Tot Spot Academy Inc.
9420 - 86 Mckenney Ave T8N 2T7 Saint Albert, AB, Canada

Paint, paint and more paint. Our toddlers love to paint! Today they explored magic paint. They were totally enthralled; don’t tell them it was just water with sparkles! #painting #magic #magicpaint #christmascolors #redandgreen

We are getting very excited for our new classrooms to open up! Stay tuned for more photos! #yeg #stalbert #stalbertfamily #stalbertlife #stalbertliving #stalbertsmallbusiness #montessori #loosepartsplay #looseparts #play #daycare #preschool #fun #renovation

Our Preschool class spent the afternoon learning about how blubber helps to keep arctic animals warm! #science #handsonlearning #sciencexperiment #blubber #arctic #whales #seals

Polar bear, polar bear what do you see? Our younger Preschool classroom created beautiful polar bear art as part of their Arctic unit. #polarbear #arctic #snow #painting #paintings #preschool #yeg #stalbert #stalbertmoms #stalbertbusiness

When the weather outside is frightful, bringing snow inside is delightful! Earlier this week, our babies enjoyed painting snow. They mixed, painted, squeezed and smeared paint and snow. What a wonderful sensory activity! #painting #snow #snowpainting #letitsnow #weatheroutsideisfrightful #canadian #canadianwinters #melting #babies #baby #toddlerlife #toddler

Covid has required us to think outside of the box and become creative with our programming. Since reopening, we have not had our usual yoga instructor, music teachers, gymnastics lessons or any of our other special guests visiting. But we’ve adapted, educated ourselves and evolved to ensure that our program still incorporates gross motor skills, music and direct teaching of self-regulation strategies. One of our teachers recently completed her Zumbini training and we can’t wait to see what exciting new things she has in store for our toddlers. #zumbini #zumbiniplay #drums #music #yoga #movement #grossmotorskills #grossmotor #beat #drumming

Our new play space door is in and our cubbies are assembled! #construction #renovation #daycare #stalbertfamily #stalbert #stalbertlife #yeg #edmonton #edmontonmoms

We love the book The Color Monster. Not only is it great for social emotional awareness but works to help teach colours and sorting. #socialemotionallearning #socialemotionaldevelopment #socialemotional #socialemotionalskills #socialemotionalskills #thecolormonster #books #earlyliteracy #earlychildhoodeducation #earlyliteracymatters #colors #colours #sorting #grouping #ece #preschoolactivitiesathome #preschoolrocks #preschoolliteracy #preschoolteacher #preschoolthemes #preschooltheme

They are creepy and they are crawly. Our preschool classroom made spiders! #paint #messy #spider #halloween #halloweencrafts #halloweencraftsforkids #fun #stalbert

We’re having a Spooktacular week! Our classes have set up fun Halloween themed play trays. We’re working on 1:1 correspondence, fine motor skills, numeracy and literacy. #halloween #playtray #handsonlearning #tensquare #spiders #ghosts #halloween2020 #halloweenforkids

Our sweet babies were the first class to carve a pumpkin. Carving pumpkins are a great sensory opportunity. We scooped, pulled, squished and yes sometimes tasted the pumpkin guts. We can’t wait to roast the seeds and eat them up tomorrow! #pumpkin #pumpkinpatch #pumpkinseason #pumpkincarving #pumpkinplay #punpkinseeds #pumpkinspotionsandplay #pumpkinseeds #pumpkintime #halloween #halloweenideas

It’s Pumpkin time! After reading It’s Pumpkin Day Mouse by @lauranumeroff our junior toddlers started painting their own wooden pumpkins. We are excited to see how they look once they add their faces. We use the book Its Pumpkin Day Mouse to incorporate social-emotional awareness into our daily thematic planning. Learning to read facial expressions is an important part of nonverbal communication and something that we directly teach. ... #socialemotionallearning #socialemotionaldevelopment #socialemotional #socialemotionalskills #socialemotionalskills #facialexpressions #pumpkins #halloween #toddlersofinstagram #toddlers #painting #yeg #stalbert #stalbertlife #halloween2020

On our final day of thankfulness, we’re thankful for delicious food to fill our bellies! And our amazing chef who keeps up with our growing appetites! #thanksgiving #thanksgivingfeast #thanksgivingfood #thankful #grateful #gratefulheart #daycare #yeg #stalbert #love

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! COVID has changed a few things for us. One of the big changes our program had to make is we are no longer allowed to have group sensory bins, and our kids love sensory bins! As the problem solvers we are, our teachers put their heads together and created amazing individual ice cream sensory trays for each child in their class. These trays were a labour of love but worth every second of it! Set up requires:... scented play dough, coloured rice, mini cones, spoons #imagination #play #playideas #sensoryplay #sensorybin #sensorybins #sensoryideas #dramaticplay #handsonlearning #sensorytray #ece #earlychildhoodeducation #earlychildhoodeducator #stalbert #yeg #playtrayideas #playtrayideas #playdoughplayactivities #playmakecreate #playistheworkofchildhood #playtolearnpreschool #playbasedpreschool #playtray #playisfun #everydayrainbowplay #toddlerplaytoday #playisimportant #imaginitiveplay

