MATERIALS
- Kiss The Frog by Tony Bonning,
- Balloons
- Music player and prepared music
- Paper, markers, crayons, or paint
SHORT DESCRIPTION/TOPIC
Children will explore an ecological lesson and learn about how we show our love for one another.
DISCUSSION POINTS
In our story, the frog feels like prince because his friends show their love with a kiss. How do you show people you care about them?
CONNECTING CIRCLE
Dragon Breath – Our intestines absorb nutrients from our food into our bodies. Dragon Breath helps us to clean the walls of the intestines. Undigested particles of food are broken up in the intestines which help keep our digestion smooth. The intestines are about 20 feet long, but they are coiled up so, they can fit inside our bodies. Awesome Anatomy and Body Benefits
POSES AS PATHWAYS/INTEGRATE THE ELEMENTS
Mountain – “I’m a great big mountain with lots of snow on top.” “I reach as high as the clouds in the sky.” Affirmations
Stork – Storks can be loving parents. The legend that storks bring new baby arises from the fact that they take very good care of their young. – Swamps and marshes are two of the stork’s favorite restaurants. On the menu the stork eats bugs,fish,frogs, reptiles, young birds and small mammals. Do you eat some of these foods? Ecological Echoes
Bug-Pickin’ Chimp – Chimps arms are much longer than their legs. That’s why they can swing from the trees, and walk on the forest on their knuckles. Ecological Echoes
Volcano – “My volcano is filled with lots of anger and steam. Now my anger is all gone and I see lollipops coming out. What is coming out of your volcano? In the last 10,000 years 1,511 volcanoes have erupted, not including tens of thousands of volcanoes on the seafloor. Can you write out those numbers and figure the average number of eruptions each year? Hint: Divide the years by the numbers of volcanoes. Answer: 0.1511 volcanoes per year. Laughing Language, Ecological Echoes, Math Medley
Pedal Laughing – Play the song Don’t Make Me Laugh by James Stevenson. Form a Pedal Laughing chorus, work together to form high-tone (soprano), low tone (bass) medium-low laughter (tenor) and medium-high (altos). Musical Musings, Bridge of Diamonds
Bunny Breath – This rapid intake of oxygen provides the brain with essential fuel. Body Benefits
Hot Air Balloon
Balloon Game – Have the children fill real balloons with air. Rub them to make them stick to the body. Have the children pair up, and hold a balloon wrist to wrist, quadricep to quadricep, or head to head. If time allows, let the children call out body parts. We All Win
Stork – Count the number of seconds you can hold stork pose, Math Medley
READING COMES ALIVE WITH YOGA
Kiss the frog by Tony Bonning
- Tree Frog
- Bubble Fish
- Cow
- S is for Snake
- Butterfly with Antenna
- Child’s Pose – Imagine a giant zipper from your neck to your tailbone. Use your own breath to unzip it slowly from top to bottom. Feel yourself melt into the floor. Let your back soften from your own breath so, you feel boneless.
VISUAL VIGNETTE
Free form frog drawing – ask the children to use markers, crayons or paints to create their own frog. If you have glitter, stickers or other art materials on hand, use them to spice up your frogs.
QUIET QUESTS
Lie down and relax. Feel the slow rise and fall of your own belly. (pause) Imagine you have traveled to the pond where our frog from Kiss the Frog lived. (pause). You can hear the soft trickle of a nearby water fall, the sweet sound of crickets, birds. You can feel the warm sun on your cheeks. Stay a few minutes and enjoy this beautiful spot in nature. Allow for 3-10 minutes to pass. Ring a soft bell or quietly welcome the children back. Again feel the slow rise and fall of your own belly. Take a nice deep breath and let it go. Slowly roll onto your side. Slowly come up to sitting. Allow time for open discussion about what each child experienced on its journey to the pond.
CLOSING CIRCLE
Namaste Song