From the start, one of Rémy’s favorite books was the classic, Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb, by Al Perkins. This likely has everything to do with its fantastic rhythm. It just sounds good when you read it.
The book perfectly matches its language with the story, although I hesitate to call this a story. Let’s call it a joyous poem or rollicking song instead.
There are two versions of the book. The little board book is an abridged version that skips over blowing noses, shaking hands, and greetings. This is the version we currently read, but for some of the activities, you will need the full version. If you are looking for a copy, here you go:
It’s a silly book. But beneath its silliness lies a lot of powerful language development. To become a truly great communicator, you must recognize the music in language and then start playing with it. Reading books like these can be a solid start in getting there.
The book also lends itself to a few big ideas that are important to explore. So here’s a list of activities and lessons that connect well with the book.
Big Idea: Hands
Hands are a big deal. All the fine motor skills, and brain activity connected, are about working with your hands.
It’s important that toddlers recognize the parts of their hands, how they work, and the types of actions they can take with their hands.
Hand anatomy interactive Read Aloud
Anatomy
Guiding Question: what are the parts of the hand?
Create a model hand and place it in a basket with the book. I created one simply by using cardboard.
When the book introduces the hand, fingers, and thumb, use the model. If the child knows the vocabulary, then ask them to point or put a sticker label on the correct parts.
If your toddler is learning these parts, then point out the parts on the model, your hand, and your child’s hand.
Don’t just stop at fingers and thumbs, introduce joints, fingertips, and fingernails.
With an older toddler, you can dive into bones and muscle.
Hand actions interactive read aloud
Language Development
Guiding question: What are all the things we can do with our hands?
Sometimes we get so caught up in teaching nouns to emergent speakers that we overlook the verbs. This is a great opportunity to introduce or reinforce many actions tied to hands.
If you have a young toddler who is learning new vocabulary, then you can make a list of hand related actions to introduce. Then place items in a basket that will allow you to model these actions and your toddler to practice. By physically practicing the action, they will more likely remember the word.
If your toddler is a bit older, then you can introduce more complex actions or you can ask them the generate a list of all the things they’ve seen hands do.
Labeling Handprints
Anatomy
Guiding Question: what are the parts of my hand?
Talk to your child about how to create a good print. Applying the right amount of paint, planning where to place the print, no movement, and even pressure. Then model.
Have your toddler follow the steps to create their own handprint.
Follow up with talking about the practice of labeling. Help the child label all the parts of their hand.
Big Idea: Drums
Drums are one of the easiest and most effective entry points to music. They are instruments that grow with you, from infancy to adulthood.
The book can be a fun way to launch music lessons.
Monkeys Drum
Music
Guiding Question: How do I use my hands to play the drums?
For young toddlers, doing an interactive read aloud with a drum brings the story to life. Rémy pounded his drum while looking at and pointing to the monkeys taking the same action in the book. He is learning to act out things that he reads, and make personal connections to the content.
I also introduced some drum related vocabulary as he played; words like pound, hard, soft, tap, and beat. At 18 months, this is plenty to take in.
Make your own Drums
Music, Creative Problem Solving
Guiding Question: What are the parts of a drum?
We were fortunate enough to receive a really nice first drum as a gift from grandma and grandpa. But making a drum is an option, and for older toddlers, is an activity that is valuable in its own right.
Start by examining a couple pictures of drums. What are the different parts? What do they do? Understanding the parts will not only help your child construct a drum, but will be vital as they play. Some vocabulary to introduce: batter head, rim, shell, top hoop.
Now you can do one of two things:
1. Present a basket filled with items and let your child do some creative problem solving (this is my first choice if you have an older tot).
2. Or guide your child through the steps of creating a drum based on one of these methods:
Drum Sounds
Music
Guiding Question: What are the different sounds you can make with drums?
Print out, or pull up images of different types of drums. Then cue up audio of each drum. You can find excellent examples on YouTube.
Then have a discussion about what differences you can hear. Bonus points for introducing, and trying to recognize the quality of drum vocabulary like bright, warm, hard, clear, rattling, metallic, and dark.
Drum Dancing
Dance
Guiding Question: How do we dance to drums?
We just can’t resist moving when we hear a good beat. Drums and dancing just go together. So as you dive into an exploration of drums, don’t forget the dancing.
Many cultures around the world have some kind of traditional drum dancing. A search on YouTube should locate several examples to share with your child.
Then have your child practice finding the beat and dancing. If your child is holding a beat well, you can push them to add stylistic elements by challenging them to dance like the monkeys in the book would, or by imitating moves they see in the videos.
Quarter Notes and Eighth Notes
Music, Math
Guiding Question: What are quarter and eighth notes?
Dum ditty dum ditty. For those old enough to keep a beat, the rhythm in this book is the perfect introduction to the idea of quarter notes and eighth notes.
Along with having your child practice playing the different notes, take a moment to either introduce or reinforce the idea of splitting something in half. You can even relate the relationship of the notes to the idea of pie or pizza, or any other fraction learning aid.
Once they have learned the value of each note, have your child create their own rhythm using quarter notes and eighth notes.
Big Idea: Math
Along with being an excellent way to introduce the basic notion of fractions, the book provides a couple other opportunities for math skill development.
Estimation
Math
Guiding Question: How many monkeys are there?
Being able to create accurate estimates is one of those essential skills that don’t get a lot of attention, yet it’s a major predictor of success in math. It’s a skill that develops over time, and takes a lot of practice and feedback for improvement.
How many monkeys are on a page? How many hands? How many drums? Have your child make estimates, and then count to create that feedback loop.
Counting by Twos and Fives
Math
Guiding Question: How many fingers?
For children old enough to start skip counting, this book is perfect for practicing the twos and fives.
Looking for the number of hands on a page? Discuss how counting by twos is a quicker way to arrive at the number than counting every hand. The same goes for finding the number of fingers.
And for children old enough to be multiplying, ask them to create equations to solve for each of the questions.
Big Idea: Social Skills
Shake Hands
Grace and Manners
Guiding Question: How do you greet someone new?
Within the past few decades, we’ve become decidedly less formal. But it’s still important to introduce many of the traditional ways to navigate social interactions.
Talk to your child about handshakes and their place in today’s world. For older children, this can lead to discussions about culture and the rules of social engagement.
Then teach your child how to shake a hand the right way. Firm, non-aggressive, and with confident eye contact.
New Ideas
After reading the book, you’ve probably got an idea or two to try out. Add them to the comments section so we can create an even better resource!
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