About Sprout School

I'll admit when I first heard the term "Tot School" I was intimidated. But then I read 1+1+1=1's Tot School Blog and discovered I was basically already holding Tot School. I just called it play time, art time, reading time, and so on.  The fantastic news is Tot School is what YOU make it.  It can be as intensive or as relaxed as you choose.  For us, it started by simply setting aside time in our day to specifically focus on our toddlers and has grown based on the interest and age of our littles.  We typically call our little one's sprouts not tots ... sooo ..."Tot" School Time is for us "Sprout" School Time.

What's the Difference in Sprout School Activities & WN Activities?
Simply put organization.  Many of our "Tot School" activities are WN Activities as well.  Our Wasting Nothing Activities are all in one easy activities anyone can try with the littles at home.  Tot school activities are as well.  However, the activities we do in tot school typically follow a weekly theme and sometimes build upon each other. 

Our Tot School Manifesto

It may seem a bit silly, but I made our little tot school a manifesto.  There is just something great to me about jotting down your guiding principles and posting them up somewhere.  I find it extremely helpful when scheduling activities and planning our time.  Drum roll please .....

Content Areas

Our approach to tot school largely informed by a Montessori/Reggio Emilia approach.   While we do plan learning activities structured around themes, concept and content area we are committed to child driven learning opportunities.  This makes our environment a critical part of our planning process.  The primary content areas we focus on are: the arts, sensorial play, practical life, math, science, language, and outdoor exploration.  ((click here to take a peak at how we define these content areas.)

Table Time

Table time is one of the cornerstones of our tot school day.  In a typical day, I plan to have 1 hour of structured table time.  I do not always hold table time in one lump some of time.  It is far more likely that I will plan either (2) 30 minute sessions or (2) 15minutes and (1) 30 minute session. During table time, I am specifically working to call the littles' attention to a specific activity, game or lesson. 

The Parameters
I set specific parameters around table time to increase the challenge.  One of the primary parameters is you must stay at the table.  This does not mean sitting in a chair.  It has been my experience that comfort is key to unlocking my littles' attention span.   If you feel like sitting in a chair, sitting on the ground or standing … do so.  The focus is engaging the littles in the activity not controlling how they approach the activity.

The Table
"Table Time" is really a concept more than an actual table.  We have a couple of locations we use for Table Time.  Sometimes it is at our large activity table.  Other times it is at the children's art table.   Another great spot for "table time" is on a large blanket outside.  Table could also easily happen in a sandbox, at a sensory table, or sitting around sensory bin.

Demonstration vs. Instruction

We love to work on following instructions as a part of our courtesy and grace skill building.   However, at this stage in the game it is not our primary teaching method.  I have found that following a play based approach demonstrating lessons and allowing the littles to watch an adapt their own method of accomplish learning objectives is the most successful approach for us.