How do we do 3 part lesson and tot trays?

Tot tray is a method of presenting activities to you little one. If you don't have a tray, buy from Daiso or use any old box or basket.

I usually set out 5-6 trays/activities.

By having a prepared environment, you create a routine during their sensitive period for order and presto, a happy kid.

This is how I do tot trays with a toddler friendly version of 3 period lesson with Tiger.

First lesson: (Naming)

1. Present by laying out all the materials from 1 tray.
2. Tell him what it is.
3. Demonstrate the intended use.

For example: Category box activity

 Me: This is a cabbage, a brinjal, etc. This is the box with slits. The chips belong to the same family, vegetable. This is how we will play. (mummy will then demonstrate how it's done)

Tiger: blink blink o.O

Me: You want to try?

Dumps everything on the floor. That's fine too.

Me: We will try the slits when you are ready,k?

Tiger: (Starts inserting through the slits) This does not happen all the time, it will.

Second lesson: (Recognizing)
Can you show me the cabbage? 
Praise the effort if they hand over the right object and move to lesson three
If they don't, go back to first lesson.

  

Third lesson: (Recall)
For talking toddlers only, point to the cabbage and ask, what is this?
For Tiger, I would ask and as with ESP games and matching memory games, I talk to myself.  
It may sounds a little cuckoo but hey, experts say that the more you speak to your child the better their vocabulary. How many times can you say peak-a-boo in a day?

3 part lesson is a non-critical way to teach your child which will built his self esteem. I use this approach to teaching the any concepts or ideas.

"Help me to do it myself." A child to Maria Montessori

Disclaimer: I am not an expert on Montessori but I have read widely on the subject. This is one of the ways we adapt different methods into our curriculum. I pick what I think Tiger would enjoy and bend the rules a little to make it suitable for us.