May 6, 2013

What are some Montessori inspired tot trays that will teach my toddler about spring?

Our toddler school for these two weeks is all about spring. Spring has been brimming all around us and this was a great way for Smiley Man to have some toddler school activities that were related to all the spring changes around us. Without further ado, here are the spring tot trays.

Smiley Man is 23 months old.

Button Snake

Well, this one I never actually made. :( I was really excited about it, but the past few weeks have been crazy and somehow I didn’t realize this one was missing until Cassidy and I were taking pictures of the tot trays. Instead I will provide you with some awesome links that show you how to make a button snake. Awesome tutorial here, another great tutorial here, and a button snake here that you can buy from etsy.

Torn Paper Sun

To see instructions for this activity check out our paper candy corn and pumpkin craft. We did this one the same way, but with a circle outline for the sun and yellow and orange construction paper.

Vertical Flower Puzzle

I made a flower with construction paper and it covered three playdough containers when they were stacked. The tray just had the play-doh containers and Smiley had to stack them in the right order to make the flower.

Flowers in Ice Cube Tray

I got these flowers and the cute ice cube tray from the dollar store. I just pulled the flowers off of their stems and Smiley Man practiced his one-to-one correspondence and put one flower into each ice cube tray opening. By the way, the ice cube tray openings look like flowers so of course that made me feel extra clever. ;)

Flower Arranging

I was worried Smiley Man wouldn’t be interested in this tray because he is a ball and bugs kind of boy, but this ended up being his favorite tray of all! I got the flowers from the dollar store and cut each flower so it had its own stem. Then I put them on a tray with some Styrofoam. Smiley Man loved putting the flowers into the Styrofoam!

Shape Activity 5

(Each shape activity is only on the tray for one week. The rest of the activities are on the trays for two weeks. That means I go through two shape activity, but only one of all the other activities.)

2 Part Shape Puzzles

Shape Activity 6

Cut and Paste Shapes

Spring Tot Book

I read this book at least once during the time that these trays are out. If Smiley Man uses this tray while I am working with Little Bear, he can color the pictures or just look at the pictures as he turns the pages. I do not in any way expect Smiley Man to learn how to read by looking at this book. This book is simply for exposure to words and letters and concepts of print.

Printables

Flower 2 part puzzles (Spring tot pack page 10), Coloring Flowers (Spring tot pack pages 11-13).

Featured Toy

Pop Up Animals

Themed Books

It’s Spring! by: Susan Swan

Mouse’s First Spring by: Lauren Thompson

Marley: Marley Springs Ahead by: John Grogan

Spring is Here! by: Heidi Pross Gray

Water Painting Rain

This tot tray had a picture on blue construction paper with clouds at the top and flowers at the bottom. There was also a small container of water and a paintbrush. The idea is to paint rain onto the picture using the water.

Muffin Tin and Bugs

On the tot tray was a muffin and several bugs, frogs, and butterflies. This was another tray for Smiley to practice one-to-one correspondence. Smiley took the objects and put one into each opening in the muffin tin.

I am so excited about how much Smiley Man is learning. We have only been doing toddler school since January and already Smiley has learned so much about one-to-one correspondence, colors, shapes, and his fine motor skills have improved dramatically. I am so grateful for the Montessori inspired materials that we use and for the fact that I know my toddler will be ready for school when that time comes. Have your toddlers been learning as much as mine?

We've found some fun people with great linky parties. You might just see this post linked up on one of these amazing sites! Link and Learn from No Time for Flashcards Sunday Showcase from Train Up a Child Share it Saturday from Teach Beside Me Tot School Gathering Place from 1+1+1=1 Montessori Monday from Living Montessori Now Tuesday Tots from In Lieu of Preschool Show and Tell from ABC & 123 For the Kids Fridays from Sun Scholars Finished Friday from All Our Days Weekly Kids Co-op from Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails Preschool & Kindergarten Corner from Homeschool Creations TGIF Linky Party from 123 Homeschool 4 Me

April 1, 2013

What are some Montessori tot trays I can do with my toddler for tot school that have a space theme?

Both sets of our tot trays in March were for holidays (St. Patrick’s Day and Easter), so it was exciting to put together some tot trays that weren’t related to a holiday. We did a space theme for tot school and I have to say, these were some of my favorite trays to put together. I’m pretty sure they were some of Smiley Man’s favorite tot trays too. He loves them!

