My Body: A Five-Day Learning Week

Materials for the Whole Week

• A full-length mirror or small mirror
• Paper and crayons or washable markers
• A large sheet of paper or several pieces of paper taped together
• Child-safe scissors and glue
• Sticky notes or small paper labels
• A doll or stuffed animal
• Two paper plates or bowls
• A small ball, a feather, a soft cloth, and an ice cube or cool pack
• Music for movement

Day 1: Naming the Parts of My Body

Goal: The child will identify and name common external body parts.

Lesson Steps

1. Hook — 5 minutes: Stand with the child in front of a mirror. Ask, “Who do you see? Can you show me your head?” Let the child look, point, and answer.
2. Show it — 5 minutes: Point to and name these parts on yourself: head, hair, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, neck, shoulders, arms, hands, fingers, tummy, legs, knees, feet, and toes. The child copies you.
3. Do it together — 10 minutes: Play “Simon Says.” Give directions such as, “Simon says touch your nose,” “Simon says wiggle your fingers,” and “Simon says stamp your feet.” Include body parts on the doll or stuffed animal.
4. Do it alone — 8 minutes: Ask the child to draw a person. While drawing, ask, “What will you add next?” The child names each body part added.
5. Recap — 2 minutes: Look in the mirror again. Say, “This is my body. I have two eyes, two ears, two arms, and two legs.” Invite the child to repeat the sentence.

Quick Check

Ask the child to point to their elbows, knees, ears, and toes. Then ask, “What do we use to see?” Expected answer: eyes.

Day 2: What My Body Parts Do

Goal: The child will connect body parts with their functions.

Lesson Steps

1. Hook — 5 minutes: Pretend you cannot find something. Ask, “Which body parts can help me look for it?” Let the child use their eyes to search for the doll or stuffed animal.
2. Show it — 7 minutes: Demonstrate and name actions: eyes see, ears hear, nose smells, tongue tastes, hands touch and hold, feet walk and jump, and mouth talks and eats.
3. Do it together — 10 minutes: Use the objects. Look at the ball, listen to a sound, smell a safe item, touch the feather and cloth, and move the ball with your hands and feet. Ask, “What body part are we using?”
4. Do it alone — 8 minutes: Give the child one direction at a time: “Show me how your feet help you jump,” “Show me how your ears help you listen,” and “Show me how your hands help you hold the ball.”
5. Recap — 3 minutes: Say, “My eyes help me see. My ears help me hear.” Invite the child to complete: “My nose helps me ___,” “My hands help me ___,” and “My feet help me ___.”

Quick Check

Ask, “What do you use to hear music?” “What do you use to smell?” and “What do you use to walk?” Expected answers: ears, nose, and feet.

Day 3: My Five Senses

Goal: The child will explore seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching.

Lesson Steps

1. Hook — 5 minutes: Hide the ball under one of the paper plates. Ask, “How can we find the ball?” Let the child lift a plate and use their eyes.
2. Show it — 8 minutes: Explain that senses help us learn about the world. Name them: sight with eyes, hearing with ears, smell with the nose, taste with the tongue, and touch with the skin.
3. Do it together — 12 minutes: Explore safely: look at the ball, listen to music, smell a familiar safe item, taste a small familiar food if available, and touch the feather, cloth, and cool pack. Ask, “How does it feel?” Use words such as soft, smooth, cool, loud, quiet, sweet, or sour.
4. Do it alone — 6 minutes: Give the child an item or action and ask them to name the sense used. For example, play music and ask, “Which sense are you using?”
5. Recap — 4 minutes: Hold up one finger for each sense and say the five senses together: see, hear, smell, taste, and touch.

Quick Check

Ask the child to match each action to a sense: looking at a book, listening to a song, smelling soap, tasting food, and feeling a soft cloth.

Day 4: Moving and Taking Care of My Body

Goal: The child will describe ways the body moves and identify basic healthy-care habits.

Lesson Steps

1. Hook — 5 minutes: Start a movement song. Ask, “What can your body do?” Let the child march, stretch, clap, wiggle, and freeze.
2. Show it — 7 minutes: Demonstrate bending knees, stretching arms, balancing, jumping, and taking slow breaths. Explain that movement, rest, food, water, and cleanliness help care for the body.
3. Do it together — 10 minutes: Make a healthy-body routine: drink pretend water, wash hands, stretch, move to music, take three slow breaths, and pretend to sleep. Talk about when each action is useful.
4. Do it alone — 8 minutes: Ask the child to lead the routine with the doll or stuffed animal. The child tells the doll what to do: “Wash your hands,” “Drink water,” “Stretch,” or “Rest.”
5. Recap — 5 minutes: Ask, “What can we do to care for our bodies?” Help the child remember washing, eating nourishing food, drinking water, moving, and resting.

Quick Check

Ask the child to show one movement that helps the body and name two ways to care for the body.

Day 5: My Whole Body Review

Goal: The child will review body parts, senses, movement, and body care.

Lesson Steps

1. Hook — 5 minutes: Tell the child, “Our stuffed animal has forgotten about bodies. Can you be the teacher and help it learn?”
2. Show it — 5 minutes: Review the child’s drawing from Day 1. Point to the head, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, arms, hands, tummy, legs, knees, and feet.
3. Do it together — 12 minutes: Play a body-part and senses game. Ask questions such as, “Which part helps us see?” “Which part helps us hear?” “Show me the part that bends when you sit.” “What can your hands do?”
4. Do it alone — 10 minutes: Give the child sticky notes. Say a body part or sense, and let the child place a note on the correct place on their body or on the stuffed animal. Then ask the child to lead three movements and one body-care action.
5. Recap — 5 minutes: Have the child complete this chant with actions: “I see with my eyes, hear with my ears, smell with my nose, taste with my tongue, touch with my skin. My body helps me learn, move, and play!”

Quick Check

Ask the child to:

• Name three body parts.
• Name two senses and the body parts used for them.
• Show one way the body can move.
• Name one way to take care of the body.