A Day in the Life of the Teeny Tiny Tot

One common question I get is “What does your Teeny Tiny Tot to do all day while you homeschool?” Well, I think its about time I address this question, and I really think you’ll be amazed at what a Tot can really accomplish in a day!

Here are some practical things you can do with your Teeny Tiny Tot to give a head start to their education!

Toddlers love to help out! Since we like to teach responsibility early on, our Teeny Tot starts her day off with chores. First she empties the dishwasher, whether dirty or clean, after that, she climbs on top of her sister’s beds, tossing down all the animals so I can wash the sheets. It would’ve been really helpful if today was actually sheet washing day.

At the start of class she checks everyone’s workboxes to make sure they’re ready for the day. She’s also responsible for picking up the empty boxes once work is finished.

And if you can’t reach something, she’s always there to help out. By the way, this is great for Large Muscle Exercise for your teeny tot. Make sure you put all the really great stuff up high, remember homeschooling is a mix of challenge and fun!

Once school starts, she’s in charge of keeping the music going, she loves to music time, her favorite instrument is the jingle bells.

 

After song time, she hunkers down for some of her own school work…this is great for fine motor pinching skills. It also makes your Teeny Tot feel like they’re really part of school time.

At snack time, she’s happy to fill everyone’s boxes with snacks…sometimes she takes the snacks instead, but this is understandable as she gets hungry at her part-time police gig.

If you’re shy, she’ll be happy to assist you during “Show-n-tell” time. Psst…“ Just say, its your fuzzy dog and you love it”

As we go through out our day, she’s always running around helping to clean up the messes we make. In this picture I believe she is picking up crayons for me, such a great helper. And excellent for those fine motor grasping skills. Um, at second glance, I believe there may be some ‘crayon dumping’ going on here.

If anyone needs practice reading, she’s always a very encouraging participant. Just make sure to keep a tight hold on your book, she’s very eager to eat, read books.

After reading, she helps re-arrange our floor numbers to make the game more challenging for our preschooler.

About mid-day she takes a nap. There’s no picture of this because we have a “DON’T WAKE THE BABY!” rule here. As you can see she needs her rest.

After naptime, she’s likes to help with laundry.

Then moves on to organizing my cupboards and kitchen drawers. I can’t tell you what a big help this is, and I think plate stacking qualifies as some sort of skill don’t you?

Right before dinner, she helps put away all the toys…

Then she moves right on to set the table. You’d be amazed at what a Teeny Tot can do with some sour cream.

About 6pm or so, she likes to check the front door in hopes of her favorite person arriving, her Daddy, whom she’ll greet with a big smile and a wet kiss.

After a long hard day of working, our Teeny Tot finishes off the day with a bath, and some “Bed Jumping with Daddy”.

And what are the advantages for your older kids of having the Teeny Tot roaming around while they try to concentrate and do their school work?

First, they’ll learn independence as they keep on reading while you re-roll the toilet paper your teeny tot likes to drag around the house with her. They’ll learn team-work as they organize how one will hold the teeny tot while the other removes the scissors from her hands. They’ll learn multi-tasking as they do their math while at the same time keeping the teeny tot from choking to death on manipulatives. And, best of all…they’ll learn a great character skill called patience.

So take advantage of this time with your Teeny Tots, and don’t forget to take lots of pictures! Their little finger prints won’t be around for very long, they’ll get higher and higher and them some day be gone!

Please note: No Teeny Tots were harmed during the making of the post.