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Helping adults prepare children for kindergarten and life.

 Under, Up, Down, Tall

Song "The Noble Duke of York" to follow directions and measure family members 

Month 5 · Activity 15 · Target Words  

Instructions

  • Using a doorframe or strip of paper, measure child and other family members to see how tall each person is in your family
  • Write down on paper each member's height using feet and inches - Quinn is 3 feet and 2 inches, Dad is 6 feet and 1 inch; explain that feet and inches are terms used for measuring
  • Share on the yardstick/tape measure the marks for feet and for inches
  • Play the song “The Noble Duke of York”  or watch video here and have fun with the actions

Simplify

Measure the height of the child and mark it on a doorframe.  Using a yardstick/tape measure body parts of the child so they can see the markings on the yardstick.  For example, measure their thumb, hand, arm, foot, etc. and let the child tell you the number on the yardstick that shows the length of each body part.  Talk about inches and feet and which measurement is short and which measurement is long (an inch is shorter than a foot) 

Extend

After each family member is measured, let the child tell you who is the shortest and tallest member in the family. Watch this video for a "tallest" game

Using the yardstick/tape measure, let the child show you 3 inches or 2 feet.  Continue asking them to find 8 inches, 1 foot, and 1 inch, etc.

QUESTIONS FOR CHILD

If you didn't have a ruler or a yardstick, how could you measure a person?

What are some things that could be difficult to do if you were very tall?

Materials

  • Song “The Noble Duke of York” by Susan McRae from the album "Barney's Song Book - 16 Favourites for Kids" or watch video here
  • a door frame or a long strip of paper; sheet of paper or index card
  • yardstick or tape measure

Activity Resources

  • Language Skills
  • Math & Science Skills
  • Motor Skills