Adaptive Umbrella: Book 'N Play: "In My Heart"

Cover of book In My Heart by Jo Witek with little girl jumping over colorful heart shape dicuts in the center going from large to small

This month's Book 'N Play explored the many feelings we feel inside our heart. Here's the plan:

Visual schedule with images for each story time activity

1. Hello!

2. Welcome Song (“The Story Time Ball”)

tune: "Wheels on the Bus"

(Roll ball back and forth to each child)
The story time ball rolls back and forth,
back and forth, back and forth.
The story time ball rolls back and forth,
Let's see who it found. Hi ______!
Now roll it back to me.
(Keep rolling back and forth until each child has said their name.)

3. Yoga poses: "The gifts of love"

We did a combination of 3 different poses here.

1. "Gift" (child's pose)

2. "Heart" (butterfly pose)

3. "Flowers" (flower pose)

4. Sensory tool rhyme: "I Look in the Mirror"

I loved using our adorable story time set of mirrors for the first time so we could practice facial expressions and identifying those expressions.

plastic bin full of handheld colorful mirrors

I look in the mirror and what do I see?

I see a happy face smiling at me.

I look in the mirror and what do I see?

I see a surprised face looking at me.

Other faces: sad, mad, scared, silly

(source: preschoolexpress.com)

5. Multisensory experience story: In My Heart by Jo Witek

large 2-tiered cart with flashlight, bowls of batting, green balloons, flannel hearts, bandages, and stuffed elephant on top tier. 2 weighted lap pads on 2nd tier.

flannel board with flannel pieces in the shapes of a large house, star, burst, heart, earth, elephant, small beast, plant, balloon, small tree, bandage, and magic hat

Our wonderful Clerical Assistant, Amy, made these flannel pieces for each child to add to the board as we read the story.

Place pink house on the board.

Hold out arms for big feelings and close arms on small feelings, LOUD feelings and quiet feelings.

Place big yellow star on board.

Hold up shining flashlight and smile wide while twirling around in place (or twirling arms if seated).

Place planet earth with clouds on board.

Reach up and stretch to the clouds (touching bowls with white cotton batting).

Place orange burst on board.

Make "Boom!" sound by clapping hands together.

Place green balloon on board.

Hold green balloons up and watch them gently fall "as quiet as snowfall."

Place bandage on board.

Each child is given a band-aid to help heal our stuffed friend's broken heart. Babar was feeling much better after!

Babar the elephant stuffed toy with bandages

Place elephant on board.

Place small weighted lap pad in the lap of each child so they can feel a "heavy heart."

Place plant on the board.

Reach toward the sky with our arms out like stems and branches.

Place scary beast on board.

Turn on small fan and face toward everyone so they can feel that scared feeling like a "chilly breeze has crawled up my neck."

Place magic hat on board.

Hop in place like a bouncy bunny.

Place small tree on board.

Give each child and caregiver a heart and ask them to tell us how their heart is feeling today as they place it on the board. This was so much fun! Many kids said their hearts were happy and a few mentioned hungry hearts and hearts that were feeling all of the feelings today!

6: Sensory play stations:

Discovery bin: "Rainbow of Feelings" bin filled with rainbow colored rice and plastic eggs with feelings visuals inside. (source: kiddiematters.com)