed some from different places that he will be able to use independently. 

I'm also creating lots of busy bags and busy boxes for him to use when I need some time with the older kids. I purchased another bundle of Center Mats which is a collection of pattern block cards, craft stick cards, pom pom cards, playdough cards, linking cube cards, and geoboard cards. These will be used as independent busy bags/boxes/trays.

I also purchased the Learning the Alphabet bundle from This Reading Mama.  She offers each letter for free, but I bought the expanded and update bundle and I'm so glad I did! There are quite a few worksheets and activities we will be using each week from that.

I organize Zeke's lessons weekly. I bought a banker's box and some hanging files. I labeled each file with the week and letter so I can easily see which folder to grab. All of the worksheets I've printed out, I have placed in the correct weekly file. I'm also going to be putting extra craft templates, fingerplays and songs, and other flat activities, including our Morning Board posters, that go along with each week's theme. This keeps things all in one place, easy to find, and difficult to forget. I'm planning ahead about five weeks at a time since the curriculum does 4 letters a week with a 5th week review week.

I also have a smaller file box that I'm keeping some of his hands-on activities organized in - letter and number wheels, playdough mats, and pattern block cards. This way I won't be always looking for the resource I need.

I also have a cube shelf with four large cubes that contain Zeke's other resources like pattern blocks, linking cubes, counters, puzzles, and other things like that. I actually need to go through it and purge a few things as well as organize a few things a bit better. My laminator stays on top because I use it all the time.

If you need some busy bag ideas, I have lots of busy bags in my Etsy shop! I'm also creating busy box digital files that you can use to make your own busy boxes. Zeke loves short and independent activities and I know I'll be depending on these quite a bit this school year - which is coming up so soon!

How do you organize your tot school resources?