Whoever You Are, by Mem Fox

This book helps point out clearly that although we might be different in some ways; in many more we are all just the same. The colorful illustrations depict children and emotions that go along with the simple eloquent words of this book.

Materials

Paint sample chips in colors that reflect skin colors
Several bags of dried beans in various colors
Pictures of real children playing
Picture books that depict other ways of life then the one common to your children.
Emotion pictures

Vocabulary

Different (different from you or a group of objects)
Same (just like you or a group of objects)
Joy (something that makes you happy)

Before reading the Story;

Tell the children “I’m thinking of something that all of us have”. Let the children come up with things that are common to all if they can. Then tell the children the thing you are thinking of is covered by their skin and includes all the parts inside (a body).

Approaches to Learing/Reasoning & Problem Solving; develops increasing ability to find more than one solution to a question, task, or problem.

Play Simon Says. (Stand on tippy toes, roll your knuckles on the floor, flip your ear lobe, touch your eyebrows, slap your thighs, etc.).

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and respect for their bodies and the environment

Reading the Story

As you read the book stop on each page to share some of the things that you see that are different from where you live and also things that are the same.

Social & Emotional Development/Knowledge of Families & Communities; progresses in understanding similarities and respecting differences among people such as genders, race, special needs, cultural, language, and family structures.

After Reading the Story

In the story it talked about we all feel joy and love the same and also blood and pain. Show the children pictures of real children in a variety of situations that depict clear emotion. Ask the children to talk about the pictures. What is happening? How do you think the child feels? How would this make you feel? What else makes you feel this way? Who else feels this way? What makes you happy? What makes you laugh, cry, or be sad? Make sure to ask the children who else feels or would feel this way? The idea is to show that we all have feelings that are similar.

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.

Discovery

Use paint chip samples to make a color matching game that has colors similar to skin colors.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; shows growth in matching, sorting putting in series, and regrouping objects according to one or two attributes such as color, shape, or size.

Music and Movement

Sing It’s Love That makes The World Go Round. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icoNkyEjIVo

It’s love, it’s love, it’s love that make the world go round,

It’s love, , it’s love, it’s love that makes the world go round,

It’s love, it’s love, it’s love that makes the world go round,

It’s love that make the world go round.

It’s boys, it’s girls, it’s friends that make the world go round’

It’s boys, it’s girls, it’s friends that make the world go round,

It’s boys, it’s girls, it’s friends that make the world go round

It’s love that makes the world go round.

Creative Arts/ Music; participates with increasing interest and enjoyment in a variety of music activities, including listening, singing, finger plays, games, and performances.

Blocks

Encourage the children to build homes today. Add interesting materials to embellish such as toilet paper tubes, scraps of cardboard, felt squares, sticks, etc..

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; growing in hand-eye coordination in building with blocks, putting together puzzles, reproducing shapes and patterns, stringing beads, and using scissors.

Art

Give the children finger paints in white, brown, yellow, and black to try to mix skin tone colors. Then encourage the children to draw people in their finger paint.

Science/Scientific Knowledge; shows increased awareness and beginning understanding of changes in materials and cause-effect relationships. AND 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

If your center allows, add several varieties of beans to the table for the children to use for scooping and pouring. Tell the children that these are all beans but they are diffrent.

Social & Emotional Development/Self-Control; demonstrates increasing capacity to follow rules and routines and use materials purposefully, safetly, and respectfully.

Library and Writing

Add any books with photos that depict life in other countries or life that is different from what you and the children understand as the norm.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; shows growing interest in reading related activities, such as asking to have a favoritie book read; choosing to look at books; drawing pictures based on stories; asking to take books home; going to the library; and engaging in pretend-reading with other children.

Dramatic play

Bring in any clothes that you might have that are common to other cultures. Add scarves to dress-ips as these can be used as capes, skirts, head dresses, baby carriers, etc..

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; shows growing creativity and imagination in using materials and in assuming different roles in dramatic play situations.

Math and manipulatives

Make a Memory Game using pictures of children at play around the world. Make 2 sets of pictures and glue them to index cards. Turn the upside-down and the children must take turns trying to make matching pairs. If they make a match, they keep the cards. Play until all the cards have been matched and count who has the most cards.

Social & Emotional Development/Cooperation; develops increasing abilities to give and take in interactions; to take turns in games and using materials; and to interact without being overly submissive or directive. AND Approaches to learning/Engagement & Persistence; grows in abilities to persist in and complete a variety of tasks, activities, projects, and experiences.

Outdoor play

Explain to the children that Soccer is a game played throughout the world. Set up a goal area and let the children practice their kicking and foot dribbling skills as you have soccer practice or a game.

Physical Health & Development/Gross Motor Skills; demonstrates increasing abilities to coordinate movements in throwing catching, kicking, bouncing ball,s and using the slide and swing.

