Bo-Bo Story

Provide children with paper and crayons and have them draw a time when they got hurt. Give them a few minutes to draw and then have them tell the others about their picture.

Assess

talks about personal situations

takes turns listening and speaking

Favorites Game

Play this game as your group experience or as a transition to another activity. Each time you play think of another 'favorite' thing to talk about. Have the children sit in a circle. Bring a small ball or toy car. Roll the object to a child and ask her to tell you her favorite color (or activity, or food, etc.) After she tells you have her roll it back to you, or older kids can choose someone else to roll it to. If they happen to roll it someone who has already spoken see if the other kids can remember what their favorite was. If some children keep getting left out, tell the kids it is your turn, then after you tell your favorite roll it to someone who has not had a turn yet.

Assess

responds positively to differences between self and others

listens to others who are speaking

Little Red Hen

Assign each child a part in the story and act it out together. Be sure to spend time afterward talking about how the little red hen felt about no one helping her, why the other animals didn't help and what the consequences were when they didn't. Discuss what the children think about the decisions each character made in the story.

Assess

explains causes of others feelings

examines situations from other perspectives

How to Hug

I found in my classroom that even the best intentioned hug can be rough and uncomfortable for the receiver unless they know it is coming. Teach children to offer hugs instead of just giving them. Have them go up to someone that they want to hug and open their arms, welcoming that person in. If that child wants the hug she will hug back. (Be ready to give hugs to those children who offer a hug, but are rejected. We all have those days when we just want to be left alone and we shouldn't make children hug each other if they don't want to.)

Assess

examines situations from another perspective

Healthy Tools

Bring health items, such as a toothbrush, hair brush, vitamin bottle, play food, small pillow, etc., and talk about how they keep us healthy. Then cover up all of the items with a large cloth and take one item secretly away (you can wrap it up in the cloth as you pull the cloth away). Ask one child to tell you what is missing. Continue playing until all have had at least one turn. Younger children may need you to describe the item a little or tell what it does for them to remember.

Assess

recalls information

Body Rhymes

Provide picture cards with body parts on them. Children take turns choosing a card and making up a real or silly word to rhyme with it. Then put the words into a silly sentence. For example: If the picture is hand, the child may say "hand, sand - my hand played in the sand". The focus here is to get them learning what a rhyme is so it is okay to be as silly as they want!

Assess

identifies rhyming words

Bones / No Bones

Talk with the children about what bones are and why we have a skeleton. Explain that most of our body is mushy and that without bones we would not be able to move our bodies around or even stand up. Have the children stand up tall and straight when you say "Bones!" and then fall down like a lump of jelly when you say "No Bones!"

Assess

moves in different ways

participates in movement activities

Touch Two

Prepare two dice with body part pictures. Take turns rolling both dice and trying to touch those two body parts together. Body parts to use: hand, foot, knee, head, elbow, shoulder.

Assess

coordinates and controls advanced large motor movements

Healthy Routines

Take pictures of children doing different steps of healthy practices such as washing hands and brushing teeth. Laminate the pictures and encourage the children to try and put them in order.

Assess

patterns

ordering

time

Share / Can't Share

Divide a poster into two columns. Bring in real items or pictures of items used by the children such as spoon, teddy bear, cup, chap stick, toy trucks, etc. Have the children take turns deciding if the items could be shared or should not be shared because they would spread germs. Sort the items or picture cards directly onto the chart.

Assess

sorts objects

assists in creating and using graphs