Y is for Yes!

 

• Read “Yes Day!” by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
• How to Say Yes
  1. Teach the kids several ways to say “Yes” in other languages:
     • oui (wee) in French
     • si (see) in Spanish
     • ja (yah) in German
     • sea (shah) in Irish
     • hai (hi) in Japanese
     • da (dah) in Russian
     • aye (eye) in Scottish
  2. Read the story again, but have the kids use these new words to answer “Yes!” in another language!

• Read “No, David!” by David Shannon … a fun book to show opposite of yes!
• Yes or No Game
  1. Teach the kids the sign language for YES and NO. Click the link for a simple video tutorial.
  2. Ask them several yes or no questions and have them answer you in sign language.
  3. Or write YES on a paper and NO on another paper. Put these on the wall.
  4. Ask your preschooler a yes or no question and have her run and touch the answer, yes or no!

• Read “Yes” by Jez Alborough … it’s bedtime for Bobo. The majority of the text is Yes or No and the pictures explain the rest.

 

• Play our version of Hedbanz … this game is recommended for 6-years-old and up, but we modified it and this is our new favorite game. My kids love it.
  1. Use any set of simple, first words flashcards. Or draw some!
  2. Roll a piece of sticky tape (I love packing tape) and stick it to your forehead. Yep, my kids thought this was great
  3. Without looking, choose a card and stick it to your forehead.
  4. Ask yes or no questions to figure out “what you are”!
  5. Example: Am I an animal? NO! Am I a food? YES! Am I a fruit? YES! Am I orange? NO! Am I an apple? YES!
  6. NOTE: I suggested some questions if they got stuck. Very fun game!
• A New Tradition: Yes Day … I won’t tell my kids about this, but after reading these wonderful articles here and here, I am going to pick one day a week to be our “Yes” day. I’m excited to see how many times my kids faces (and my own) light up when instead of saying “no” or “maybe later,” I consistently say “Yes! OK! Sure! Let’s do it!”