Resources

Grover sings I am Special video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gms-Yk7mzv4

Pictures of children at play.

Emotion pictures

Hats Off To Hair! by Virginia Kroll

So many ways people wear their hair. This book shows pictures of children wearing real hairstyles. Children will be able to identify with some of the do’s and be able to better appreciate the diversity and beauty that sits on top of our heads.

Materials

Face picture for art
You can make pigtails ahead of time from thick yarn that has then been glued to a headband. This can be put into the dramatic center along with the hair boutique prop box.
Several unbreakable mirrors
Several plastic combs

Vocabulary

Style (how you wear your hair or the way your hair is cut)
Texture (how your hair feels)
Blonde (light colored hair)

Before Reading the Story

Put a piece of masking tape down the cente of your circle time area. Tell the children that you are going to play a listening game. Say; If you have very short hair stand over here and everyone else stand over there. If you have hair past your shoulders statand over here, if not stand over there. If you have curls, straight hair, bangs, beads in your hair, barretts or pony tail holders, if your ears are covered by your hair, etc..

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding simple and multiple-step directions.

Reading the Story

As you read, if any child’s hair reminds you of a picture in the book, be sure to show the children and say the name of the hair type (Kerry you have waves like Samoa!)

Social & Emotional Development/Self-Concept; begins to develop and express awareness of self in terms of specific abilities, characteristics, or preferences.

After Reading the Story

Ask the children if they can think of anyways that people help keep their hair clean and looking nice. (I wash mine with Batman shampoo. My Mom combs mine and it hurts my head! I wear braids with beads. I got a haircut last week). Continue talking about regular hygiene if the children are still interested in sharing (importance of toothbrushing, bathing, cleaning hands, etc).

Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; builds awareness and ability to follow basic health and safety rules such as fire safety, traffic and pedestrian safety, and responding appropriately to potentially harmful objects, substances, and activities. AND Science Knowledge; expands knowledge of and respect for their bodies and the environment.

Discovery

The story talks about the different textures of hair. Either bring in objects or use objects from the room that the children can feel to experience the textures of; smooth, bumpy, fuzzy, curly, knotted, and twisted. Let the children sort and touch a variety of textured items.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; develops increased ability to observe and discuss common properties, differences and comparisons among objects and materials.

If you have access to a microscope, pull a hair out of your head to be examined.

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.

Music and Movement

Sing This is the Way… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XLQpRI_wOQ

This is the way I brush my hair, brush my hair, brush my hair

This is the way I brush my hair, each and every day.

This is the way I shampoo my hair, this is the way I dry my hair, this is the way I put barrettes in my hair,. Act out different motions as you sing.

Social & Emotional Development/Self-Concept; begins to develop and express awareness of self in terms of specific abilities, characteristics, or preferences.

Blocks

Art

Give each child a copy of a blank head. Have the children color a face and hair. They can then use the scissors to cut strips into the hair and curl around a pencil if they like.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; progresses in abilities to use writing, drawing, and art tools, including pencils, markers, chalk, paint brush, and various types of technology.

Add a large head shape to the easel and encourage the children to paint a self portrait. Put a mirror beside the easel so they can look at themselves while they paint.

Social & Emotional Development/Self-Concept; begins to develop and express awareness of self in terms of specific abilities, characteristics, or preferences.

Library and Writing;

Put out a mirror so the children can look at their own hair. Add the book to the center so the children can compare their hair to that in the story.

Mathematics/Patterns & measurement; begins to make comparisons between several objects based on a single attribute.

Make a copy of The Hair Book for each child in the room. you can help the children work on this at school or you could send it home as a Parent-Child Activity. https://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tid=2960 Thank you to Teaching Tolerance web site.

Sand and Water

Put several combs in to the table along with a small amount of dried sand. The children can use the combs to draw patterns in the sand.

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

Dramatic Play

Put out a beauty parlor prop box. Add curlers, plenty of combs, barrettes, empty bottles of shampoo, hair pieces/wigs, and dolls with hair. Remind the children that they may NOT cut their hair or any other child’s.

Social & Emotional Development/Knowledge of Families & Communities; develops growing awareness of jobs and what is required to perform them.

Math and Manipulatives

Hair comes in many lengths. Some people have long hair and some people have short hair. Help the children take a piece of yarn and holding it at the crown of their head, measure it to the length of the child’s hair and cut it (the yarn). Challenge the child to find something in the room that is as long as their hair. Tape the yarn “hair lengths” to the wall from shortest to longest.

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows progress in using standard and non-standard measures for length and area of objects.

Outdoor Play

Have the children stand quietly on the playground and close their eyes. Can they feel the wind moving their hair?

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.

Transitions

Make a graph that shows; Colors of our hair. At the bottom write blonde, brown, black, red, other. Have the children put on their mark as they head to the next activity. Later compare which hair color has the most and least children in it.

