LA T3.03My Book About Me
At the mirror and with a small photo book of the child, their family, and their things, the adult names the child's body parts and what the child and other people look like and can do, and the child points, names, and says "me".
Safety
- The mirror is shatterproof acrylic, never glass, and is screwed to the wall so a child cannot pull it forward.
- Keep photographs in a board-book album or laminated, with no loose plastic sleeves the child can pull off and mouth.
- Show printed photographs, not a phone or tablet screen, in keeping with the curriculum's no-screens rule.
Presentation
- 1
Before the lesson, ask the family for 6–10 printed photographs and for the names the child uses for each person. Put them in the album with a short caption under each.
- 2
Sit with the child in front of the wall mirror. Point to the child's reflection and say their name: "That is Ada." Wait for the child to look, smile, or touch the mirror.
- 3
Touch one part of your own face and name it, then point to the same part on the child's reflection: "Here are my eyes. There are Ada's eyes." Name two or three parts in one lesson: eyes, nose, mouth, hair, hands, feet.
- 4
Ask, "Where is your nose?" and wait for the child to touch it. This is the point of interest: the child touches their own nose and sees the child in the mirror do the same.
- 5
Name one thing the child can see about themselves and one about you: "You have curly hair. I have straight hair." Name only what can be seen or done (hair, eyes, clothes, size, what the child can do), without judging it.
- 6
Open the album at the child's photograph. Say: "Who is this? This is Ada. Ada is eating an apple." Wait for the child to point, say their name, or say "me".
- 7
Turn to the family photographs one at a time. Ask, "Who is this?" Accept a point or a word, and name the person with the child's own word for them. Add one trait: "Papa has a beard."
- 8
Put the album on the book shelf, cover facing out, so the child can look at it alone, with a friend, or with a family member at pickup.
Extensions, easiest to hardest
- More body parts: elbows, knees, chin, eyebrows, fingernails
- What the child can do, with photographs of the child doing each thing: "Ada can jump. Ada can pour water."
- Comparing: the child and adult put their hands side by side and say which is bigger
- A book for each child in the group; with each family's permission, children look at each other's books and name one trait: "Sam has a dog."
- Adding a photograph of the child as an infant: "This is Ada when you were a baby."
Control of error
The mirror: when the child touches their nose, the child in the mirror touches the same place, so a touch on the wrong part is visible. For names and traits, the adult repeats the correct word without asking the child to say it again.
Ready to move on when the child…
- Points to themselves in the mirror and in photographs when their name is said
- Says their own name or "me" when looking at their photograph
- Points to several body parts when the adult names them
- Names family members in photographs
- Names one trait of themselves or another person ("Papa big", "my hair curly")
Guide note
Photographs of children need the family's permission under the school's photo policy. Families differ: include the people the child lives with and sees most, whoever they are, and use the family's words for them, in the home language where the family uses one. Toddlers notice differences in skin, hair, and bodies; when a child points one out, name it plainly ("Leo's skin is dark brown. Your skin is light brown.") and do not hush the child. At home, the same album can be made with family photographs and kept on the child's book shelf.