Family Members

2 min Magic Box hook

Today the box is flat and heavy. Hold it on two flat palms. Whole class chants:

Shake it — nothing rattles at all. Peek in, and let your face go soft and slow.

Hands over hearts. “Family!”

4 min Teach · Family

Hold your photo high and go person by person, pointing, one beat each:

Now the photo goes round the circle, ten seconds each: a child points at somebody in it and you name them again. Littles say the one word “Family!” or “Mum!” Bigs take the frame: “This is your mum.”

Then the basket. Each child's own photo comes out, they come and fetch it, and they name one person in it. Every photo gets the same warm line from you: “what a lovely family.”

Teacher fails: point at your own dad in the photo and announce “…and this is the baby.” Nod, very pleased with yourself. Wait.

Lay the 家 card beside the photo. Tell them once: 家 means home and family — one word for both. Leave it there; no drilling.

3 min Song · I Love My Family — chorus + Monday verse

The one song of the week — same chorus at every circle, one new verse each morning. It is also a counting song: one finger for mum, one for dad, one for baby. Chords and the full sheet are on the Song tab.

3 min Game · Who's in my family?

“One, two, three — eyes on me!” Every child sits with their photo on their knees, face down until it's their turn.

Littles point and say one word: “Mum!” Bigs give the sentence: “This is my mum.” and if they can, “This is my baby brother.”

Go all the way round; everybody stands up once. The only comment anybody's photo gets is yours, and it is the same one every time.

If a photo didn't come, that child draws their family on a card there and then, and it goes on Friday's tree exactly like everyone else's. Never leave a child standing with nothing in their hands.

1 min Close

Photos held flat against chests. Whisper → normal → shout:

Got 3 spare minutes? The Family Book (Todd Parr) — every page is a different family. By page four they will be shouting “that's a family too!” at you.

2 min Magic Box hook

Today the box weighs nothing. Balance it on one finger so they can see. Chant:

Shake it. Silence. Shake it harder. Still silence. Tip it upside down over your palm and one tiny sock falls out.

“A baby! And who looks after the baby?” Pat your chest. “Mum!”

4 min Teach · Mum

Your shoe goes on the mat, then the baby's sock beside it. Biggest to smallest, out loud:

Littles pat their chest and say “Mum!” Bigs take the frame: “This is my mum.” “My mum looks after the baby.”

Then the nesting dolls, taken apart one inside the other in front of them — dad, mum, big sister, little brother, baby — counting each one out loud as it appears, then all the way back in again.

Teacher fails: try to fit the biggest doll inside the smallest one. Squeeze. Frown. Try again, harder. Let them shout at you.

The 妈 card goes down beside yesterday's 家. Sing one line of 《我的好妈妈》 — one line only, then stop.

3 min Song · I Love My Family — chorus + Tuesday verse

Sing today's verse softly, like a lullaby, and rock while you sing it. The chorus stays big and bouncy — the contrast is what makes them notice the words.

3 min Game · Nesting dolls

“One, two, three — eyes on me!” The dolls go in a heap in the middle; the outline mat goes beside them.

One child at a time picks up a doll and stands it on the outline it fits. Littles name it as it lands: “Dad!” “Mum!” “Baby!” Bigs: “The baby is the smallest.”

Twice through together, then two children do the whole line on their own while the rest of the class watches and checks.

The outlines are the lesson. A doll on the wrong shadow looks wrong to the child before anybody says a word — so say nothing.

1 min Close

Everybody's hand flat on their own chest. Whisper → normal → shout:

Got 3 spare minutes? Are You My Mother? (P. D. Eastman) — they will say “are you my mother?” with you on every single page.

2 min Magic Box hook

Today the box gives one small dry rattle. Chant, shake it twice, then peek in for a long time.

Lift out the glasses and put them on. Look slowly round the whole circle over the top of them, at every face.

Both hands up high. “Dad!”

4 min Teach · Dad

Stand up for this one. Everybody copies:

Littles lift both hands and say “Dad!” Bigs: “This is my dad.” “My dad is tall.”

Then the family ladder, drawn in the air with your hands, three levels high: grandma and grandpa at the top — mum and dad in the middle — me at the bottom. Grandma is dad's mum. That is the sentence of the day and it lands with the four- and five-year-olds hard.

Teacher fails: balance grandma's glasses on your knees and peer earnestly through them at the ceiling. “Ah, now I can see my grandma perfectly.” Wait.

Chinese moment: lay the 爸 card down — now 家 · 妈 · 爸 sit in a row; point along and let them say them. Then ask every child 你家有几口人？ and count it on fingers together. It is the most natural counting work of the year.

3 min Song · I Love My Family — chorus + Wednesday verse

Actually lift one child on “he lifts me up” if your back allows it. If it doesn't, lift a doll — they laugh just as hard and nobody gets hurt.

3 min Game · Guess whose voice

“One, two, three — eyes on me!” One child goes behind the cloth. Everyone else is completely silent.

Hands up, then the class names the friend. Littles just point at the right person, and that counts. Bigs: “I hear Lily!”

Six children behind the cloth, then hand the cloth to a Big and let them run it while you sit in the circle.

Same three words every time, always. The moment the hider chooses their own sentence, the class is guessing the words, not the voice — and the game stops being about family at all.

