Activity for Shoes Shakes

Shoes Shakes

Written by Loris Lesynski
Illustrated by Michael Martchenko
JK – Grade 2

“The Wake-Up Shake-Up”

“It’s morning! And morning/ as everyone knows/ begins with a wiggle/ in everyone’s toes./ Your knees need to jiggle,/ your arms need to spin./ A wonderful way for a day/ to begin!”

This fun, sing-song poem is an excellent introduction to the day. Whether at home or at school, it gets children, awake, excited, and ready to hear more!

For Teachers: It’s also a perfect way to let children work out some of their ‘sillies’, and reclaim waning attention spans between planned lessons.

“Shoe Shakes”

“Run run runningshoes/ fly fly flyingshoes/ which shoes/ will I choose/ will I choose today?/ Jump jump jumping shoes/ tip toe tapping shoes/ which shoes/ should I choose/ should I choose today?”

This high-energy, hilarious, rhyming story is an excellent choice to include in a unit on clothing. It works equally well on its own as a fun, join-along story-time pick that is sure to become a favourite.

Storytime Suggestions:

During the story...

• Invite lots of participation by asking the children which shoes (running, flying, jumping, or tip toe tapping) you should choose? Which would they choose? What might these shoes look like or be like?
• Make sure to take advantage of the melodious rhythm, and sing sections of the text where it seems appropriate. You may even find yourself doing this naturally because of the way the story is written.
• Add emphasis in relation to the cues in the text. Get louder in accordance with the size of the bold text, and be sure to have fun with it!

At the end of the story...

• Now that we know there are “twenty million ways/ to walk”, ask the children what they would do: skip or slide, hop or march, sway or stride, walk fast or slow – they decide!
• Depending on the size of the class, have children practice their new walk on-the-spot, or take a little tour around the library or classroom.
• Have the children form a line behind you and remind them, “It’s always you/ who chooses what your shoes’ll do.”
• A fun way to carry out this activity is using a tambourine, drum, maracas or other noise makers. Let some of the childen have instruments and make your own music as you skip, slide, and hop about the room. Alternatively, you can put on a favourite CD or tape to add a little music to the fun.

Related Activities

Foot Prints

1. Using construction paper or poster board, trace the outline of the children’s shoes – older children can work in pairs and trace each others, or even trace their own.
2. Cut out the shoe print.
3. Decorate! Use anything on hand (crayons, markers, coloured pencils, paint, glitter, stickers, pom-poms, etc.)
4. Children can take these home or you can use them for a display.

Alternatively, you can use the attached template to allow children to simply colour and decorate a shoe shape (based on their own shoes, or imaginary shoes). Children can then describe their shoe based on their own imagination, or from a list of descriptive words that the class brainstorms together. Post these words on poster paper or the blackboard for children to refer to.

Examples:

My shoe is …… blue, pink, white OR blue and grey, red and white
My shoe is …… little, big, fat, thin, long, short
My shoe is …… new, old, dirty, clean
My shoe is …… fast, slow, strong, weak

Shoe Collage

1. Collect pictures of different types of shoes. For example: running shoes, soccer cleats, cowboy boots, ice skates, ballerina slippers, work boots, cowboy boots, rain boots, fishing waders, snowshoes, flip flops, high heels, etc.
2. Create a large bulletin board where each new picture can be added to the collage.
3. Discuss what each type of shoe is for; invite those who own or use that type of shoe to share this information with everyone else.

Further Reading

If your kids loved this story, try out these other great reads by Loris Lesynski:

• ZigZag: Zoems for Zindergarten
• Catmagic
• Dirty Dog Boogie
• Night School