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5-6 yrs (kindergarten) 6-8 yrs (primary) Activities Birth-36 months (infant/toddler) PreK 3-5 yrs (preschool)

National I Love My Feet Day: August 17

Grade Levels: PreK through  Primary  Grades

Age Levels: 

  • Birth-36 months (infant/toddler)
  • PreK 3-5 yrs (preschool)
  • 5-6 yrs (kindergarten)
  • 6-8 yrs (primary)

NATIONAL I LOVE MY FEET DAY HISTORY

Have you ever thought about how important feet are? For many of us, feet enable us to balance, walk, dance, and play sports among other things. In fact, feet are so amazing that some people can use their feet as well as others use their hands. For example, artist Sheri Caldwell lost the use of her arms at age 6, due to polio, and at age 10 learned how to paint with her feet and is now a professional artist. There is even an international organization that is dedicated to artists who paint with either their mouth and/or their feet!

Carolyn D. Jenkins realized just how important  feet are and submitted a proposal to give them a day of celebration, care, and pampering. In 2015, the National Register of the Calendar of Days approved August 17th as Annual National I Love My Feet Day

What tools and materials do I need?

  • Tempera Paints
  • Paper (butcher paper preferred but any thick paper can work)
  • Markers
  • Bucket of water
  • Towels or rag for cleanup
  • Large paint brush or rag for applying paint to feet

* This could get messy so you may want to either  lay out some newspaper or do this activity outside and dress your child in clothes that can get dirty. 

What should I do? 

  1. Brainstorm with your child all the things they appreciate about their feet and what they can do.
  2. Write down key ideas that your child shares with you.
  3. Help your child to paint the bottom of their feet with the tempera paints.
  4. Instruct your child to walk on/paint the paper with their feet.
  5. Dialogue: As you are enjoying this activity with your child, engage them in conversation by asking them questions such as: 1) What do your feet feel like?, 2) What colors do you see?, 3) Is this difficult, why or why not?

For another way to do this activity see: Painting with Feet by Meredith at Homegrown Friends Studio.

Tags: 

  • Art
  • Gross motor skills
  • Parent-led activity

Developer:

Beth Powers

Credit: 

Creative Commons License

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
CC BY-NC-SA
Credit: ConnectionSpot.org on 08/17/2021 

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By Beth Powers

Hello! Welcome, and thanks for visiting us! My name is Beth (aka Miss Beth and/or Dr. Powers) and I have been an educator for more than half of my life. I have worked with teachers, families, and students from birth through 70 years of age. The majority of my teaching has been split between young children ages 3-7 and future teachers who are 18 years and older. Specifically, I have worked with children and educators across the U.S. (CA, PA, NC, SC, NH, & VT) and the world (Italy, Sweden, Thailand, & Zimbabwe). Along the way, I earned three graduate degrees (two Masters in Education and one Doctoral Degree) and learned a great deal about children, teaching, and learning. I am especially interested in culture, diversity, and equity in Education. This means that I dedicate my work to finding better ways to meet ALL learners’ needs. That’s exactly why I am so glad you found us. Our team is excited to share what we have learned and learn from and with you and your children.

- Masters of Education in Early Childhood and Elementary Education, Antioch New England Graduate School
- Masters of Education in Reading, Bloomsburg University
- Ph.D. in Culture, Curriculum, & Change, UNC-Chapel Hill.

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