I have gotten lots of emails in response to my Behind the Scenes post about Tot School Tools-requesting the forms I shared that I use to assess skills I am exposing Krash to. I have emailed those who asked the forms but then realized they could be SOOO much prettier 😉 So…I made some new and improved forms for me and for you!
I also want to describe to you how I use them, in case it’s not something you are familiar with. I use the assessment skills I was taught when I was a teacher.
Here is the main form…
It has categories for: colors, shapes, numbers, physical skills, and body parts. You will see there is an extra row in the number section. The first blocks are for number ID-meaning your child can identify the number out of sequence by looking at it. The second set of blocks is for recording how high s/he can count without missing a number.
You will notice 3 sets of blocks for each item, this is to be sure your child actually has mastery knowledge of this skill. You record 3 different times (different days) your child has demonstrated knowledge of the particular skill.
With a tot I assess in a natural environment. This means, I am not sitting at a table drilling K on what he knows and doesn’t know. I am watching and observing him during natural Tot School times, and even just daily times to see what skills he has picked up on.
I also included a blank form, so you can assess any other skills you want your child to know (songs, animals, etc.)
Here is the letter ID form. The most important part to assessing letter id is to remember the ID part. This is not singing the abcs, it is naming the letters out of sequence. It is also important to document upper and lowercase separately, as well as knowledge of the sounds the letters make. 
Planning
I do not do tons of planning for Tot School, most days/weeks are just me pulling out items to fill up our shelf and trays. I rotate trays when he tires of them. If he still seems interested, I leave the tray out. Sometimes I do get on a planning kick and I made this form for those weeks! Every now and then I like to review my master list of ideas and try to choose some things I haven’t done in awhile. It’s easy to get stuck on the same rotation and then remember something you haven’t done in awhile! I often go back through my old Tot School posts too to refresh my ideas! Your Tot School blogs are also so inspiring to me, I use Evernote to record ideas I want to remember.
On a good week, I would use this form, trying to jot down at least 3-5 activities for 3 different days. This would be in addition to the trays that just stay out (ones he is not done with yet). There’s also a section to fill in certain goals and also a blank notes section. I hope to attempt to use my new lovely form, but who knows if I actually will! As K gets older and we get closer to Pre K, I definitely will plan more. For now, it’s not necessary though.
I also have a bloggy friend, Jolanthe who made a few Tot School planning forms herself that are a bit different than mine, you can find hers here.
Hope these help some of you (scroll below the Tot School blog list to find the link to the PDFs), as always if you have questions, leave me a comment if you want an answer in the comments (to share with others also), orshoot me an email if you want an email answer. I am behind on emails (so sorry), but am trying to catch up!!!!