Smiley Man is 23 months old.

Nuts and Bolts

I got two sets of nuts and bolts (they were a dollar each at our hardware store) and put them on the tray. I also put some pictures of spaceships on this tray. The idea is that Smiley Man uses the nuts and bolts to make a spaceship or to repair the spaceships. He loves playing with this tray.

Transfer “planets” onto “Space”

This tray has a bowl with 8 pokey balls in it. Smiley Man uses tongs to transfer the “planets” onto a piece of black construction paper that is supposed to look like space. Smiley Man loves using the tongs, but he also loves just playing with the pokey balls. The texture is fascinating to him.

Clip Planet Clothespins onto a Bowl

This tray has 8 clothespins, each with a different planet taped to it. I got the printable for the planets here (It’s the Planet Coloring Page & Handout near the bottom). Smiley Man is supposed to clip each clothespin onto the bowl. This tot tray is pretty tricky for Smiley Man because he doesn’t really know how to do clothespins yet. He is learning though and before I know it, my toddler will be an expert with clothespins.

Pasta Hide and Seek

This tot tray has a container full of pasta. In the pasta are some pictures of planets and stars. The planets are from the same printable that I used for the clothespins. I also found a bunch of stars which I put into a printable. You can get it here. Smiley is supposed to pull the pictures out one at a time and sort them into two piles (planets and stars). The sorting only happens if I am doing this activity with Smiley Man, but my toddler still loves just finding the planets and stars all by himself.

Stars on Skewers

The stars are from this printable. I printed them, laminated them, then used a hole punch and punched three holes in the center. I punched three holes so that the hole would be a little bigger. The tot tray also has two skewers (painted black to look like space) stuck in some playdough. Smiley Man is supposed to pick up the stars and put them on the skewers.

Shape Activities

(Each shape activity is only on the tray for one week. The rest of the activities are on the trays for two weeks. That means I go through two shape activity, but only one of all the other activities.)

Shape Sensory Bin

 

Decorating Shapes

Space Tot Book

I read this book at least once during the time that these trays are out. If Smiley Man uses this tray while I am working with Little Bear, he can color the pictures or just look at the pictures as he turns the pages. I do not in any way expect Smiley Man to learn how to read by looking at this book. This book is simply for exposure to words and letters and concepts of print.

Printables

Space Cutting Practice (Space tot pack page 5), Coloring Planets (Space tot pack page 11).

Featured Toy

Echo microphone. We have had this toy for a few years now, but it continues to be a favorite with both of my boys. I thought it was perfect for our Space tot school because your voice sounds alien when talking into it. Brilliant, right? ;)

Themed Books

• Little Kids First Big Book of Space
• What’s out There?
• If You Decide to Go to the Moon
• Smart Kids Space

 

Constellation Sandpaper and Yarn

I made these “constellations” by hot gluing some plastic gems onto sandpaper. My “constellations” are just basic shapes (square, rectangle, triangle, and diamond). This was a great way to get some extra shape practice in. I cut a bunch of small pieces of yarn. Smiley is supposed to put the yarn on the sandpaper to “complete” the constellation.

Glass Gems in Wipes Container

I planned on decorating the diaper wipes container so it looked more space-y, but that never happened. Luckily, Smiley Man still loves this tot tray. He simply puts the glass gems into the opening. When all the gems are inside, he opens the wipes container, dumps them out, and starts over again. We have done this with milk caps before so this is not a new game to Smiley Man, but this is the first time we have done it with glass gems and Smiley appreciated the  novelty.

We've found some fun people with great linky parties. You might just see this post linked up on one of these amazing sites! Link and Learn from No Time for Flashcards Sunday Showcase from Train Up a Child Share it Saturday from Teach Beside Me Tot School Gathering Place from 1+1+1=1 Montessori Monday from Living Montessori Now Tuesday Tots from In Lieu of Preschool Show and Tell from ABC & 123 For the Kids Fridays from Sun Scholars Finished Friday from All Our Days Weekly Kids Co-op from Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails Preschool & Kindergarten Corner from Homeschool Creations TGIF Linky Party from 123 Homeschool 4 Me

March 18, 2013

What are some Easter themed tot trays for my toddler’s school?

Smiley Man is 22 months old.

