The following is a post from contributing writer Amanda from The Pelsers.

My toddler, Jacob, is now at the age where he needs some fun activities to distract him from his big brother’s papers while we do school. My solution: I created a tot school binder just for him. It’s full of recognition and writing activities to make him feel like he’s doing school like his “bubba.”

Here’s what you need:

• Binder(s)
• Smooth Page Protectors
• Dry Erase Markers
• Eraser
• Tot/Preschool printables from your favorite site(s)

Some Additional Optional Supplies:

• Laminator
• Laminating Pouches
• Paper Cutter
• Single Hole Punch
• Lacing String

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4 Simple Steps to Make a Tot School Binder

Step 1

Download printables for toddlers and preschoolers from your favorite site(s). Print the desired activities. Look for alphabet tracing, number identification, shapes, mazes, and other simple, colorful, age-appropriate fun for your child. Some of my favorite site for printables are:

• 1+1+1=1
• Homeschool Creations
• Confessions of a Homeschool

Step 2

Put printables into page protectors. Make sure that you use smooth/glossy page protectors so the dry erase marker will wipe off easily.

Step 3

Assemble pages in a binder. I like to use a .5” binder for everything we’re using in the current week. I put the printables we’ve used into larger binders. Each week, I rotate out the printables, adding the old ones to a larger binder and putting new printables into the small binder.

Step 4

Give your tot the binder, a dry erase marker or two, and an eraser and have fun learning together!

Additional Tips

• Keep the binder accessible. Jacob goes to the bookshelf regularly to pull down his binders – both our weekly binder and the archive binders.
• Add small printable activities like strip puzzles, matching games, and lacing cards. Laminate these activities and keep them in a page protector inside the binder. We also keep a lacing string in our binder to it’s easily available.
• Use the front and back binder pockets to keep extra pages. Use these extras for coloring with crayons or dot markers throughout the week.
• Don’t panic when your tot colors on the inside covers of the binder. It’s not the end of the world. I’m type A, orderly person so I panicked at first, but really, it’s not that big of a deal. It’s your tot’s book to use and have fun with.

Enjoy learning and exploring with your tot while giving them some fun activities to make them feel like one of the big kids!

Amanda juggles homeschooling her 5 year old, who is starting 1st grade, while running after her active toddler.  She’s the author of an ebook titled Finding Joy in Depression written to encourage women to stop hiding from depression, give tips for those trying to manage depression, and support those with a loved one suffering from depression.  She blogs about life, motherhood, homeschooling, technology, books, faith, and more at ThePelsers.com.