Tot School

After a few more camera issues (see previous post) I've finally gotten caught up with  school posts.  Because of said camera issues, I have only a few pictures to go with, but I do have a few things to share, never the less.

For Silas, in preschool, this week has been all about Farm Yard Tales Alphabet Lotto.  I believe I've mentioned before how OBSESSED he's been with letters, particularly sounds.  Not a morning or afternoon or evening goes by without him saying to me, "Mama! Mama!  Vvvv starts with Vest!".  He's so excited to have found a connection, it's cute and it's fun, and I love it.  We tried to play this game before, but I wasn't prepared (as in hadn't read the instructions first!) and he quickly lost interest.  A few weeks later I brought it out again, and now he requests playing the "Alphabet game" instead of reading a story before bed (usually we do both - quickly).

He's very familiar with Usborne's Farmyard Tales, we own the complete set.  I am an Usborne Books Consultant because I LOVE Usborne and this way I can earn free books with very little effort (two or so open houses a year).  He loves seeing familiar faces and objects from his books and he loves matching the pictures with their letters.  So far we've mostly just been using the cards, not so much the boards.  I think that's just cause when we match pairs together, we build roads out of them and stretch them out all over the floor or bed.

One other little share-worthy item I have is that our Tot School has moved.  Now that Oliver is sleeping in the same room as Silas, and I've created a family closet in our laundry room, I have more room in my bedroom.  I can have a more permanent location for tot/pre school things than on the kitchen table and I feel better organized.  I was really struggling trying to meet both my children's needs and I feel strongly that a major component of Tot School is one-on-one, focused time with mom and I was NOT getting that.  I see other moms doing Tot school together with their little ones, but I'm just not there.  I'm not sure if it's just the ages of my boys, or if it's something I'm doing, or just the way things are, but I decided that something needed to change so we could all enjoy it more.  

Now I stagger their naps on Tot School days (days we don't have any outside morning commitments) and it's been so much more peaceful and lovely.  Oliver goes to sleep shortly after noon and I spend 30-45 minutes with Silas in my bedroom.  Then I tuck him into bed and I have a bit of time to get supper prepped and a bit of time for tea and a book (I really whiz through supper lol!).  Then Ollie wakes up and we have Tot School until Silas wakes up.  It's been working really well, I'm so pleased!

Silas doesn't know it yet, but I'm creating a little "alone time" nook for him in our closet.  I'm not sure how or when I'm going to use it, just that I would like to start a bit of individual play time for the boys during our days.  It seems like the two of them get in ruts at certain times of the day and it would be beneficial for them both to have a few things to do separately for a half hour or so.  Silas would have access to his 'big boy toys' like his marble maze, library books or puzzles and Oliver would sit at the table and have a few age-appropriate activities of his own.  I may switch this up with a few toys in his crib and see how it goes.  In any case, once his little cubby is complete, I may post pictures as it will be intertwined with Tot School as well.

So that's been it for Tot School this week . . . please see this blog for some more specific, well-organized Tot School sessions!