Tot school this week is all about the letter S! I have no pictures of Henry this week, because he went straight from tot school co-op on Friday to a weekend at Grandma's. These materials will be out for the rest of the week, so I'm sure Hen will get plenty of work in.
On the first tray was a practical life scooping tray. The glass tray included two bowls, one filled with stars, and a metal spoon. Henry could then scoop the stars between the bowls. The spoon only allowed for one star per scoop so it took time and patience to complete.
The second tray was another practical life tray -- scissors practice. I had cut strips of thinner card stock and used a permanent marker to draw different shaped lines {straight, right slant, left slant}. On the tray I included some safety scissors and a small bucket for the clippings.
This was a really popular tray with the co-op kids. Although, it was a challenge for most of them. The scissors probably didn't help because you had to be very precise to cut the card stock without a blade.
The final tray was a counting activity. In the past when I've included counters, I've only included 10 so Henry could complete one card at a time. However, I feel like he is ready for more, so this time I wanted to included enough counters than Henry could do all the numbers at once. When I made the activity I laid it out and, wow, it was overwhelming.
Other activities included:
Strawberry Size Sorting: 6 different sized strawberries on a strawberry shaped dish. This was a big hit.
Magnet Sheet: Always lots of fun
Letter S sensory bin: I have a different project in mind so I want to keep doing these through the end of the alphabet, but I think Henry is over them. No matter how many cool things I put in them, he totally ignores them. {Then of course I write that, and he can't leave it alone while I take a picture!}
On the first tray was a practical life scooping tray. The glass tray included two bowls, one filled with stars, and a metal spoon. Henry could then scoop the stars between the bowls. The spoon only allowed for one star per scoop so it took time and patience to complete.
The second tray was another practical life tray -- scissors practice. I had cut strips of thinner card stock and used a permanent marker to draw different shaped lines {straight, right slant, left slant}. On the tray I included some safety scissors and a small bucket for the clippings.
This was a really popular tray with the co-op kids. Although, it was a challenge for most of them. The scissors probably didn't help because you had to be very precise to cut the card stock without a blade.
The final tray was a counting activity. In the past when I've included counters, I've only included 10 so Henry could complete one card at a time. However, I feel like he is ready for more, so this time I wanted to included enough counters than Henry could do all the numbers at once. When I made the activity I laid it out and, wow, it was overwhelming.
So, I turned to Instagram and got some fantastic advice from Montessorians. They suggested starting with only three cards and working up from there if Henry and the other kids were ready. I had the other cards and stars ready to go if need be, but turned out that only three was perfect for this age group!
Other activities included:
Strawberry Size Sorting: 6 different sized strawberries on a strawberry shaped dish. This was a big hit.
Magnet Sheet: Always lots of fun
Letter S sensory bin: I have a different project in mind so I want to keep doing these through the end of the alphabet, but I think Henry is over them. No matter how many cool things I put in them, he totally ignores them. {Then of course I write that, and he can't leave it alone while I take a picture!}
Velcro Star Block: This was an old project I did way back for the color yellow. It was great fine motor and practical life skill still and Henry loves when I bring it out!
Letter S shaping: This tray included a letter S and an s, and a couple of pipe cleaners. I also included an example S. Henry could then make a letter S out of his own. I was surprised how often Henry attempted this, not perfection, but he tried!