1 min Close

Hands ready at the shoulders. Whisper → normal → shout:

Got 3 spare minutes? 《我爸爸》 (Anthony Browne) — read it in Chinese, and let them shout 我爸爸！ on every page.

2 min Magic Box hook

Today the box is fat, and something bumps about inside it when you tilt it. Chant, then shake — a soft knock… knock.

“This one is big. This one is small. Same mum. Same dad. Same house. Who are they?”

Arms round yourself in a hug. “Sister!” “Brother!”

4 min Teach · Sister

The two dolls do the whole thing in your hands while you say it:

Littles say the one word: “Sister!” or “Brother!” Bigs: “This is my sister.” “I have a big brother.” “I share with my sister.”

Then go round the circle: who has a sister? Hands up — count them out loud. Who has a brother? Count. Who is the baby in their house? Count. It is real information about real people and they are riveted by it.

Teacher fails: hold the two dolls up, one in each hand, and announce sadly “These two have never met. They are complete strangers.” Hold the pose. Wait.

The 人 card goes down. 一个人, 两个人 — count the whole class in Chinese while you're there. Then say each of 哥哥 · 姐姐 · 弟弟 · 妹妹 once, pointing at the dolls. Once each, no drilling.

3 min Song · I Love My Family — chorus + Thursday verse

“(most of the day!)” is spoken, not sung, in a stage whisper behind your hand. It gets a laugh every single time, and by Friday they say it before you do.

3 min Game · The family house

“One, two, three — eyes on me!” The doll corner is the house; the big doll, the small doll and the baby doll move in.

Four children at a time take a job and act it — one cooks, one lays the table, one puts the baby to bed, one sweeps the floor. Everybody else narrates it: “The sister is cooking!” Littles narrate with one word: “Cook!”

Two rounds with new children each time, and the fourth job is always helping somebody else.

No fixed roles — a boy can be the mum and a girl can be the dad. Say absolutely nothing about it, either way; just let it happen and keep narrating.

1 min Close

Everybody's arms wrapped round themselves. Whisper → normal → shout:

Got 3 spare minutes? 《我妈妈》 (Anthony Browne) — the sister book to yesterday's 《我爸爸》. Read the two back to back and they will spot it themselves.

2 min Magic Box hook

The box comes out fat and bulging and won't quite shut.

Pull each prop out and hold it up in complete silence. They will supply the word before you can.

Your photo → “Family!”  The baby's sock → “Mum!”  Grandma's glasses → “Dad!”  The two dolls → “Sister!”

Last of all, a folded cloth. Shake it right out — a big bare tree with no leaves and no pictures. Everybody waits. Hands over hearts: “LOVE!”

4 min Teach · Love, then the whole week

Everybody stands. We tell the whole week with our bodies, twice — slow, then fast:

Littles do the five gestures and shout the five words. Bigs owe you a whole sentence for each one: “This is my family.” “I help my family.” “Families are different.”

Teacher fails: on “I love them all”, clap both hands over your ears instead of your heart, and look delighted with yourself. Hold it. Let them move your hands down.

Chinese moment: the 爱 card joins the row — 家 · 妈 · 爸 · 人 · 爱, the whole week on the mat. Then tell them: tomorrow is 立冬, the day winter starts, and 北方立冬吃饺子 — families sit down and eat dumplings together. Fold an imaginary dumpling with them, all twenty pairs of hands.

3 min Song · I Love My Family — Friday verse, then the WHOLE song

The finale: chorus → Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday → chorus, standing in front of the finished family tree. They learned it one verse a morning without ever noticing, and this run-through is the review of the entire week.

3 min Game · Build the family tree

“One, two, three — eyes on me!” The tree cloth is pegged up on the wall at child height; every child is holding their own photo.

One at a time: peg the photo onto a branch and say one thing about it. Littles: “My family!” Bigs: “This is my family. This is my mum.”

By the end the tree is covered and every single family in the room is on the wall — and they are all different, and nobody has to say so.

Leave it up. Parents find themselves on it at pick-up time and read the whole week off the wall. That is your parent report done, for free.

1 min Close + awards

Every child gets a “You are a STAR!” award to take home with the 立冬 news. Then, standing in front of the finished tree, with all five gestures:

Got 3 spare minutes? The Family Book (Todd Parr) again — on Monday you read it to them; today they read it to you, in front of the tree.

The four chords

Tempo: warm and rocking, like a cuddle — this is a holding song, not a marching song. Keep the chorus bouncy and drop right down for Tuesday's verse. The only Am in the whole song is at the top of Thursday's verse; the other four verses are just C and G7. Chant it without the uke first; add chords once they know the actions.

Chorus — sing it every single day

Sing the chorus twice each time. The actions are the whole point — a two-year-old who puts up one finger per person and blows a kiss at the end has understood the week, whether or not a single word comes out.

One verse a day — four of the five use only C and G7

The build: each day sing chorus → today's verse → chorus. By Friday they know five verses without ever “learning” the song — and Friday's finale, sung standing in front of the finished family tree, doubles as your review of the whole week.

If you're brand new to ukulele

Practice this loop for five minutes tonight: C (4 strums) → F (4 strums) → C → G7 → C. That is the entire chorus. Add Am last — it is one finger on the same string as F, so slide Am → F → Am until it stops feeling like a change; you only need it for the first line of Thursday. If your fingers get stuck, put the uke down and do the finger-play instead: the class will not notice, and the actions carry the meaning either way.