Whose Shoes? Activities for Everyone!

Did you know that the Pennsylvania One Book, Every Young Child has an activity guide to go along with the book? Each year an activity guide is created for parents, early care providers and educators at http://www.paonebook.org/. Visit the PA One Book Site for more information and to see the activity guides from years past.

The activity guide for this year's books is full of fun things to do with shoes!
From page 36 here is a fun inexpensive activity you can do with your young child:

Shoe Rubbings

This guide explores the theme of pairs with many matching games. Now is your chance to create a matching game of your own.

Materials needed:

• Plain white paper, 2 per child

• Crayons (preferably paperless stubs)



Activity:

Take off your shoes. Lay one piece of paper on the tread of one shoe, and rub over it with the side of a crayon until the imprint of the entire shoe shows up on the paper. Then repeat with the other shoe on a second piece of paper. Use several colors of crayon, if desired. The trickiest part of this activity is holding the shoe steady, upside down, while holding the paper still. It might be easier to hold the shoe on your lap or flat against the table.



Collect everyone’s rubbings and mix them up. Then lay them out and try to match all of the pairs. When you’ve finished, try to match each pair of rubbings to the pair of shoes they came from!



Read Pair of Socks to explore the concepts of pairs, patterns, and differences.



Questions:

• Even if several colors of crayon were used, how can you tell two rubbings form a pair together?

• What clues in a rubbing help you find its match?

• How can you match the rubbings to their shoes?



Standards:

2.9.2 Transformations and Symmetry—Observe symmetry

10.5.3 Use of Tools—Use writing and drawing implements with correct grip to make pictures


Have fun and stop by the library for more ideas and activities!