Social & Emotional Development/Self-Concept; begins to develop and express awareness of self in terms of specific abilities, characteristics, or preferences. AND Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to use language to compare numbers of objects with terms such as more, less greater than, fewer, and equal to.

Resources

The Foot Book, by Dr. Seuss

Dr. Suess in all his rhyming glory discusses feet.

Materials

Footprint pattern, lots
Make footprints ahead of time for writing and transitions.
Show Store supplies- a ruler, some shoe boxes, lots of shoes, a cash register, play money and several gift bags.

Vocabulary

Before Reading the Story

Ask the children to take off their shoes and socks as they come to the group time. Take a few minutes and talk about feet. How many feet do you have, how many toes? See the toe nails; does anyone have polish on them? Show the children where the heel of the foot is and the big toe and the pinky.

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and respect for their bodies and the environment.

Reading the Story

Practice beforehand so that you can read this Seuss book in a flowing voice. As you read, slow down occasionally and see if the children can find the rhyming words.

Literacy/Phonological Awareness; progresses in recognizing matching sounds and rhymes in familiar words, games, songs, stories, and poems.

After Reading the Story

Ask the children to help you make a list of all the things that we can do with our feet. (I can ride my bicycle, I can kick the ball, I can jump up and land on my feet).

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and respect for their bodies and the environment.

Discovery

Explain to the children that all animals have their own special footprint/shape. Look at some of the foot prints and the animals that make them. How are they alike and different?

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; develops increased ability to observe and discuss common properties, differences and comparisons among objects and materials.

Music and Movement

Teach the children the following chant, Left Foot Right Foot. As you do, hold up your left hand and then your right. Ask the children what other body parts that they have that one is left and one is right?

Left foot, right foot I am cool,

Left foot, right foot I learned at school.

Science/Scientific Knowledge;expands knowledge of and respect for their bodies and the environment. AND Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, andpoems.

Do the Mexican Hat Dance and teach the children to differentiate their left from their right foot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvRRvMw9-fg

Left foot, right foot, left

Right foot, left foot, right

Left foot, right foot, left

Right foot, left foot, right

Dance round and round the circle

And then begin again./And now this is the end.

Creative Arts/Music; shows growth in moving in time to different patterns of beat and rhythm in music.

Make a set of 26 foot prints. Write an alphabet letter on each one and put them on the floor in a walking pattern. Put the feet in A-Z order and contact them to the floor. The children can then walk the letters as they sing or say the alphabet.

Literacy/Alphabet Knowledge; shows progress in associating the names if letters with their shapes and sound.

Blocks;

Cut out extra foot prints. Encourage the children to measure how many footprints long a block is. Can they make a line of blocks 5 foot prints long? 10 foot prints long?

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows progress in using standard and non-standard measures of length and area of objects.

Art;

Take off your shoes and socks and paint the children’s feet. Help them to make their foot prints on a piece of paper or get a long piece of paper that they can walk across. Have all the children contribute to the same sheet of paper to make a classroom footprint-collage.

Creative Arts/Art; begins to understand and share opinions about artistic products and experiences.

Library and Writing

Have each child trace around their foot (with their shoe off) and then take a pencil and label the toes 1-5. Encourage the children to cut out around their foot.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; progresses in abilities to use writing, drawing, and art tools, including pencils, markers, chalk, paint brushes, and various types of technology.

Sand and Water

Put your sand table down on the floor today and let the children take off their shoes and socks and put their feet into the sand. You could also add water. Ask the children to use their words to tell you how it feels on their feet.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; develops growing ability to collect, describe, and record information through a variety of means, including discussion, drawings, maps, and charts.

Dramatic Play

Play shoe store with the children. Add a ruler, some shoe boxes, lots of shoes, a cash register, play money and several gift bags. Show the children how to stand on the ruler and measure their foot. Help the children identify what number/size their foot is.

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; participates in a variety of dramatic play activities that become more extended and complex. AND Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows progress in using standard and non-standard measures of length and area of objects.

Math and Manipulatives

Put out any people puzzles that you have today. Can the children show you where the head is, name the parts of the head. Show you where the arm is and name parts of the arm? ETC..

Science/Scientific Knowledge;expands knowledge of and respect for their bodies and the environment.

Outdoor Play;

Find a balance beam to walk, or draw a line with chalk on the cement. Can the children walk forward, backward, slide side to side?

Physical Health & Development/Gross Motor Skills;shows increasing levels of proficiency, control, and balance in walking, climbing, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, marching, and galloping.

Transitions

Make another set of footprints for your room but this time make both a left and right foot per children in the room. Use these to make a line up chart by the door. The first sets of feet both have the number 1, or one can have the numeral and the other the word. Make 1-20 so that when the children line up, everyone has a number set to stand on.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to associate number concepts, vocabulary, quantities, and written numerals in meaningful ways.