Tot School Ideas for 12-18 Months

Tot School is simply playing with your tot! The name came from my son many years ago, but don’t let the term “school” fool you, it most certainly is not school in the traditional form. It is simply exposing early learning skills through focused play with your tot, something parents have been doing for many, many years! I am a firm believer in developmentally appropriate practice and letting kids grow and develop at their pace, not pushing education too soon. However, it is usually the MOM who needs an actual plan, idea list, or even a program to follow. For those of you who love to gather ideas for playing with your tot, I am sharing several posts in a series, broken down by ages. Many have asked for this, and finally I am taking the time to do it!

See our first post in this series…

Tot School Ideas for 9-12 Months

All ideas are presented with the understanding that you are playing WITH your baby, these are not all independent activities as some of the items are choking hazards. Please only use ideas that you feel comfortable with and feel you can ensure your tot’s safety.

{disclaimer ~ affiliate links are used}

1. Board Books on a Low Shelf

The shelf you see in this photo is actually a photo ledge from Ikea. When she was this age, I rotated her board books on this shelf in her room. She spent many hours reading in this spot and other in the house like this. See the Tot School post this photo was featured in, she was 14 months.

2. Exploring Bubble Wrap

One of the best free sensory experiences for kids is bubble wrap! I gave it to Ladybug for the first time when she was about 13 months old and every time it came in a package I let her explore {always with me close by}. See our Tot School post that featured this photo!

3. Stirring Sticks

A package of simple colored stirring sticks {we got ours at Target} is a great and inexpensive addition to your Tot School supply list. Here you can see her trying to get them into an empty food container. We used these sticks all the time, for many fun and simple activities. Ladybug was 13 months in this photo, see the rest of the Tot School post here.

4. Spoons and Bowls

Ladybug played with all sorts of metal and plastic bowls from the kitchen. She loved our kitchen spoons too. One of her favorites at this age was to pretend to cook and stir our wooden food pieces. See the Tot School post this photo was featured in, she was 14 months.

5. Instruments

Our instrument collection was a big favorite when Ladybug was this age. She would dig and play in this box a lot. Her favorite was when we all explored together with our instruments. See this Tot School post here, she was 13 months.

6. Stacking

This was about the time she got really into the stacking toys we had. The one shown below was from Target, and is similar to this one. She loved all of our stacking toys. See this Tot School post here, she was 15 months.

7. Straws

Such a simple addition to your Tot School collection, straws! We did all sorts of things with straws, but this was her favorite. An empty container to put them in! She was 17 months in this photo. See this post here.

8. Recycled Containers & Trays

The tray below was an empty frozen baby food tray, she was putting large bumpy beads from this set into the openings. We used all sorts of ice cube trays, egg cartons, and similar containers to allow her to move objects like this. She was 15 months in this photo, see the post here.

9. Counting Bears

When she was younger all we had was the bears. We now have various counters {family, ocean, and more}. They are still a VERY favorite at age 4, and I even use them to teach certain math skills beyond this! She was 17 months in this photo, the Tot School post is here.

10. Magneatos

Magneatos have been a favorite toy of all of my children for years. Ladybug began really enjoying them when she was this age. She is sitting on top of a magnetic dry erase board which they stuck to also, she loved this! She was 17 months in this photo, the Tot School post is here.

11. Stacking Cups

Stacking cups are a wonderful toy for tots. So much you can do with a colorful set like this. All of my kids loved their stacking cups and they still play with them! She was 17 months in this photo, the Tot School post is here.

12. Easel

Coloring on an easel is a great activity for tots. It requires them to stand and develop their fine motor skills vertically. This particular easel is from Ikea. She was 17 months in this photo. See this post here.

13. Magnets

When Ladybug was this age I rotated different magnet sets {the one shown is our Leapfrog set} on our dishwasher often for her. Since she was a slow stander/walker so this gave her motivation to try and stand and play. You can see her holding a metal bowl also, she loved using this with our magnets also. She was 14 months in this photo, see the post here.

14. Push Through Activities

Shown below is an empty baby food container with a hole cut in the plastic lid. She is pushing Zoobs through the opening. She also used pom poms a lot for this. Push through activities are great for tots this age! She was 15 months in this photo, see the post here.

15. Tubes

Doesn’t get much cheaper than empty paper towel and toilet paper tubes! In this photo she is shoving spools into them but you can offer your tot all sorts of things to enjoy along with tubes. Pom Poms, bouncy balls, ping pong balls, bells, straws, and so much more! See the Tot School post this photo was featured in, she was 14 months.

I created a simple PDF file featuring all of the images from this post on one page. Back when we were Tot Schooling, I loved to have lists I could refer back to.

You can download the Tot School ideas for Ages 12-18 months here!

More ideas for this age group from around the web ~

Looking for more ideas, be sure to grab our Where to Begin with Tot School eBook for free here! In the eBook you will find pages with different ages and ideas for that age group!