January Toddler Home School

Our toddler home school focus for the month of January will be snow.  My 20 month toddler says snow but it sounds more like she is saying nose (too cute).  I always use the top of our book shelf (pictured above) to feature seasonal or themed books, toys, or activities.  I like to display the books with book stands and matching stuffed animals to draw my toddler in!  Each month, or when I change our home school focus, I change the display.  This gives our home school area a fresh look every few weeks and keeps my toddler engaged with new items!

As you may see from the picture above one of the books on display is "Snowballs by Lois Ehlert."  Lois Ehlert is one of my favorite children's author!  She has many wonderful books with great paper cut-out illustrations.  This book is definitely worth checking out at the library or purchasing for your home library.  Not only does this book feature fictional text but also some non-fiction elements, located in the back of the book!

A goal I have this month is to incorporate a fine motor activity with cotton balls and tongs (tweezers or clothes pin).  The cotton balls could represent snowballs for our snow theme!  I am looking for some great ideas if you would like to share.  I have come across one idea found here.

The best way for my toddler to learn about snow is to actually EXPERIENCE it!  So of course we will be having lot's of opportunity this winter to have some play time in the snow.  Some play items include a sled, buckets, small shovels/plastic tools, and cookie/play-dough cutters.

In my December Toddler Home School post I mentioned that musical toys were on our Christmas list.  Grandma and papa helped that come true!!  We received a wonderful (pleasant sounding) set that we use daily!  I have paired the musical toys with a CD player for tons of music fun.

And a big THANK YOU to our friends at "Living and Learning at Home".  Who gave us a wonderful wire puzzle rack!  This was added right to our home school area for a now complete puzzle center!  My toddler has shown more interest in dumping the pieces then actually doing the puzzles but I do keep them accessible to her in hopes that she will soon show more interest!  If you would like to  learn more about the benefits of puzzles check out this article, "The 5 Benefits of Puzzles for Kids."

These are just some of the activities we will be focusing on this month!  Please check back each month as I feature new items added to our toddler home school!  I count it a privilege to be my daughter's teacher!  What a joy it is to see her learn and grow!

Happy Homeschooling!

(This month I will also be featuring a short blog series titled, "Snow Much Fun!"  Please check back to get snow themed activities to use in your home!)