MSU Extension Child & Family Development

BEFORE READING:

• Show the children the front of the book. Ask them to guess what the book is about.
• Ask them what kind of animal is on the front cover and if they have ever seen one before.

WHILE READING:

• Stop at any time if there is something you or the children would like to talk about.
• Ask them questions so that they can connect what is happening in the book to things they already know about. Try some of these ideas:
  • When do you feel scared? What makes you feel better?
  • Can you make fingers say “I love you” like Chester does at the back of the book?

AFTER READING:

• Spend some time talking about the story. Ask the children things like:
  • Does Chester go to school in the day or night? How do you know?
  • What other kinds of animals are awake in the night and go to Chester’s school?
  • What does Chester do to his mommy’s hand?

Read this book several times to the children. Hearing the same story again and again helps them learn new words and understand the ideas they hear better. Each day, pick a different activity to do with the children after reading “The Kissing Hand.”

MATH AND SCIENCE

Ask the children if they know why the raccoon was going to school at night? Explain to them that certain animals (bats, owls, raccoons and others) are awake at night and sleep during the day. Ask them to think about what it would be like for them to be awake at nighttime and sleep all day.

THINKING SKILLS

Ask the children to bring you 4 or 5 things from the room. One at a time put each one in a bag and give the children clues to help them guess which item it is. For example, if they bring you a blanket you could say “It’s soft, you sleep with it, it’s blue, it’s a square.” Only give one clue at a time and see how many clues they need before they guess.

READING READINESS

Ask the children why the raccoon was scared in the story. See if they remember what Chester’s mother did to help him not be scared. Ask if they can tell you about a time that they were scared and what made them feel better.

ART

Trace around the children's hands and then draw a heart in the middle of it. Help them trace around your hand, too. Have them cut the hand prints out with scissors.

MUSIC AND MOVEMENT

Have the children hold themselves closely and sing a love song. Try “I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always. As long as I’m living, my baby you’ll be…” while rocking back and forth together.

PRETEND PLAY

Play school together. Use things like books, paper, crayons or puzzles for your classroom. Let them decide if they want to be the teacher or the student. Play along with their ideas.

MOTOR SKILLS

Play patty cake. Sit across from each other, slap hands, then clap, slap knees then clap. Keep the rhythm going as you sing (Patty cake patty cake baker’s man. Bake me a cake as fast as you can. Roll it and pat it and mark it with an “First letter of child’s name” Then put it in the oven for “child’s name” and me).

For more information, visit: MSU Extension Early Childhood Development