Sometimes I am Hot Lava
The first feature of April for Picture Books, Printables, and Play—OH MY! is here with Sometimes I am Hot Lava by Jody Jensen Shaffer (Author), Amélie Videlo (Illustrator)!
I am so excited to share this book. As an early childhood educator, it is SO important that we have a variety of stories available for kiddos that highlight BIG feelings and how we manage them.
Buddy is a regular kid, but when things don’t go his way, he feels the magna boiling and bubbling within him until he ERUPTS like a volcano. This story will help kids learn to recognize their BIG feelings and how to manage them through meaningful breathing techniques.
Backmatter is included to teach readers to identify their anger, why they’re feeling it, and how to work through it.
This picture book would be a great resource to have in every early childhood classroom and home!
After reading this story, please use these three free printables as an extension of this book.
This first printable is a simple maze. Help this child find their calm.
Copy and paste into a word document or download the printable here.
This journal page will help kiddos reflect on the story and think about the ways they can calm themselves down when they feel like hot lava. Have the child draw a picture and finish the sentence. Example: When I am hot lava, I calm down by taking 3 big belly breaths.
Copy and paste into a word document or download the printable here.
This printable is to have children reflect back on the story and put the events in order. Answers: 1. Boy showing painting 2. Spilt milk 3. Boy plays basketball 4. Boy angry with basketball 5. Boy and sister under tree 6. Boy calm on rock
Copy and paste into a word document or download the printable here.
After reading this book, as always, I want to give hands-on activities that relate to the story. A few options are below!
Role play! An excellent way for kids to learn and grow is through pretending to go through the actual events. As an educator, I used role playing to teach a variety of things from rules in the classroom, to how to use art supplies correctly. For this book, there could be several scenarios to role play. Depending on how many children you have to work with, create scenarios that work for you. For example: A child gets angry because they lost a board game, what should they do next? A child takes a toy from a peer, how can they solve it? A child is angry because their mom told them no, how can they calm down? Practice different scenarios and have child/ren practice different ways to cope with the feelings they would have in each scenario.
Make a volcano! This story uses a volcano erupting to refer to how a child is feelings when they get angry. So let’s watch a volcano erupt together! Here is a simple way to make a volcano erupt using materials you may already have at home. Discuss with the child/ren what they see. Ask them questions such as: Do you feel lava boiling inside you when you are mad? What does it feel like when you’re about to erupt? Do you feel red and hot like the lava?
I hope your kiddos/students enjoy the story, Sometimes I am Hot Lava, the printables, and play activities!
Please considering purchasing this book using links above or checking it out at your local library. After reading this story, PLEASE leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. :)
For a chance to win a copy of this picture book from Beaming Books (US only), please comment on this blog post below OR follow me on twitter @garnett_nicole, comment on the post featuring this story, and retweet! A winner will be chosen on Friday, April 26th at 12:00PM central!
Stay tuned for more Picture Books, Printables and Play!—OH MY!
