Tot School – Hickory Dickory Dock

23 months

 

We have had a bit of a tot school break during December but since daddy returned to work this week, I thought we would restart. 

Luath has been pointing out numbers for months now and can recognise some of them. She is better at finding a number you ask for than telling you what a number is. She appears to have some number sense , she might point to something in a book and say there are two or three. Some days it appears that she can count, she frequently counts i.e. as she is popping bubble, but quite often she keeps going until she gets to 5 or 6  (no matter how few or many).  She has rote learned counting up to about 20, and cutely has decided that fifteen is fiveteen (makes sense really!) and loves counting backward from 5 and then shouting blast off.  I thought that since she seems to enjoy numbers we would look at 1-10 (and maybe 0) over the next few weeks, more from a recognising/pre reading approach.

As Luath loves nursery rhymes I thought I would continue using a nursery rhyme theme as I did some weeks last year.  This week we had fun with Hickory Dickory Dock and the number one.  As with most tot school weeks our activities evolved over the week, often some derived from other things we were doing. Some we did often and for a long time, others once and for a short time. 

I gathered toys and books with numbers featured.  I plan to keep these out while we look at numbers over the next few weeks.  The toys I placed in a box and the books onto a bookshelf both in our living room.


We had some toys and books more linked into this weeks theme.  I selected books that featured a mouse/mice – any excuse to bring out the Gruffalo story and puppet.
       

We played with the toys and read lots of the books during the week.


We made a clock (or a tick tock as Luath often likes to call it) by covering a cardboard box and drawing a clock.  Luath helped with the cutting and the sticky tape.  She also did some colouring on the clock.  We had fun acting out the rhyme having the mouse run up and down the clock.


While we had some crayons out I drew and wrote the number one in English and Gaelic.  I also made a number one.
 

We took number ones for a wagon ride.


I made a very quick lacing card using some cardboard packaging.  I drew a number one on the card and then using a pencil made some holes along the lines. We then used a shoelace.  Luath required some help with this, mainly to remind her to use both hands, otherwise the lace kept falling out of the hole she was working on.
 

We have two planks of wood that we often use for indoor play for many different activities.  I laid them out in the shape of a number one for us to walk along.


I built a train track number one from cardboard – it was very quick so the track was a bit squint.  We had fun driving Thomas number one engine around it.


We played number 1 eye spy often.  It was mostly me pointing out 1s on signs, cars, metal works.

Other things this week included
Lots of bubbles

Making chocolate trees

Having breakfast with Winnie the Pooh and friends.
 
Story time in the “Hundred Acre woods”
 
Lots of hiding indoors and outdoors.
 
See what other tot school is happening this week at 1+1+1=1