Tot School: Letter I and Numbers

I am so far behind posting this that it's almost my turn to teach tot school again! This was over a month ago, but better late than never, right?

This time I taught Letter I and Numbers. I learned a lot about our kiddos last time and how they learn and felt like this lesson went a lot more smoothly. I also tried a few new things that we loved, and a few that we didn't. Here's our lesson plan - I hope it can help you!

Singing Time

• No More Monkeys Jumping on The Bed - what kid doesn't love this song? It was also a fun activity for getting the wiggles out. I would have them hold up their fingers for each number and shout the number and they got really excited about it.

Story Time

• Ten Apples Up on Top - This was their favorite book! I think it helped that we read it during snack time, but we ended up reading it a couple times. It's a short, easy counting book. And I made flannel characters and felt apples and they got to act out the story. 

Download the felt pattern here

• Chicka Chicka 123 - It was a cute book and they enjoyed chanting along! I think we could have done just the chanting part again if there would have been time. If you like Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, this is a great companion to add to your library.
• Very Hungry Caterpillar - Another fun counting book. We read through this one and then did Do-A-Dot marker caterpillars. I did a separate post about Do-A-Dots back here because the kiddos loved them so very much. They are awesome!

Download the Do-A-Dot cards here

Letter I Activities/Crafts

• Flannel board words that start with I - who knew it was so hard to come up with words that start with I? I used ice cream, iguana, igloo, island, insect, indian, and iron man. I got my images from Clipart Panda but I'm not sure they are truly "copyright free" so I'm not going to share my collection. I suggest using that site though because it's easy to search for what you're looking for, just to use for your own personal use.
• Decorating Ice Cream cones - I learned last time that the kiddos really like glue! We also learned that we put the dots and let them put stuff ON the dots instead of just giving them the bottle. I cut cones, scoops, cherries, and "sprinkles" out of colored construction paper and they got to glue together their ice cream cones. This one was really popular.

Download ice cream patterns here

Number Activities/Crafts

• Flannel board counting scoops of ice cream - This was a fun and easy one! We just put a cone out and then they could stack scoops and we counted how many. 

Because laying down and sticking out your tongue makes it easier.

• Apples On Top playdoh mats - They were supposed to roll playdoh into little "apples" and stack them on the characters heads. This one didn't work very well. They all just kind of played with the playdoh. Maybe for older kiddos? Also, laminate these cards. I didn't (ran out of time) and it made them not-so-reusable.

  

  Download Apples on Top playdoh mats

• Pom Poms counting bowls - This one was also not a success. It was just paper bowls with a number and that many black dots. They were supposed to put that many poms into each bowl. Instead they just kind of poured poms from bowl to bowl. Maybe an activity for older kids.
  

Next up, Letter O and Opposites! Stay tuned.