The best paint splatter project ever! Our Out of School care kids had a blast throwing paint filled eggshells at canvases! The fun was worth the cleanup #art #expression #paint #splatterpaint #splatterart #canvaspainting #kidsart #kidprojects #kidactivities #messyplay #messyart #messyartist #outofschool #osc #stalbert #stalbertlife #stalbertmom

We made our own flags! Happy Canada Day! #redandwhite #canada #canada #yeg #stalbert #alberta #stalbertbusiness

Our Toddlers loved exploring Inukshuks! #inukshuk #canada #proudcanadian #canadiankids #canada #canadaday

We used pipettes, quips and watered down paint to create mini monsters! #fun #painting #paint #monsters #crafts #process #processbased #artist #art #preschool #daycare #stalbert

We love painting. Acrylic paint, watercolor paint, puffy paint, we love it all! #painting #watercolorpainting #watercolor #art #beautiful #preschool #ece #earlylearners #earlychildhoodeducation #earlychildlearning #earlychildhood #teacher #stalbert

Woohoo! We are beyond thankful for all of the families who voted for us for the Best Daycare in St. Albert! Were also thankful for our staff who voted for us for best local employers! We could not do it without you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts ... #t8n #bestoft8n #stalbert #thankful #employer #localbusiness #local #thankyou #bestfamilies #community #endlesslove

Shape matching. We traced some of our favourite building toys then asked our friends to match the toy to the shape! @magnatiles #building #shapes #construction #handsonlearning #matching #trace #outline #ece #earlychildhood #preschool #learning #education @ Saint Albert, Alberta

This morning we braved the wet weather to head outside for a sensory scavenger hunt. Prior to going out, the kids wrote down things they could find using their senses! #fivesenses #senses #scavengerhunt #scavengerhunt2020 #getoutside #rainyday #rain #puddlejumping #puddles #sensory #spring #yeg #stalbert #stalbertmoms #edmonton @ Saint Albert, Alberta

Yesterday, we soaked up the sun and spent the majority of the day outside! We made nature soup from the findings in our field! #nature #getoutside #naturesoup #handsonlearning #play #playbasedlearning #learningthroughplay #outside @ Saint Albert, Alberta

Its sports week in our Preschool classroom. Although its pouring rain so we can not get outside to play, our tots are learning all about football! #sports #football #project #stamping #activities #backatitagain @ Saint Albert, Alberta

Hello warm spring days! We are still safe at home during the COVID19 pandemic and decided to take our sensory activities onto the deck. We hid beads at the bottom of the trays but you could use anything small such as LEGO, kidney beans, or small manipulative. We covered the beads with shaving cream and then added a few drops of food colouring to incorporate some fun colour investigation. The kids enjoyed mixing, scooping and squeezing the shaving cream. Eventually they picked... up the tweezers and started fishing out the beads. For younger kids, skip the small manipulatives but throw a couple small bath toys in instead! Use whipped cream instead of shaving cream but still add the food colouring for colour exploration. #sensoryplay #sensorybin #sensoryplayideas #sensory #sensoryactivity #sensoryfriendly #toddler #baby #preschoolactivities #preschool #preschoolathome #preschoolteacher #ece #fun #homeschooling #spring #springtime #spring2020 #stalbert #stalbertmoms #stalbertlife @ Saint Albert, Alberta

Yesterday we celebrated earth day! We scooped, mixed, poured and stirred to our hearts content. We added a few drops of essential oils to the coloured water for added fun! ... Thanks to @prekwolfpack for the awesome idea #earthday #earthday2020 #earthdayeveryday #sensoryplay #sensorybin #sunshine #beautifulworld #essentialoils #messyplay #messyplayideas #stalbert #stalbertmoms #stalbertlife @ Saint Albert, Alberta

Every year we create watercolour flower paintings because you cant mess them up - they always turn out beautifully! First the kids use a permanent black sharpie to create flower-like designs then use watercolours to paint on top. It doesnt matter if you go outside the lines or the flowers are lopsided. @crayola @crayola_canada #watercolor #watercolorpainting #watercolorillustration #preschoolart #preschool #art #painting #totspotacademy @ Saint Albert, Alberta

