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Welcome to Tot School 2.0! We’re so excited to share our Christmas preschool activities and read alouds with you in our Tot School Unit: Holly, Jolly Christmas!
Why 2.0? Well, this is our second round of Tot School here at the Oakleaf Academy for Boys. And, to be honest, I didn’t think I’d do it again.
When I first made the decision to homeschool, I wasn’t sure it was something I would do long term. But after teaching in preschools and early education private schools, I knew I wanted something different for my kids than your run of the mill, spit ‘em out ready for Kindergarten program.
However, I didn’t think I was cut out to be the one to do it. But I was determined to give it a try, so I spent hours researching preschool teaching methods and curriculum until I stumbled upon a Reggio Emilia Inspired School.
It was incredible. Kids painting with acrylics, building with real wood working materials, and engineering with clay and natural materials. I saw what a child was capable of doing when someone believed they could, and I was forever changed.
“Children want to be sparked like flames, not filled like barrels.”
Heraclitus
A Child’s Tale – Adventures in Living Literature
Are you looking for a family style preschool curriculum that you can use independently or alongside your older kids without the overwhelm of trying to do it all? Try a FREE WEEK of my new Charlotte Mason inspired preschool curriculum before it launches, and get an exclusive discount!
The idea that kids are not only capable, but that their natural curiosity and wonder are sparks to be ignited rather than impulses to be stamped out is what’s missing from traditional schooling. When you have to teach to a test, there isn’t much room for imagination and play.
Newly inspired, I set out to recreate the Reggio schools in my home. I planned and prepped beautiful provocations based around great works of children’s literature and documented every milestone along the way.
I fell in love with teaching as I watched my oldest son blossom while creating, imagining, and exploring his world in a place where he could hear the word “yes” rather than the constant “no” he was used to getting from adults.
His preschool year was full of beauty and wonder, but the messy loose parts, constant prep, and endless documentation became too much for me to keep up with, and I burned out.
Once again I dived into my research, looking for another path forward. I didn’t want to lose the open ended education that we’d begun to build, but with a second little guy in tow, I needed to let it be easy.
It was around this time that I discovered minimalism, and as I purged the clutter from my home, I decided to get rid of the fluff in our curriculum as well.
I discovered Charlotte Mason, and as I read her ideas about living literature, I realized how much my kids were learning simply by my reading to them.
It’s not that what I was doing was wrong. It was just too much of a good thing.
They didn’t need three activities a day to reinforce what they were learning. They would make the connections themselves when allowed to discover them through simple, playful learning.
Another idea that I adopted from Charlotte Mason was to delay formal education until age six or when the child begins to show interest in deeper learning. So as preschool turned into Pre-K, and Pre-K into Kindergarten, we continued a gentle education, but made small shifts into more academic pursuits by adding in early phonics and math.
Because they are so close in age, this delay in formal education meant that my middle son has always been happy joining in my oldest boy’s preschool activities when they inspire him, and doing his own thing when they don’t. I didn’t see the need to do tot school with him because I was letting him lead in his learning.
So why start again now?
There are two reasons:
- I have a 2 year old who isn’t able to do many of the activities his older siblings are now engaged in, yet he desperately wants to be included. And if he’s showing an interest in learning, I want to meet that need.
- I need to keep this same precocious 2 year old busy while I’m teaching my older boys.
This time around I’m keeping it super simple with one intentional, play based learning activity each day. I’m going to let the literature do most of the teaching while the activities build crucial thinking and motor skills.
Each activity is adapted from my preschool curriculum A Child’s Tale – Adventures in Living Literature, which I’m using with my middle guy for his Pre K homeschool curriculum this year. That way I’m not adding to my day. I’m simply going to let my little guy join in with what we’re already doing at his own level.
A Child’s Tale is broken down into seasonal studies consisting of 12 weeks each. This week of our winter unit focuses on Christmas preschool activities and read alouds!
I’m so excited to have you along on this journey! Whether you’re a first time homeschool mom trying to ease into teaching your child, or you’re an old pro just trying to connect with your littlest each day, I hope this curriculum truly blesses your family!
A Winter Inspired Preschool Unit About Christmas!
Monday:
Read Aloud: Duck and Goose Find A Pumpkin – Tad Hills
Activity: Pumpkin Volcano
Cut the top off a small pumpkin, hollow out the inside and put some baking soda inside the pumpkin. Let your child slowly add vinegar to the pumpkin and watch it erupt! For a little more spooky fun, you can add a few drops of food coloring (we like green) to the baking soda.
Take it Further: Ask your child to guess how many pumpkin seeds are inside before you hollow out the pumpkin. Discuss the parts of the pumpkin as you cut it open. Then count the seeds you remove!
Tuesday:
Read Aloud: The Little Scarecrow Boy – Margaret Wise Brown
Activity: Family Movie Time!
Make a simple Halloween Monster Munch by mixing Vanilla Chex, chocolate chips, candy corn, Reese’s Pieces, and Popcorn or Pretzels.
Watch It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
Wednesday:
Read Aloud: Apples and Pumpkins – Anne Rockwell
Activity: Carve a Jack-O-Lantern
Carve a jack-o-lantern with your little!
Thursday:
Read Aloud: Little Blue Truck’s Halloween – Alice Schertle
Activity: Spiderweb Obstacle Course
Use toilet paper (or yarn, crepe paper streamers, etc.) to create an obstacle course for your child to work through. See an example on my Halloween Pinterest Board.
A Year of Tot School will be divided into 12 weeks of playful learning for each season of the year. For a total of 48 weeks. These Christmas preschool activities can be found in our winter series.
If you want to check out other tot school themes, you can find them all here!
A Child’s Tale – Adventures in Living Literature
Are you looking for a family style preschool curriculum that you can use independently or alongside your older kids without the overwhelm of trying to do it all? Try a FREE WEEK of my new Charlotte Mason inspired preschool curriculum before it launches, and get an exclusive discount!
If you love these Christmas preschool activities , pin them so you can come back to them again!