With Easter so early this year, March is full of holiday stuff. I usually only do holiday-themed tot trays once a month (I change the tot trays every two weeks), but with Easter coming up so soon, I had to do the Easter trays right after the St. Patrick’s Day trays. That means that there will be no holiday trays in April, but I’m sure Smiley Man won’t mind. He loves doing tot school and I am constantly amazed by what he can accomplish. I usually think a tot tray will be too hard for my young toddler, but then he’ll impress me and be able to do it. Plus, he really likes having his own “school” to do. I think it makes him feel very important.

Erasers on counting Sheet

This tray had a math sticker sheet and some Easter erasers. I got the sticker sheet from Confessions of a Homeschooler. It’s on her Math Printables page and it’s called 1-10 sticker sheet. I printed it at 130% so that the squares would be big enough for the erasers that I bought from the dollar store. To complete this activity, Smiley Man simply puts one eraser on each square. He only did numbers 1-4.

Markers to Color Easter Egg Coloring Sheet

This tot tray had markers and an Easter egg coloring sheet. The main activity is opening and closing the markers (it’s a great fine motor skill), but Smiley Man doesn’t know that. :) He just likes coloring with markers.

Easter Magnets

I found a pack of these awesome Easter magnets from the dollar store and knew they would be perfect for tot school. I opened the package, put a few magnets on a metal cookie sheet and Smiley Man enjoyed the magnets immensely.

Spoon Jellybeans into an Egg Carton

This tot tray was supposed to be very simple. Smiley Man was supposed to spoon jelly beans into an empty egg carton. He did well with it until he wanted to eat a jellybean (which was basically right away). Eventually I just replaced the jellybeans with regular beans and the activity went much better.

Stickers

This tray has some Easter stickers from the dollar store and a blank piece of paper. I did have to help Smiley Man get the backing off some of the stickers, but he still really liked this tray.

Color Game 11

(Each color game is only on the tray for one week. The rest of the activities are on the trays for two weeks. That means I go through two color games, but only one of all the other activities.)

Bubble Painting

 

Color Game 12

Rainbow Puzzle Color Game

Easter Tot Book

I read this book at least once during the time that these trays are out. If Smiley Man uses this tray while I am working with Little Bear, he can color the pictures or just look at the pictures as he turns the pages. I do not in any way expect Smiley Man to learn how to read by looking at this book. This book is simply for exposure to words and letters and concepts of print.

Printables

Easter Egg 2 part puzzles (Easter tot pack page 5), Matching Puzzle (Easter tot pack page 13).

Featured Toy

Playdough. Smiley Man always wants to play with playdough so I thought putting it on a tot tray would be a perfect excuse to play with it more. Smiley Man asks to play with this tray a lot. It may be his favorite tray which is nice because it was the easiest to put together. I just put two playdough containers on the tray!

Themed Books

• Easter Bugs by: David A. Carter
• Max’s Easter Surprise by: Rosemary Wells
• Bright Baby Touch and Feel Easter Board Book by: Roger Priddy
• Duck & Goose, Here Comes the Easter Bunny! by Tad Hills
• Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin by: Lloyd Moss (this one isn’t Easter themed, but it is one of Smiley’s favorites)

Popsicle Stick Easter Puzzle

This tot tray has a popsicle stick Easter puzzle. Here is a great tutorial for making one. I found the image by searching Easter eggs on Google images and I used my homemade mod podge to make the puzzle.This puzzle was definitely too hard for Smiley to do on his own, but he loves playing with popsicle sticks so this tray was still a hit.

Decorate Post-It Note Eggs

I drew a bunch of egg outlines on post-it notes and stuck them to Smiley Man’s tot tray. I also included crayons and stickers on the tray. This was another fun way for Smiley to decorate Easter eggs. I also like it because it took some fine motor skills and extra concentration to color on the post-it notes.

We've found some fun people with great linky parties. You might just see this post linked up on one of these amazing sites! Link and Learn from No Time for Flashcards Sunday Showcase from Train Up a Child Share it Saturday from Teach Beside Me Tot School Gathering Place from 1+1+1=1 Montessori Monday from Living Montessori Now Tuesday Tots from In Lieu of Preschool Show and Tell from ABC & 123 For the Kids Fridays from Sun Scholars Finished Friday from All Our Days Weekly Kids Co-op from Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails Preschool & Kindergarten Corner from Homeschool Creations TGIF Linky Party from 123 Homeschool 4 Me

March 4, 2013

How can I make my toddler’s Montessori inspired tot trays St. Patrick’s Day themed?

Smiley Man is 22 months old.