We had an awesome time playing the game Kids on Stage, that we scooped up from @mastermindtoys. It is a perfect mix of literacy, imagination and fun! The best part was no reading requirer meaning even my three year old could participate. We cant wait to share it with our daycare friends! #boardgames #boardgamesforkids #kidsboardgames #onetoonecorrespondence #colors #colours #matching #charades #charade #familygames #familygamenight #familygamenight #stayhome #covid #covd19 #safeathome @ Saint Albert, Alberta

Our Spring flower shop was set up just in time for the government mandated shut down. Were hopeful that our tots will be back soon and ready to play! #dramaticplay #dramaticplayarea #dramaticplaycenter #dramaticplayideas #dramaticplayfun #handsonlearning #flowers #flowershop @ Saint Albert, Alberta

This week we are focusing on some Easter projects! We created paper mache eggs. To create the glue we used equal parts flour and water (if you do a lot of paper mache, save your expired flour to use). Next, we put our fine motor skills to the test when we cut and tore strips of newspaper into various sizes. We covered the newspaper strips with the glue then rubbed them flat onto our balloon. We ended up doing three layers. When it was finally dry we painted the eggs usin...g beautiful colours. A few things to remember: less is more when applying the glue - make sure it is smooth as any chunks will dry hard and bumpy let the layers fully dry before applying another layer dont pop your balloon until after the second layer has dried or your egg will loose its shape #easter #eastercrafts #eastercraftsforkids #easterfun #eastereggs #eastereggdecorating #crafts #papermache @ Saint Albert, Alberta

Looking for a great fine motor activity that isnt worksheets? Grab some beads and your choice of either pipecleaners or string. Our little tots prefer using pipecleaners to make bracelets as it is easier to put the beads on to the wire. Older tots usually prefer to use string as it makes their bracelets more comfortable to wear. #beads #finemotorskills #finemotor #finemotoractivity #finemotoractivities #finemotorplay #finemotorskillspractice @ Saint Albert, Alberta

Looking for hours of fun? fill a bin with water add some drops of soap throw in a whisk, spoons, bowls, cups ... As they whisk and pour more bubbles appear! #handsonlearning #sensoryplay #waterplay #funathome #socialdistancing #socialdistancing2020 #stayhome #stayhomestaysafe #learning #ece #earlychildhoodeducation #homeschooling #crisisschooling @ Saint Albert, Alberta

We set up an easy science experiment today! To play along: put a layer of baking soda into a tray put food colouring, water and vinegar into small containers (we chose primary colours for some fun colour investigation). grab a medicine dropper... I let the kids mix, stir, pour, drip and eventually sculpt to their hearts content. This experiment lasts longer if you remind your kids to only fill their medicine dropper a little bit at a time #handsonlearning #homeschool #homeschooling #stayhome #colours #colors #mixing #science #scienceexperiments #scienceschool @ Saint Albert, Alberta

Its quiet. Much too quiet and way too clean around here. We hope to see you all sooner rather than later. The Tot Spot Team... #socialdistancing #manditoryclosure #missingyou #preschoolclassrooms #stayhomesavelives @ Saint Albert, Alberta

! Today we were inspired by @prekwolfpack We read the book A bad case of stripes and then we got creative! ... Check out her activity as it promotes: color recognition 1:1 correspondence pre-writing skills fine motor We also had a few mentioning look at my pattern as they were designing their very own bad case! #earlyliteracy #literacy #creativeminds #design #preschool #preschoolstalbert #stalbertmoms #childhoodunplugged #discoverdesigncreate #imagination #preschool #dramaticplay #veterinarian #earlychildhood #earlychildhoodeducation #teacherlife #stalbert #yeg #earychildhoodlearning #playinspired #interestbased #earlychildhoodteachers #education #preschoolteachers #school #education #childcareprovider #earlyeducation #childcarefun #childcareresources

Welcome to the Tot Spot Academys veterinarians clinic. Were open to business and we are tending to cats, dog, hedgehogs and even a rat! Dramatic play is not just fun it also: encourages language development promotes social skill development ... supports numeracy and literacy skills teaches conflict resolution Thanks to @mclennanwoodworking for building us an awesome house to contain our fun! #preschool #dramaticplay #handsonlearning #play #fun #pets #veterinarian #earlychildhood #earlychildhoodeducation #teacherlife #stalbert #yeg #canada #ece #earychildhoodlearning #playinspired #interestbased #earlychildhoodteachers #education #preschoolteachers #earlychildhoodlearning #earlychildhooddevelopment #pettheme @ Saint Albert, Alberta

Meet Mr. Crab, if you want you can call him Herman. Hes fairly cute and the newest Tot Spot team member. He resides in the Senior Toddler classroom. Unfortunately a few days after Mr. Crab arrived, he started to molt. This means he is buried in the sand shedding his exoskeleton and we wont see him for 4-6 weeks! We cant wait for him to reappear! #hermitcrab #hermitcrabs #hermitcrabsofinstagram #molting #classpet #learning #earlychildhoodeducation #handsonlearning @ Saint Albert, Alberta

