Read, Count, Play – Every Child, Every Day!

Listen to My Body

by

Illustrated by

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Today I am not going to school.

It is a holiday.

  1. What do you think she will do with her day off from school?
  2. Why does she like not going to school?
  3. Do you think she will miss seeing her school friends and teachers?
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Today I am not going to watch TV.

There is no electricity anyway.

  1. Why does she decide to not watch TV?
  2. What would you do if you were to plan a special day?
  3. What do you do during times when your electricity is not working? Do you have special activities for such times?
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What am I going to do?

Today I am going to listen to my body!

  1. Her hands only have four fingers! Have you seen someone with four fingers on a hand?
  2. It is uncommon, but some people are born with six fingers on a hand. How many more fingers is six fingers than what she has?
  3. Do you think you can buy gloves for someone with six fingers?
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First I have to be very quiet.

So that I can listen to my own body.

  1. Have you listened to the sounds your body makes? What are some of them?
  2. Have you heard your stomach rumbling, grumbling, or gurgling?
  3. Have you ever run hard and heard your pulse pounding in your ears?
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Yes, now I can hear my breath.

I breath in and out, in and out.

  1. If you stop and listen, can you hear yourself breathing?
  2. Do you breathe through your mouth or your nose most of the time?
  3. Watch the time for half a minute and count your breaths. How many were there?
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And I can make my breath noisier. Ssssssssssss!

And softer. Mmmmmmmm.

  1. She is making her toy fly around by blowing on it very hard. When have you blown hard on something?
  2. Have you blown out candles on a birthday cake or maybe blown on a fire to help it burn?
  3. How old were you at your last birthday?
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Now I can hear my heart beating!

Doodom, doodoom, dooo dooom.

  1. It is not easy to hear your own heart beating. Can you hear yours?
  2. Put your ear on someone’s chest so you can hear their heart beating.
  3. Do you think your heart ever stops beating? Most of your muscles can get tired, but your heart muscle never does!
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Can I make my heart go faster or louder?

Yes, by jumping up and down twenty times.

  1. Can you count to 20 to count the jumps?
  2. If you can’t count to 20, you can count to 10 and then immediately count to 10 again. That will be just the same.
  3. When you run around and start breathing hard, do you sometimes feel your heart beating in your chest?
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Now see, my heart is beating faster.

  1. Have you ever seen your own heart beating in your chest? Is it possible to see it?
  2. The storyteller and artist are stretching the truth a bit here. Have you ever stretched the truth a bit to make a story a little more interesting?
  3. Her toy is covering its ears because the heart is beating so loudly. Is it possible to hear someone else’s heart from a distance?
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If I put my fingers on my wrist, then I can feel my pulse!

  1. Can you feel your pulse on your wrist? Some people like to feel their pulse on their neck or on their head. Try it!
  2. Count your pulse for ten seconds. Did you get a count between 7 and 20?
  3. Have another person do the same thing and compare the counts you got. Whose count was more and whose was less?
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I can hear myself laughing.

Haha, haha, haaah, haaa!

  1. She is very expressive, so her laughter is probably very loud. Is it possible to laugh softly? Can you do it?
  2. People often like to laugh together. When you laugh, do other people laugh with you?
  3. Even when there is nothing funny happening, sometimes just laughing out loud can make you feel better.
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I can hear myself crying. Boohoooo hooo!

  1. Do you think she is really crying, or is she just pretending?
  2. Do you ever pretend to cry so that people will feel sorry for you?
  3. Some people feel much better after they cry. Do you feel better after you cry?
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I can hear myself clapping.

Clap, clap, clap.

  1. Make up a pattern using claps and foot stomps on the ground.
  2. Was your pattern complicated, or was it as simple as: clap clap stomp, clap clap stomp?
  3. Dancing is often a pattern of movements with your arms and legs. Do you like to dance?
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I can hear my stomach rumbling!

Guddu, guddu, guddu.

  1. When your stomach rumbles, what is your body feeling?
  2. Does your stomach ever rumble when it is having trouble digesting something or when you’re sick?
  3. Looking at her face, what is she feeling right now?
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My stomach is saying, “Feed me!”

  1. Have you ever been so hungry you couldn’t wait and you had to eat immediately?
  2. Do you think her stomach is really shoving her to get some food?
  3. Each time she bounds forward, she takes two steps. You can count those steps by counting by 2’s – 2, 4, 6, 8, ...
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My nose can smell cakes baking in mother’s kitchen.

And now I want to hear my jaws chewing those cakes!

  1. How many really small cakes do you think she will eat?
  2. What are the most cookies or other snack you’ve eaten at one time?
  3. This story has talked about a lot of different sounds to hear from your body. How many of them can you remember?

You are free to download, copy, translate or adapt this story and use the illustrations as long as you attribute in the following way:

Listen to my body
Author — Noni
Illustration — Angie and Upesh
Language — English
Level — First sentences
© Pratham Books 2014
Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0
Source www.africanstorybook.org
Original source www.prathambooks.org

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