We love tot trays!!! Seriously, I cannot say this enough. It is the perfect “homeschool” to do with my toddler. Our trays are all about playing, but Smiley Man thinks he is doing work just like his big brother. So far, Smiley has loved all of the activities and trays that he has done. This St. Patrick’s Day set of trays is no different. I got almost all of the materials from around my house or from the dollar store. Smiley Man definitely isn’t ready for school, but he is a toddler that likes to be involved. Check out his awesome tot trays and hopefully they will give you some ideas for your tot school.

Erasers on Pencils

Smiley Man put green and yellow erasers onto the ends of pencils.

Open and Close Containers

This tray has a bunch of containers to open and close. A few, but not all, of the containers have a piece of gold in them. The gold makes this tray very exciting to Smiley.

Matching Cards

I printed off these St. Patrick’s Day Matching cards, cut them out and laminated them. All of the cards go on the tray along with a cup or bowl. Smiley Man matches a set of cards, and then puts them into the bowl. I make sure to only have 2-3 types of pictures on the tray at a time, but if your child is older, use as many cards on the tray as you see fit.

Golf Tee in Styrofoam

Use golf tees to cover the shamrock that is colored onto the Styrofoam. We did a similar activity when we did our Valentine’s tot trays and Smiley Man loved it so I knew I had to think of a similar activity for St. Patrick’s Day.

Fold Washcloths

I got some green washcloths from the dollar store. They were unfolded on the tot tray and Smiley folded them. I demonstrate each of these trays before Smiley Man does them, but this one took a bit extra demonstration. He’s getting it though. :)

Color Game 9

(Each color game is only on the tray for one week. The rest of the activities are on the trays for two weeks. That means I go through two color games, but only one of all the other activities.)

Here is a link to the full post.

Color Game 10

Here is a link to the full post.

St. Patrick’s Day Tot Book

I read this book at least once during the time that these trays are out. If Smiley Man uses this tray while I am working with Little Bear, he can color the pictures or just look at the pictures as he turns the pages. I do not in any way expect Smiley Man to learn how to read by looking at this book. This book is simply for exposure to words and letters and concepts of print.

Printables

St. Patrick’s Day Tot Pack: St. Patrick’s Day Matching (pg. 18), Shape Tracing (pg. 19)

Featured Toy

Wooden ABC Blocks

Themed Books

St. Patrick’s Day Touch and Feel Board Book

St. Patrick’s Day by Ann Rockwell

The Night Before St. Patrick’s Day by Natasha Wing

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover! by Lucille Colandro

Treasure Hunt

There are five gold coins and an empty green top hat. When Smiley Man chooses this tray, I take about 2 minutes to hide all 5 coins. I hide them in pretty obvious places and Smiley Man often watches me while I hide them, but he still LOVES this tray. He just finds the coins and puts them into the hat.

Pull Cup

I made our “pull cup” using a black cup from the dollar store and ribbon in all the colors of the rainbow also from the dollar store. I simply made some slits in the bottom of the cup using a very sharp knife. The slits are small, just barely big enough for the ribbon to fit through. There are six slits, one for each color of the rainbow. I cut each ribbon into a 12 inch piece, then pushed one end through a slit. Finally, I made a knot on the top and the bottom of the ribbon. I repeated with all the colors. To play this, start with all of the ribbon on the inside of the cup. Set the cup on the tray and have your toddler pull each ribbon until the knot on the bottom stops it. You’ll end up with a rainbow coming out of a pot of gold look. This is also a great activity to practice colors!

We've found some fun people with great linky parties. You might just see this post linked up on one of these amazing sites! Link and Learn from No Time for Flashcards Sunday Showcase from Train Up a Child Share it Saturday from Teach Beside Me Tot School Gathering Place from 1+1+1=1 Montessori Monday from Living Montessori Now Tuesday Tots from In Lieu of Preschool Show and Tell from ABC & 123 For the Kids Fridays from Sun Scholars Finished Friday from All Our Days Weekly Kids Co-op from Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails Preschool & Kindergarten Corner from Homeschool Creations TGIF Linky Party from 123 Homeschool 4 Me

February 18, 2013

What are some toddler school activities that have a ball theme?

This is our fourth set of Montessori inspired tot trays. Smiley Man (21 months) does tot school while I am doing homeschool preschool with Little Bear. So far, Smiley really loves these trays and I love it because they are getting my toddler ready for school. Hopefully you can find a few tray ideas and activity ideas for your preschool or toddler as you look at Smiley Man’s trays.