Our Toddlers had a blast playing with water, bubbles and boats in our sensory bin! #sensoryplay #sensorybin #sensoryplayideas #sensory #sensorylearning #waterplay #boats #handsonlearning #messyplay #messyplayideas #messyplaymonday #latepost #stalbert #daycare @ Saint Albert, Alberta

We live in an amazing community. A huge thank you to @stalbertfirefighters for stopping and taking time to teach us about their fire truck. Our tots love impromptu learning opportunities like this. #impromtulearning #fire #firefighters #stalbert #community #bettertogether @ Saint Albert, Alberta

We created a beautiful, messy class project today in our Junior Preschool room. Every child was given their own color of paint and car to drive on the roads! See our story for the before picture! ... #messyplay #messyplayideas #classproject #groupproject #preschool #prek #earlylearning #earlylearners #toddlerlife #toddler #yeg #stalbert @ Saint Albert, Alberta

Welcome to our jungle! Our toddlers are still exploring jungle animals. By spending more time focusing on a theme we allow our children a chance to deepen their understanding of major concepts and ideas within the theme. Longer themes provide us with an opportunity to discover what parts of the theme are of interest to the children and tailor our activities towards those interests. #childdriven #programplanning #ece #earlychildhoodeducation #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #jungleanimals #themebasedlearning #themebased #stalbert #yeg

Check out one of our toddler sensory bins! The coloured rice is both vibrant and fun! #valentines #valentinesday #love #lovefreely #coloredrice #sensoryplay #sensorybins #ece #earlychildhoodeducation #earlychildhood

We love our new sensory toy! The coloured bones are textured for tactile learning. Perfect for small groups in our toddler and baby classrooms! @learningresources #tactileplay #tactilelearning #sensory #colors #sorting #matching #puppy #handsonlearning #smallgroup #centers #stations #yeg #stalbert

Our Junior Toddlers discovered some very dirty animals! Check out our story to see their work in progress. #animals #jungle #messy #messyplay #handsonlearning #sensoryplay #sensoryplayideas #daycare #toddlers #fun #entertainment #animaltheme

Do you want to build a snowman? #snowman #winter #fun #toddlers #carrotnose #funoutdoors #greatoutdoors #play #childinitiated #childinitiatedplay

Our toddlers are investigating animal prints! Check out their fun matching activity! #animals #matching #investigation #learning #earlychildhoodeducation #earlychildhood #earlychildhoodeducator #earlychildhoodteacher

We are bending, stretching and centering ourselves as we head into the weekend! #littleyogi #littleyogis #yoga #yogainmyschool #yoga #namaste #preschool #stretching #sunsalutation #movement #healthybody #healthymind #soul @ Saint Albert, Alberta

Hello warm weather and fresh snow! Weve missed you! #freshsnow #freshsnowfall #tracks #snowtracks #kidsinsnow #winter #winterwonderland #winterfun #canadiankids

Come in planet earth! Our Toddlers are loving their space dramatic play! Theyre picking up on new language, skills, and concepts while they play! Did you know dramatic play: teaches self regulation encourages language development ... supports emerging conflict resolution skills creates a foundation for numeracy and literacy skill development #dramaticplay #selfregulation #earlylearning #earlyliteracy #earlyliteracyskills #earlynumeracy #earlynumeracyskills #earlyyearslearning #earlychildhood #earlychildhoodeducator #yeg #stalbert @ Saint Albert, Alberta

We spent the morning mixing, pouring, scooping, patting, pinching and investigating four different sensory bins while some of our friends were pulled out for small groups. All of our sensory bins are the same size making it easy for us to swap them out! They can fit into our sensory bin stand or be placed on a table. Bonus points for them coming with a snap on lid! #sensoryplay #sensorybin #sensorybins #sensory #sensoryplayideas #multisensorylearning #sensoryplaytolearn #handsonlearning #preschool #preschoolactivities #preschoollife #preschoolfun #frozendays #edmonton #yeg #stalbert #stalbertlife #stalbertmom #stalbertmoms @ Saint Albert, Alberta

Its been really cold here (think -35 degrees Celsius cold) and weve been cooped up inside for the last week or so! Our Junior Toddlers loved getting messy with their favourite colours. We start by giving each child one colour (their choice) and they usually end up joining their colour with their neighbours colour. After a while we give them the option of white, black or another colour! A great extension activity is to offer sponges, Q-Tips or animals! #processbasedart #getmessy #letthemplay #stuckinside #deepfreeze #edmonton #yeg #stalbert #coldsnap #coldsnap2019 #montessori #inquiry #inquirybasedlearning #colors #colormixing #handsonlearning #makinglearningfun @ Saint Albert, Alberta