I have been hinting on social media for the last couple weeks that I'm starting a Montessori inspired tot school co-op with a few people in my area.
Well, the co-op starts Friday! And, I couldn't be more excited. Many of you may be asking: What exactly is a tot school co-op? For me, it means having the same group of children do tot school activities together regularly. It also means getting some help preparing activities that I don't do as frequently on my own.
I got this idea awhile ago, but I wasn't sure that anyone would be interested in joining me so I've sort of just been sitting on it. See, every time we have people over Henry asks if we can play at tot school. He loves learning with other kids. And, if there aren't kids around, Henry will still find someone to join him at tot school -- he is frequently joined by a baby doll, stuffed animals or his blankey.
I think it makes sense for kids to want this. Montessori stresses mixed age classrooms where children can teach younger kids and learn from older kids. I think learning with others seems to just come naturally to young children. Thankfully, a few of my close mom friends were really interested! Bonus, all the kids already are friends, so we don't have to worry about how they will work together.
We have decided to use my classroom for the classes, since I already prepare tot school materials regularly and have a prepared environment. We will mainly stay in my classroom because I figured if we stayed in a similar location every week the kids may have an easier time getting into the work.
We will meet every Friday for an hour and a half. There will be five children between the ages of two and three plus Henry. There will also be two babies under a year old. So, its going to be a full house. Their parents will stay the entire to time to help keep the peace and help their children work. Each week, different families will rotate bringing a snack for the group and a craft for the kids. We will also rotate to others houses for special themes that each family wants to host.
Each week, I will prepare tot school as I have since Henry was 12 months old. We will have special themes -- like our theme this week is Back to School -- for holidays and special occasions, but otherwise we will continue to work through the alphabet. We are going to start at letter R, since that's where I am with Henry, but then cycle through them all again once we reach letter Z.
My new classroom also has space for more traditional Montessori works {including the pink tower, practical life trays, etc} that I've either purchased or made. These will stay out for longer periods of time and be available during the co-op time for the kids to work with.
I'm so excited to see how it works!
Does anyone else run a Montessori, tot school, or preschool co-op? Anything I should anticipate? Any tips?
