You'll soon grow Alex by Andrea Shavick (Orchard Books, 10.99) is a delightful story and an ideal basis for a mini topic. In the story, little Alex yearns to be tall because he is constantly teased about his height. He seeks advice about how to grow big, but finds that eating lots, exercising lots and sleeping lots don't work. His huge Uncle Davy then shows him there is a downside to be being tall - you bump your head on things, for a start - and what really matters in life are the things that make you happy 'on the inside'.
How does it feel?
* Encourage children to consider their own feelings by discussing how they think Alex feels when he is teased by others. Do the children know what is meant by 'teasing'.
* Talk about nicknames. Does Alex like being called 'Shorty'? Do any of the children have nicknames? Explain how some nicknames can be affectionate and others unkind. Is it a good idea to call children by unkind names? Why not?
* Uncle Davy suggests to Alex that he does things that makes him happy 'on the inside', such as eating an ice lolly in a bath full of bubbles. Ask the children to think of one special thing that makes them really happy inside and paint a picture of it. Caption and display the pictures around a large smiling face.
* Encourage children to be sensitive to others' feelings. As you read the story ask the children to find things that Alex does to make other people happy, such as giving hugs. Ask the children to draw pictures for a home-made book about ways to make others happy.
Tall story
* Alex wants to be tall. Make a list of the tall things in the story, and make a tall book of tall things.
* Arrange plastic animals or small world people according to height. Talk about the 'tallest' and 'shortest' and decide if any are the 'same height'.
* Record the heights of the children and staff on a height chart. Who is the tallest adult? Who is the tallest child? Introduce 'taller than' and 'shorter than'.
* Make a frieze of Alex and his Uncle Davy standing next to each other using collage materials. Emphasise the differences in height by making Uncle Davy very tall and draw round a child to make Alex life size.
* Alex counted lots of things including his fingers, toes and bears. Make handprints. Count the digits on each hand and write the number alongside.
* Ask a small group of children to sit in a circle and take off their shoes and socks. How many toes do they have on each foot? How many toes altogether?
* If you have Compare Bears (Galt, 15.95) or similar, sort out a pile of the tallest bears from three different sizes. Grab a handful of the bears and put them in one pan of a balance scale. Add bears to the other pan until the two pans balance. Count the bears in each pan. Are they the same?
* Count out 10 tall bears and put a short bear alongside each one. How many short bears are there?
Just routine
* Alex eats high-protein food for three weeks to try to make him grow tall. Draw children's attention to high-protein foods such as cheese, eggs, meat and fish at snack time, and reinforce the importance of eating a healthy balanced diet all the time - not just a high-protein diet for three weeks.
* Alex tries exercising for three weeks to make him grow tall. Organise an exercise session with the children. Start with a warm-up, move on to more vigorous exercise and finish with some cooling down exercises. Talk about the changes that the children notice in their bodies as the session develops. What happens to their breathing, their heart beat and their faces? Emphasise that they need to do regular exercise to be healthy - not just for three weeks.
* Alex tries getting lots of sleep for three weeks to make him grow tall. Introduce a role-play bedroom with, for example, a clock, teddy, nightclothes books and a lamp. Encourage the children to act out night-time routines, share bedtime stories and lullabies. Emphasise that we need a good night's sleep every night to be healthy - not just for three weeks.
Reader offer
We have ten copies of You'll Soon Grow Alex written by Andrea Shavick and illustrated by Russell Ayto (Orchard Books, 10.99) to give away to Nursery World readers. Send your name and address on the back of a postcard or envelope to the address on page 3. Winners will be the first ten names to be drawn on 8 February.
