The Letter of Day is B...

I truly believe that Gregg and I are our kids' teachers.  I mean, they will have tons of "real" teachers, but at the end of the day, I am responsible for my child's education.  I totally believe in public education and know that while I can't teach my child Algebra or grammar(in case you haven't noticed on this blog), I can encourage a love for learning.  I can give them all of the tools they need to be successful, assist in areas where they need help, and encourage like crazy along the way.  I feel like it is our job to give them the best shot at learning, so they can become whatever God wants them to be.  I also know that most of their character traits are learned by 5.  Wow, that is only 2.5 years left for C. 

Jenn Hill introduced us to Tot School.  It is a cool concept about teaching your children while you are playing with them, like most of us do anyway.  I love all of the ideas and how everyone can link to it so you can see what you child might be ready for or get an idea for your age child.  I also like that most of the things you can do are free and use things that you already have around the house.  I am really thankful for the ideas since Callie won't be going to preschool in the fall.  I think my favorite thing so far about doing Tot School is figuring out my kid's learning styles.  The way C is very hands on, more reserved, will sit longer if you involve something with wheels or take it outside.  Callie loves helping, coloring, pretend writing, and has a longer attention span if you involve singing.  I think this is our responsibility as parents to understand our kid's learning style, what motivates them, how they respond to different ways of teaching.  It is the only way you are going to understand what is happening in your child's classroom when the teacher calls with a concern. 

A couple of friends started Tot School with their little ones, so we decided to do a Tot School play date.  Our theme was B and Bugs.  We hope to do it again before the summer is over. 

Tear paper B collages

Dot Paint - our favorite

Buried Bears in ice to see how long it would take for them to melt and then counted the bears and sorted the colors.  They loved this esp. eating the ice.  We love our water table where the bears can slide down.          

Butterfly hotdogs

 Handprint Spiders

And dirt cake with bugs to find inside for dessert. 

Liam and Rayna LOVED this the best.