January Tot School Plans & Supplies

We are diving into our first official month of tot school for 2016 and the next three weeks are all about Winter, Snow, & Penguins.

We are finally seeing some wintery weather around these parts and the dreaded frigid temperatures. Boy how I wish we could stay inside every day and only go out if we wanted to, not because we are sometimes obligated to. If you are new,  you can check out our Gearing Up for Tot School Post which tells you all about the themes we plan to use this year, as well as some important information on how you to can start tot school  with your child/children. You can also snag several free printable files to help make managing tot school easier for you.

Each month we will share our weekly themes with you. At the end of each week we plan to do a weekly recap of the activities from that week.  We will be checking in on Facebook and Instagram all throughout the week to share the fun we are up to so be sure to hop over and follow us to get a sneak peek at all our activities.

We are so excited to get started with this years themes and look forwarding to having you follow along and participate with us. JANUARY will be all about winter, snow, and penguin themed activities. I use Pinterest for planning so many of our activities can be found on our themed boards: Winter For Kids and Penguins. You can download our plans in pdf form by clicking on any of the pictures below or by clicking HERE.

For each theme, I plan out all of our activities and then go “shopping” for our supplies. In order to make sure I gather everything needed for all of our activities, I created and use this supply sheet to write down everything needed for the week/month. You can read more about how I gather and organize all our supplies for our themed activities in our Gearing Up for Tot School post.

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I have rounded up all of the supplies you will need to complete all of the activities listed on our weekly themed activity sheets above. As stated in my Gearing Up for Tot School post, I try to pick activities that I already have a bunch of supplies for, as well as activities that the supplies can be reused multiple times. This helps save you money. Tot School does NOT have to be expensive. A lot of the items on the supply list are things you may have around the house already. You may also be able to supplement something else you already have. Get creative. I have included Amazon Afilliate links for your shopping convenience (read my full disclosure HERE), but you can also find the majority of these items at places like Walmart and craft stores. I personally find it easier and cheaper to buy in bulk from Amazon so that is where I will link to.

There is always a possibility  I will find some additional resources that I end up using for each theme, like songs and videos.  If I do use additional resources I will update this blog post,  as well as include them in our weekly recap posts.

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BOOKS // There are so many books to choose from for all the themes. These are just some of my favorites and ones I had or was able to acquire. Activities are not specifically focused on any one book so feel free to supplement with your own books. We tend to read many each day anyway so I didn’t want to designate one book a day.
The Snowy Day By Ezra Jack Keats
Sneezy the Snowman by Maureen Wright
Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner
Snowballs By Lois Ehlert
The Biggest Snowman Ever by Steven Kroll
One Mitten by Kristine O’Connell George
Baby Loves Winter by Karen Katz
There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow by Lucille Colandro
Snowmen at Play by Caralyn Buehner
That’s Not My Penguin by Fiona Watt
Penguin Says Please by Michael Dahl
The Emperors Egg by Martin Jenkins
Penguin Pete by Marcus Pfister
If You Were A Penguin by Florence Minor

CRAFT SUPPLIES
-pom poms and big white pom poms
-glue
-construction paper
-markers
-washable tempera paints
-playdoh {Making It Myself}
-pipe cleaners
-paintbrushes
-googly eyes                                                              
-watercolor paints
-buttons
-beads
-felt
-crayons
-glitter
-scrapbook paper
-washi tape/painter’s tape
HOUSEHOLD/MISC. SUPPLIES
-cotton balls
-tongs
-scoop
-bowls
-trays
-veggie tray
-clothespins
-clothesline/string
-qtips  
- white styrofoam cups
-marshmallow
-small dustpan/broom
-hot chocolate
-misc. scoops, cups, spoons, etc for sensory play
-white conditioner
-baking soda
-mason jar/clear jar
-alka seltzer
-baby oil
-water
-plastic bottles
-laundry basket/bucket
-paper plates
-bubble wrap
-cake pan with lid
-shaving cream
-river stones
-toilet paper rolls
-balloon
-pillows
-bean bags (look like fish)
-trifold display board
-dish scraper
-clear plastic jar (pb jar, foss bottle)
-Penguin figurines
-black glove
-large bin for sensory bins
-winter clothes

MUSIC
-Penguin Dance by Jack Hartmann
PRINTABLES:
-Penguin Poem  & Penguin Poem
-Penguin Puzzles (will provide printable)

That about does it for our January Tot School Plans. Each week we will dive into tons of fun and share a recap with you before the start of the next week. Please feel free to ask any questions and be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest to see peeks into our week.

Be sure to check out all of our Tot School Posts. As we do our weekly theme recaps I will come back and add links here.

Winter/Snow

Penguins