Book 'N Play: "In My Heart"

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

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.

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

 

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!

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)

Light table play: colorful stackable shapes to build your "house of feelings"

Toy play: making heart shapes with cookie cutters and gluten-free play dough

Craft: make squishy hearts with ziplock bags (with a heart outline drawn in black sharpie), finger-paints, and duct tape to seal

     

SENSEational Story Time: "How Do You Feel?"

 

It was another snow-filled Saturday last month, but our SENSEational Story Time families (including a new family!) said "they wouldn't miss it!" Yay! We celebrated by having fun with our feelings. We talked about how friends (and the help of a few silly hats) can make us feel better. Then we learned how our actions (and the acts of others) make us feel with lessons from a bunny.

Here's the plan:

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. Mindfulness exercise: "Body Scan"

Lie back or remain seated, close your eyes, and squeeze all of your muscles as tight as you can. Now relax all of your muscles --- "How do you feel?"

4. Flannel activity: "Expressions Game"

I gave the kids scenarios and then we pointed to the expression that best fit how we would feel in each situation.

Yellow - "happy"

What if your parents gave you a big box, and inside the box was a puppy? How would you feel? What does your face look like when you are happy?

Purple - "surprised"

What if you walked into a room and everyone yelled "happy birthday!?" How would you feel? What does it look like when you're surprised?

Purple - "scared"

What if those people who yelled scared you? What does your scared face look like? (put hands over eyes on face)

Red - "angry"

What if someone pushed you and made fun of you, or took your favorite toy? How would you feel? What does your face look like when you're angry?

Blue - "silly"

Do you like to be silly? Make a silly face!

Green - "sad"

What if you fell and skinned your knee? How would you feel? What does your face look like when you are sad?

(source: Spectacular Story Time)

5. Story with interactive flannels: Hooray for Hat! by Brian Won

After a grumpy Elephant opened his gift of wonderful hats, he gave one to each of his friends, who then gathered all of the hats together again to gift to Giraffe so he would feel better! I had some helpers in story time gather the hats from all of the animals to place in the box, one at a time, for Giraffe.

6. Scarf rhyme: "Shake My Sillies Out"

I had the kids choose a scarf color to shake based on how they were feeling (like we talked about earlier in the expressions game).

I've gotta shake, shake, shake my sillies out

shake, shake, shake my sillies out.

Shake, shake, shake my sillies out

and wiggle my waggles away.

I've gotta clap, clap, clap my gloomies out

clap, clap, clap my gloomies out.

Clap, clap, clap my gloomies out

and wiggle my waggles away.

I've gotta stomp, stomp, stomp my scaries out

stomp, stomp, stomp my scaries out.

Stomp, stomp, stomp my scaries out

and wiggle my waggles away.

I've gotta shake, shake, shake my sillies out

shake, shake, shake my sillies out.

Shake, shake, shake my sillies out

and wiggle my waggles away.

(Adaptation of song by Raffi)

7. Sensory Story: Bunny's Lessons by Harriet Ziefert

During the story, kids were invited to put bandaids on our bunny puppet, touch/feel his noodle lunch, help Charlie feed "baby" bunny his milk, paint (flannel) splotches of blue on bunny, and then we all gave ourselves a big hug in the end (like Charlie and bunny).

8. Parachute activity: "Grand Old Duke of York"

The grand old Duke of York,

He had ten thousand men.

He marched them up to the top of the hill 

And he marched them down again.

And when they were up, they were up.

And when they were down, they were down.

And when they were only half-way up,

they were neither up nor down.

9. Goodbye song and stretch: "Tickle the Clouds"

Tickle the clouds.

Tickle your toes.
Turn around and tickle your nose.
Reach down low.
Reach up high.
Story time's over.
Wave goodbye!

10. Sensory craft: "Stress balloon balls"

We stretched our balloons out, rolled up play dough "worms," and stuffed them into our balloons. Caregivers tied a knot at the bottom of the filled balloons so the kids could draw faces on their stress ball. Then we squeezed!!