The unit we are working on for this month is the body with a theme verse of “I am fearfully and wonderfully made (from Psalm 139). The goal for this unit is for our little one to: know the body parts (as many of them as possible) and know who “I” am.
The focus for this week was the feet, toes.
Music:
This week’s rhyme/song was not set to music, but is said sort of musically:
(Fill your child’s name in here) has ten happy fingers,
and ten smiling toes,
two laughing eyes,
and one itty bitty nose
and two ears that hear
when mama says, “No!
My husband says it is a like a children’s horror movie with the shock at the end of, “No!” But G liked the song very much by the end of the week. We said it with grandparents, with stuffed animals, alone, everywhere. By the end of the week I added suspense to the ending by pausing after saying, “When mama says.” G would light up and stare at me waiting for what I was going to say.
We also added a lullaby to our routine for this week that G seemed to really like. It is not really an actual lullaby, but a praise song that is sung very slow. Instead of me singing it for you (not a wise prospect), here is a You Tube video of it:
He Knows My Name by Maranatha Singers
Reading:
Repetition from last week:
Ears, Nose, Fingers, Toes – a Sesame Street book.
Shake a Leg
New Books for this week:
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox (we love Mem Fox!) – this comes with both Spanish and English. I love to read both to G!
This Little Piggy (and Other Favorite Action Rhymes) – we absolutely LOVE this book! Our copy of it is already getting worn, but it is such a delight!
Horns to Toes and In Between by Sandra Boynton (we LOVE Sandra Boynton, too!)
Frankenstein: an Anatomy Primer by Jenifer Adams
Activities:
My major activity idea went down in flames this past week, so we settled for somethings much more basic.
We took out the chalkboard (we have a very small one) and put it on the ground and traced G’s feet, mama’s feet, and daddy’s feet. They were great for comparison. We also wrote our names next to our feet. We left this up for the rest of the week for G to look at.
We also brought a portable full-length mirror down from our closet and put it in a convenient spot downstairs. G has enjoyed looking at the baby in the mirror and we take the opportunity to point out her body parts.
Everyday activities are becoming the best time to “teach” about the body. While we are just sitting around playing, we include questions like, “Where are your toes?”, “Where are your feet?” And have her point out both hers and ours. We do this in the bath tub as well. Each time we put on her shoes we talked about feet, toes, and shoes. When we are doing CALM diaper changes (you know the ones I am not talking about), we talk about her feet and point to her toes (each one). I did something that G has loved from a very early stage with my fingers. I count to five on my fingers (singing the numbers in an arpeggio), so I just transferred that to her feet and count her toes this way. It makes her eyes light up and she smiles so big each time!
Oh, and a few hundred rounds of “This little piggy.”
Progress:
Our little one has definitely become more aware of feet and toes. She can point to them when asked and is often pointing other people’s feet/toes out to us. She has even started to say something when she points to her toe (not exactly, “Toe”).
What have you done with your little one to talk about feet and toes? We are looking forward to next week when the focus will be the arms, legs, tummy, and head!
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Love this! I am a former teacher turned SAHM and this helps me keep my skills sharp and watch my little learn and grow! I am taking what you’ve created and tapering it a little to meet our needs, but I LOVE the scriptural guidance. Thank you for sharing!