Self-control
Toddlers watch a caregiver calm down by pretending to be a cornstalk moving in the wind.
Be Prepared: Arrange for an adult or a preschool-age child in your center to demonstrate the cornstalk movements if you do not wish to do so.
[Invite 3–4 toddlers to help you pretend to be a cornstalk.]
We are learning some ways to calm our bodies and our minds. Today I will show a way to calm down by pretending to be a cornstalk.
[Display picture of corn on the cob and a small bowl of corn.]
Have you ever eaten something that looks like this?
Did it taste good?
[Point to the corn on the cob and to the bowl of corn when you mention each.]
This is corn. Our picture shows corn on the cob. Our picture also shows a bowl of corn that has been taken off the cob.
[Display picture of cornstalks. Point to an ear of corn on a cornstalk when you describe it.]
Corn grows on a cornstalk. Here is a picture of cornstalks. If we look carefully, we can see the cobs of corn on the cornstalks. The corn is inside the leaves of the cob.
A cornstalk grows in a farm field or in a garden. The bottom of the cornstalk is in the ground. The roots of the cornstalk grow deep into the ground. The roots keep the cornstalk in one place when the wind blows. My feet are the roots of the cornstalk.
I am going to stand tall and pretend I am a cornstalk. I am going to pretend that some wind blows in the field where I am standing. The wind will not move my pretend cornstalk because my roots are deep in the ground. The roots help me stay in one place when the wind blows.
Please watch me pretend to be a cornstalk moving in wind. The wind is strong. The wind is blowing hard. Please pay attention to whether my feet move while the rest of my pretend cornstalk is moving in the wind.
[Sway your upper body back and forth while making bigger movements with your arms.
After a brief period of swaying and arm movements, announce the following while continuing to move your body:]
The strong wind is getting gentle. The wind is becoming soft and slow.
[Sway your upper body at a slower pace and make smaller movements with your arms.
After a brief period, stop the movements and stand with your body in a relaxed position.]
My body feels calmer now. I focused on keeping my feet in the same place and moving my body. I did not think about other things. I thought about pretending to be a cornstalk in the wind.
[If two or more toddlers respond positively, repeat the movements, beginning with larger upper body and arm movements and then moving at a slower pace with smaller arm movements.]
Pretending to be a cornstalk in the wind can help us calm our minds and bodies. I calmed down by focusing on my body. I thought about keeping my feet on the floor while moving my body in wind that was first strong, and then gentle.
Self-control
Toddlers participate in guided practice of a calming-down activity by pretending to be a cornstalk moving in first strong, and then gentle wind.
Be Prepared: This activity is for toddlers who are familiar with the calming-down activity demonstrated in Option 1. Make arrangements for an adult or preschool-age child in your center to demonstrate the activity if you do not wish to do so.
Invite several toddlers to practice calming down by pretending to be a cornstalk moving in the wind. Use Option 1 strategies to provide a brief description of a cornstalk. Show the picture of a cornstalk and, if appropriate, the picture of corn. Then remind toddlers of how we focus on our body while pretending to be a cornstalk moving in the wind. First the wind is strong. Then the wind is slow.
Lead toddlers in pretending their body is a cornstalk moving in strong wind. Encourage toddlers to sway their bodies back and forth and make big movements with their arms. Remind toddlers that we do not move our feet; our feet are the pretend roots of the cornstalk. Encourage toddlers to focus on what their body is doing and not on other things.
Stop moving your body and invite toddlers to also stop moving. Ask toddlers what happens next. Affirm that the wind gets calmer and our bodies move slower. Then lead toddlers in swaying their bodies back and forth at a slower pace and making smaller movements with their arms. The wind is slow and soft. Our pretend cornstalk is moving slower.
After a brief practice of moving our bodies slower, stop moving your body and ask toddlers to stop moving. Talk about your actions. Describe how focusing on our body as a pretend cornstalk in wind can help our bodies and minds get calmer.
Then lead toddlers in another round of practice, this time without a pause between strong and calmer wind movements. Remind toddlers that first there is strong wind, then there is slow wind. Conclude the activity by inviting toddlers to talk about what it’s like to pretend to be a cornstalk moving in the wind.
Self-control
Toddlers practice a calming-down activity by pretending to be a cornstalk moving in strong and then gentle wind, with minimal caregiver guidance.
Be Prepared: This activity is for toddlers who are familiar with the calming-down activity focused on a pretend cornstalk through participation in Options 1 and 2.
Invite toddlers to practice calming their bodies and minds by pretending to be a cornstalk that moves in strong wind, and then in gentle wind. Remind toddlers to keep feet on the floor and to focus on pretend wind and moving their bodies. Offer verbal support. Provide a demonstration, if needed. It is not necessary for toddlers to move from strong to slower wind at the same time. Offer two rounds, with a pause between each practice (that includes both strong and slow winds) to briefly talk about the experience, including how we focus on the pretend wind and moving our bodies in different winds.
This is a popular activity among toddlers. Some may find it challenging to keep their feet in place and to transition from faster to slower body movements. The questions of toddlers about these matters in Option 1 are intended to draw attention to these aspects of the activity. In Options 2 and 3, offer verbal support as needed, in an especially quiet, calm voice. Positively accept differences in how toddlers approach the activity.
Option 1 devotes some time to describing a cornstalk in ways that hopefully connect with toddlers’ experiences. It is easier for toddlers to pretend they are a cornstalk when they have some knowledge of a cornstalk.
It is not necessary in Option 3 for toddlers to engage in a uniform transition from strong to calmer winds, as noted in the activity description. Pursuing independent practice as a group activity may prompt toddlers to pay more attention to what their peers are doing than to their own image of wind and how their body moves in stronger and then calmer wind.
Extra support
Enrichment
Materials needed: live nontoxic potted plant, Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown, *pictures from Option 1, several books with pictures of plants and roots
Display the potted nontoxic plant and assortment of books on a low table. Show toddlers the cornstalk illustrations in the Big Red Barn book plus the Option 1 pictures. Engage toddlers in discussion of the live plant growing in soil. Talk about how the roots keep the plant in the soil and how the part of the plant that grows above the soil can blow and sway in the wind. Draw attention to any trees or shrubs in your setting that may be moving in the wind.
*Printables provided
Materials needed: see activity description
Preschool-age and older children may enjoy demonstrating the cornstalk in Options 1 and 2. Encourage them to talk about focusing their mind on the pretend wind and cornstalk, and whether their minds and bodies feel calmer after the activity. Infants will enjoy watching any of the option activities.
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