This book with big bold pictures makes it fun for children to get a little exercise while you read.  When you finish you can’t help but feel good by all things that you can do!

Materials

• Camera

Vocabulary

•  Arch (curved over)
•  Wiggle( making movements from side to side)
•  Stomp (walk with heavy feet)
• Drinking cupps and several small pitchers

Before Reading the Story

            Ask the children why they think exercise is important (to make my muscles strong, so I never get fat, so my brother can’t beat me up).  Tell the children that even animals do exercise.  Show the children the back of the book where the boy and the flamingo are kicking their legs.  Ask them if they know what animal this is, what is it doing, can you do it?  Tell the children that if they can do it they need to loudly say, “I can do it!”

Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; develops increasing abilities to understand and use language to communicate information, experiences, ideas, feelings, opinions, needs, questions; and for other varied purposes.

Reading the Story

            Have everyone stand up and spread out.  As you read allow the children to do the actions.  Make sure that they leave room between themselves so as not to bump into one another.

Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; participates actively in games, outdoor play, and other forms of exercise that enhance physical development.

After Reading the Story

            Ask the children if they can think of animals that do certain types of actions;  Who swims?  Who flies?  Who slithers?  Who gallops?  Etc.  Ask the children if they can do it and let them do the actions.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; understands an increasingly complex and varied vocabulary. AND Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; develops increasing ability to find more that one solution to a question, task, or problem.

Discovery

            Put the book and a mirror into the center.  Encourage the children to look in the mirror and do the actions.

Literacy/Early Writing; begins to represent stories and experiences trough pictures, dictation, and in play.

Show the children how to use a piece f equipment in your science center (a spin top, a magnet and paper clips, texture match cards, etc.. When you are finished, ask if they can do it? (Spin a top on the table, pick up 5 paper clips with a magnet, find a texture card that matches an article of clothing you are wearing).

Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; grows in ability to persist in and complete a variety of tasks and activities.

 

Music and Movement

            Sing Head Shoulders Knees and Toes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSdeIhmv6v0

Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; participates actively in games, outdoor play, and other forms of exercise that enhance physical development.

            Teach the children some simple yoga.  Many yoga poses have animal names (the cat, the dog, the frog) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHoErQuFw_4

Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; participates actively in games, outdoor play, and other forms of exercise that enhance physical development.

Blocks

            The teacher goes into blocks and builds a simple block structure (10 blocks big).  Ask the children, “Can you do it”?  And encourage them to build one just like yours.

Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; grows in ability to persist in and complete a variety of tasks and activities.

Art

            Eric Carle does his pictures using finger paints.  Put finger paints on the paper and give the children sticks, combs, and any other things you can find that will make the lines through the paint. (finger nails work good too).

Creative Arts/Art; gains ability in using different art media and materials in a variety of ways for creative expression and representation.

Sand and Water

Put out the small pitchers and drinking cups. Show the children how to pour the cup without overflowing. Let the children practice pouring. Can they do it? For children who have had practice pouring, make marks on the cups for the children to use as filing lines.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; grows in hand-eye coordination needed to use tools such as scissors, paper punch, stapler, and hammer. AND Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; shows growing independence in hygiene, nutrition, and personal care when eating, dressing, washing hands, brushing teeth , and toileting.

Library and Writing

            Tell the children that you are going to make a class book called Can You Do It?  Ask each child to use a body part and tell you what they are doing.  Take a picture of them doing their action.  Put the pictures together to make a classroom book (Kerry can wiggle her fingers, can you do it?  Roger can twist his waist, can you do it?). Do not be surprised if children show you ninja moves, somersaults, and squats.

Literacy/Early Writing; develops an understanding that writing is a way of communicating for a variety of purposes. AND Social & Emotional Development/Self-Concept; begins to develop and express awareness of self in terms of specific abilities, characteristics, and preferences.

Dramatic Play

            Put out any exercise equipment that you may have and let the children experiment using .

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to use senses and a variety of tools and simple measuring devices to gather information, investigate materials, and observe processes and relationships. AND Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; progresses in physical growth, strength, stamina, and flexibility.

Math and Manipulatives

            Trace around the children’s hand.  Let the children cut out their hand.  Ask the children if there is something special they can do with their hands and write it on the hand cutout (I can pet my cat, I can zip my zipper, I can tie a knot).

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; develops growing strength, dexterity, and control needed to use tools such as scissors, paper punch, stapler, and hammer. AND Literacy/Early Writing; begins to represent stories and experiences through pictures, dictation, and in play.

Outdoor Play

            Find a stick and write your names in the dirt.  Can you do it?  I can do it!  Show the children how to form their letters if they do not already know.

Literacy/Early Writing; progresses from using scribbles, shapes, or pictures to represent ideas, to using letter-like symbols, to copying or writing familiar words such as their own name.

Transitions

Play 1-2-3 How Many Do You See? Make two fists and bump them together as you say 1-2-3. Then hold up 1-10 fingers as you finish the sentence. Let the children take turns naming how many fingers you are holding up.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to make use of one-to-one correspondence in counting objects and matching groups of objects.

Resources