Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Head, Shoulder, Knees and Toes

By: Christine Cox, The Choosy Mommy

At my daughter’s 18 month doctor’s appointment, the physician asked me if she knew where her nose was. At that point, the honest answer was no. I was teaching her the “fun” things, like animals and the sounds they make and what we saw out the window. We were working on our ABC’s and 1, 2, 3’s, but it never occurred to me that I should be teaching her about her body parts.

It was like a duh moment for me. All parents have those but I can honestly say that I felt like I skipped this lesson when it should’ve been one of the first to be taught. Not only are these important but it can really help to tell me what is hurt when she falls or what doesn’t feel good on a bad day! So we started working on where her nose, eyes, ears, hair and toes were as soon as we got home.

Now, I am happy to say that I am running out of body parts to teach her and we are now able to play body part games like head, shoulders, knees and toes. I was playing the Choosy Nation CD in the car while we were traveling one day and it mentions moving her head, shaking her elbows and waving her hands in the air and I could see her in the rear view mirror doing all of those actions, even in her car seat! So when we got home, I played the same song so she could move and dance along with it. She loved it!
Needless to say, I went from, “Oh my gosh, I missed a parenting step” to, “She knows all of her body parts” proud parent moment in no time. It is important to continually educate our children but keep it fun too. My daughter most certainly learns best when it is an active and engaging activity. Sometimes it is a game to her, but in reality, she is just soaking up the knowledge!

What body part games or songs do your children love?

About the Author: Christine Cox is the blog master and The Choosy Mommy for Choosy Kids. She has always had a passion for writing and is honored to contribute her work to this blog. Most of her writing inspiration comes from her daughter, Capri, who is fun-loving and full of energy. Click here to learn more about Christine.

34 comments :

  1. It is so wonderful when they know their body parts! Then they can communicate owies so much easier.

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    1. It really is so much easier. And Doc McStuffins really helps too!

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  2. I love this song and I played with my daughter to help her learn body parts. It was so funny!! Baci,
    Coco et La vie en rose fashion blog - Valeria Arizzi

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    1. I like to mix it up now that she is a pro with those motions! Ears, belly, ankle, foot!!

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  3. We know where our body parts are :) I try to do it with the little one too so he has some kind of awareness.

    http://bobaandpearls.com

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    1. Younger siblings benefit so much from their older siblings learning things like this!

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  4. I've forgotten some of those little lessons from time to time too. There's so much to teach them, I guess it happens sometimes. I recently realized I never taught my five-year-old to tie his shoes. They're all velcro! We're working on it now.

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    1. Glad I am not the only one with a mommy fail moment. My now 2 year old lives in crocs so she doesn't even do velcro! You're ahead of us :)

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  5. I make up my own songs. A preschool teacher I know also does a great activity where she has the kids feel their body parts as they draw themselves. That may be a fun activity when your daughter is older.

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    1. Shelah- check out Choosy's song When I Move My Parts. I think you'll like it! And I love the idea of drawing pictures of their body parts!!!

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  6. Wow glad to have read this post. I need to try this, very unique way of parenting, so much fun for the kids too. Will be sharing with my friends as well.

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    1. Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed reading it!

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  7. So cute and you've done a great job with making learning fun..great parenting tip. :)

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    1. Awe thank you! I was never the type that could sit in a classroom and just stare at a teacher and learn. I am a hands on learner and I think my little one is the same way :)

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  8. For my daughter, it was the same. I didn't think about it much, then suddenly realized she should know body parts. She had a lot of fun learning what everything was. Now its time for my son to learn!

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    1. Isn't it funny the way us parents teach? Keep up the great work mom!!

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  9. This is great! I have really been trying to work on body parts with my son, too. My usual tactic is to just constantly ask him "Where is your nose?" "Where is your chest?" etc. It's fun to see them start to "get it," huh? :)

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    1. It is so excited when they finally figure things out. Now that my daughter is 2.5, she has now figured out harder parts like ankle, elbow, wrist, etc. You might like the Choosy song When I Move My Parts for your little one. It is from the Choosy Nation CD that I mentioned in the blog.

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  10. It's so fun when they learn this. And you're right, it helps them identify problems when they don't feel well. Congrats to your little one for being such a quick learner!

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    1. Thank you! I hope this blog helps other parents too!

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  11. This song is always stuck in my head and when trying to do the "dance" i always get mixed up, please tell me I am not the only one.

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    1. You're not the only one!! Check out When I Move My Parts on the same Choosy Nation CD that I mentioned in the blog. It is similar to head, shoulders, knees and toes! Choosy music in general and this song in particular, is easy to follow and makes moving to music fun!

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  12. My daughter loves music. I'm half terrified one of our family members is going to get her a drum set this Christmas...

    On a more serious "note", she loves head, shoulders, knees and toes. It's so adorable to watch her sing along, and as a parent, I feel much better knowing she can show me what body parts hurt.

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    1. Have no fear...we have a drum set and it isn't so bad :) the worst is the kazoo by far!!!! Hehe! Play some Choosy Kids music for her from our YouTube (www.youtube.com/choosykids) and see what she thinks! We use a lot of instruments :)

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  13. I'm sitting here singing this song as I read through this. LOL

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    1. Sorry that you now have Stuck Song Syndrome :( lol! But at least it is a good song!

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  14. The only body parts songs that I can think of off of the top of my head are... "head, shoulders, knees and toes" and "I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor" hehe. Thanks for sharing :)

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    1. I've never heard the boa constrictor song!! Will have to look up that one. Thanks for sharing :)

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  15. Yes, body parts are a very important thing for little ones to be able to identify and label. And songs like this are a fun teaching tool! Thanks for the reminder of the importance of learning to label body parts :)

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    1. Sometimes a little reminder is all you need! Thanks for stopping by!

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  16. This song is going to be in my head alllllll night now....maybe I'll start teaching it to my 14 month old tomorrow! She's just starting to copy me, maybe she'll copy this, haha.

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    1. It would be fun to try with your 14 month old!! Let me know if she picks it up (and then you'll be prepared for the 18 month check up!!!)

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  17. What a sweet post. All those little accomplishments are really BIG ones to us mamas.

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    1. They are and we want to make sure they are hitting all of the milestones :)

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