Our Tot School Space

Sophie is 12 months.

We had our first "official" week of Tot School last week, and it was a lot of fun!  Since we traveled this weekend and everything was so new, we're keeping the same activities this week.  I'll share my specific activities later this week.

I'm really excited about our Tot School space.  We didn't have a spot in a room where I could close it off from her when we weren't using it, so I had to improvise!  I turned the corner of our living room into her Tot School corner and it is working out much better than I anticipated.  I was worried about being able to leave my activities out in a way that she couldn't get into them without my help or supervision, but also didn't want to haul them out every morning and put them away when we were done.  (I know myself...we would be much less likely to do Tot School that way!)

I brought out an old bookshelf we had that was the perfect size and made a curtain that I attached with velcro.  That way I can keep it covered up from curious little fingers (and mouths!) when we're not using it and my living room doesn't look more cluttered! I added her little book basket and rocking chair and we were good to go!

 

When I move the curtain you can see her Tot Trays, our sensory bin, and her puzzle.  I can also store her little coloring desk on the shelf.  

The laminated picture of Sophie is an idea I got from The Kavanaugh Report.  We will use this to talk about body parts (nose, eyes, etc.)  She loves looking at pictures of herself!  (This was the very first thing she went to on our first day of Tot School!)

I'm really happy with how the space turned out.  So far, she hasn't ventured to the shelf on her own (except for the book basket), but she goes right for it when I point to it and ask if she wants to "play Tot School" with me.  We'll see how long it is before I have to put the small pieces up!

I'm linking up this post (for the first time!) at Tot School Gathering Place at 1+1+1=1.