Supply Storage

I've been blessed with a house that has ample storage. Closets in every room and a big basement to store all the things!

Art:

I have a shelf and some floor space in my living room closet where I store all of my art supplies for Moo and myself. Her paint, paper, crayons, markers, stampers are all on a shelf so anyone who opens it know where it's at. I'd like to get all of this moved to her bedroom closet.

Sensory Play:

Sensory play items go into ziplock baggies and get dumped into a plastic shoe box I bought at Dollar Tree when it's being played with. When we're done, the sensory activity goes back in it's ziplock bag. This is all in the floor of the living room closet.

Blocks:

I use an old zippered sheet bag to store some mega blocks for Moo to have out to play. If it's a certain color we're working on I can divide them out and put the rest in their bag in the closet.

All little people toy people stay out all the time in their own plastic shoe box bought at Dollar Tree.

I alternate Moo's little people play sets (store them when not being used in the basement) so she: 

1.) Is not overwhelmed by having too many toys out at once

2.) I can better plan their use

3.) It's like a brand new toy for her when I bring them out

Manipulatives/Books:

Moo has two sets of closet maid cubes that her these things are put out for her to play with and use. 

Additional books are in a bookshelf in her closet which she cannot get in to. I try to put out books that pertain to our theme for the week. She also likes to add books. ;)

Dramatic Play/Manipulatives/Music:

I have 2 leftover plastic 3 drawer plastic storage containers from Moo's nursery. I use 2 drawers for dress up, 2 drawers for puzzles, and 1 drawer that holds music items.

Baby dolls and their accessories are in the corner of her room and her kitchen is up against one wall in her room with a Dollar Tree laundry basket to store food/plates/utensils.

Some of these items also end of the the cube storage.

Other odds and ends:
Moo also has a small table in her room to do activities. 

I do not keep art supplies out for her to play with at any time. If I did, I'd have crayon and marker everywhere. The only art supply she can get is Play-doh. She's pretty good at keeping it confined to her table and not eating it.

All toys are in her room. We do not have a playroom and I do not store any in my living room anymore. She may drag some things out, but we move them right back to her room and the end of the night.

How do you guys store things? Leave me a comment below!

Lesson Plan Previews

I had a few months of lesson plans on my computer until I got a virus on it and forgot to move them over to my external so I'm pretty much back to square one. I did have two lesson plans on my external that I can share with you until I get June's lessons up.

Enjoy and free feel to edit!
Blue Theme
Transportation Theme

Welcome!

Welcome to Tot School at Home!

Here you can find easy to follow lesson plans for your toddler. All lesson plans can be modified to accommodate any age or abilities you have at home.

A little about me:
I'm a stay at home mom to my almost 2 1/2 year old daughter, Moo!
I worked in childcare for almost 10 years before having her with children ranging in age from 6 weeks to 5 years old.
I have my Early Childhood Credentials and a certificate in Infant, Toddlers, and Twos.

I started doing lesson plans for my daughter at the end of February 2014. We were in desperate need of some routine throughout our day.  Since then, her speech has greatly improved, she's learned all of her colors, can recognize some shapes and letters, and her temperament has improved now that we have communication going on.

Some questions I've been asked about my lesson plans:
Q: Do you follow a curriculum?
A: I do a mixture of learning through play and Wee Learn. I have used both in the past and saw wonderful results from them. Learning through Play touches on Active Play, Language/Literacy Development, Art/Exploration, Imaginative Play, Music & Movement, Interactive Play, Gross and Fine Motor skills, Manipulatives, Social Development, Cognitive Development, and Sensory-Motor Development.

Q: Where do you find your ideas?
A: Everywhere! Like I said before, I use to teach so I have a lot of things in my head. Pinterest is also a great place. When in doubt, just google! :)

Q: How much time do you devote a day to this?
A: Some days things don't go as planned. We may have things come up where we just don't get to what's on the plan and that's OKAY! I don't block out a certain time a day to get all of this done. Sometimes we're doing things right before bedtime to fill up some down time. Do what you can, when you can.

Q: How long do you do each activity?
A: This is completely child-led. Some days Moo is really into what we're doing and will sit up to 30 minutes doing an activity. Other days, she obliges me for 5 minutes and is done. You can always come back to an activity later on in the day or week.

Q: When do you do housework?
A: Not everything I have on my plans calls for me to be there the entire time Moo is doing it. I usually get her started and play with her for about 10 minutes and then go and wash dishes or move laundry over while she plays in her room and then come back

Q: How much money do you invest in this?
A: Very little! I try to find things around the house to use. If I am in need of something I head to a dollar store or the dollar sections at Walmart/Target and buy from there. I also try to think how I can use certain things in the future. (Ex: Blue Sensory Rice - Learn the color blue, use our senses to smell, touch, see, and hear what it does, can pretend it's the ocean, can hide sea animals in it)

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