Ball Themed Tot Trays

2 Part Puzzles

Print off these 2 part ball puzzles. Put all of them or only a few puzzles on the tray. Smiley Man matched the two parts together and then put the puzzle into the container.

Round Sponges and Water

This was definitely one of Smiley Man’s favorite tot tray, but it was also the messiest. I filled one bowl halfway with water and added a drop of blue food coloring. I also put three circle sponges (to look like balls) and another empty bowl on the tray. I showed Smiley how to fill a sponge with water and then squeeze the water into the empty bowl. My toddler loved this activity so much! The mess was worth the fun he had. I do want to note that I kept this tray in the kitchen when it was not being used. Since Smiley’s tot trays belong on a bookshelf that sits on carpet, I didn’t want the tray on the bookshelf. :)

Color Match Spike Balls

Okay, these aren’t really balls, they are jacks, but they do kind of somewhat look a little like balls, right? I figured they were close enough for a toddler. I put four colors of jacks, two of each color on the tray. Smiley Man found a match, then set it to the side.

Bead Paper Towel Rolls onto Straws

There were two straws set in a small amount of play dough on this tray. There were also several paper towel rolls cut into “beads.” Smiley Man beaded the paper towel rolls onto the straws. This has been another favorite.

Numbered Cups and Spike Balls

This activity also uses jacks, not balls, but just use your imagination. ;) There were three cups numbered 1, 2, and 3. Smiley Man put the correct number of balls into each cup. He isn’t quite old enough to understand the concept of this game, but he loves the sound of the jacks when he puts them into the cup and he LOVES dumping them back out again.

Color Game 7

(Each color game is only on the tray for one week. The rest of the activities are on the trays for two weeks. That means I go through two color games, but only one of all the other activities.)

Here is the Color Game 7 post.

Color Game 8

Here is the Color Game 8 post.

Ball Tot Book

I read this book at least once during the time that these trays are out. If Smiley man uses this tray while I am working with Little Bear, he can color the pictures or just look at the pictures as he turns the pages. I do not in any way expect Smiley Man to learn how to read by looking at this book. This book is simply for exposure to words and letters and concepts of print.

Printables

I made this ball pit printable. I cut out the balls and gave Smiley Man a glue stick so he could glue the balls into the ball pit. I also printed off some ball coloring pages.

Featured Toy

This tray just had a bunch of balls from our toy collection. Since Smiley Man’s first word was “ball” and balls are practically his favorite thing in the universe, we have quite a collection of balls. He loved this tray.

Themed Books

We don’t really  have any ball books. Sorry. I just grabbed some books we haven’t done on a tray yet.

• Dinosaur Roar!
• Fly Guy Vs. the Flyswatter
• The Berenstain’s B Book
• Read to Me

Here are some ball books:

• Balls
• A Ball for Daisy
• Ball

Pompom Stuff it in

I made this game using a small bowl with a lid that we used when Smiley Man still ate baby cereal and baby food. I simply cut some holes into the lid using a sharp knife. I put the bowl, with the lid on it, on the tray along with several pompoms. Smiley puts the pompoms into the holes and then he dumps them out and does it again.

Sensory Bottle

I made this sensory bottle using a Perfect (that’s the brand) water bottle. I added water, corn syrup, 1 drop blue food coloring, and a bunch of things that looked like balls (beads, pompoms, small bouncy balls, etc.) In hind sight, I think I should have added a bit more corn syrup (I added about 1 ½ Cups) and maybe a bit of glitter. Smiley does love the sensory bottle though.

Be sure to check out our other Tot School Posts:

• Winter Themed Tot Trays
• Valentine Themed Tot Trays
• Car Themed Tot Trays

We've found some fun people with great linky parties. You might just see this post linked up on one of these amazing sites! Link and Learn from No Time for Flashcards Sunday Showcase from Train Up a Child Share it Saturday from Teach Beside Me Tot School Gathering Place from 1+1+1=1 Montessori Monday from Living Montessori Now Tuesday Tots from In Lieu of Preschool Show and Tell from ABC & 123 For the Kids Fridays from Sun Scholars Finished Friday from All Our Days Weekly Kids Co-op from Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails Preschool & Kindergarten Corner from Homeschool Creations TGIF Linky Party from 123 Homeschool 4 Me