Brain Builders: Band-Aids, A Poem and Activity

by Heather Davis, MCM Early Learning Manager

Have you and your child ever read a poem together?  Poems can tell a whole story in just one page!  No need to order a book or make a trip for library pickup (although we’d all like any excuse to get out of the house).  Many children’s poems can be found online. 

Check out Band-Aids by Shel Silverstein, published originally in Where the Sidewalk Ends, 1974. 

BAND-AIDS

by Shel Silverstein 
I have a Band-Aid on my finger,
One on my knee, and one on my nose,
One on my heel, and two on my shoulder,
Three on my elbow, and nine on my toes.
Two on my wrist, and one on my ankle,
One on my chin, and one on my thigh,
Four on my belly, and five on my bottom,
One on my forehead, and one on my eye.
One on my neck, and in case I might need ’em
I have a box full of thirty-five more.
But oh! I do think it’s sort of a pity
I don’t have a cut or a sore!

After reading the poem, try using some old wrapping paper to trace your child.  Then read the poem again and identify all the body parts in the poem. 

This is a great way to practice identifying body parts, and some of them might be new for even older preschoolers, like heel or thigh.  You can put actual bandages on the paper (but that’s a lot!), stickers, or you could make a mark on each body part.  

*Bonus activity:  my assistant, Claire, really enjoyed drawing in her own body parts and clothes on the body tracing.  We took time to really think about eye color, hair color, and details like eyebrows, eyelashes and even freckles! 

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