Materials
Newspaper
Paint smocks
Two small trays
Permanent fabric paint
Printing objects, such as sponges cut into simple shapes, dish mops andscrubbers, thread spools, toy parts, toy cars, plastic ABCs, plastic cups, whisk,and potato mashers
T-shirts
Clothes dryer, optional
Instructions
1. During circle time, ask the children to look at their feet. Talk about feet and
ask questions. What do we have on our feet? What do we do with our feet?
What would it be like if we had no feet?
2. Ask the children to take off their shoes and socks and stand on a piece of
paper. Trace their feet and cut out their footprints. Talk about the different
prints and compare the sizes. Explain how we each have a right and a left
foot.
3. Write each child's initials on her footprints and place them around the room.
Play games with the footprints. (Who is sneaking into the cupboard? Who is
at the chalk board? Who is in the sand?)
4. Talk about footwear as you show the children different types of footwear (or
pictures of them). Teach the children words such as shoes, slippers, sandals,
boots, baby booties, mules, and so on.
5. Point out to the children how important their feet are as they engage in
running, skipping, jumping, and other activities.
6. If possible, encourage the children to go barefoot some days so that they can
feel the sand and the grass and learn how to avoid rocks. They will also learn
how cold or wet or hot the sidewalk can be.
More to do
Art: Encourage the children to draw different kinds of shoes, real or imaginary.
Language: Ask the children to talk about their shoes. Who bought them for
them? Do they like them? Are they comfortable?
Math: Count how many people are in the room, and then count the shoes.
Children will learn, in an elementary way, that the number of shoes is twice that
of the people.
