Left & Right is an optional award for Eager Beavers. The concepts of Left and Right are being learned at this age. Some Eager Beavers will have studied left and right in school already and will enjoy revisiting the topic. And for others this may still be a newer concept.
Story: Left or Right?
A book is not a requirement for this award. However, I like to keep the meetings somewhat predictable so our kids know what to expect from week to week. I found the book Left or Right? by Susan Markowitz Meredith at my local library. The book is filled with large photographs and a small amount of text. This book is an excellent introduction to our topic and gives the kids an opportunity to practice their skills of identifying left and right. I recommend checking your library for this book and similar books. Unfortunately, Left or Right? is out of print. Watch for it at Thriftbooks or wherever you find pre-loved books.
Skills: I Can Write My Name!
Fulfills Requirement # 2
Eager Beavers come to us with a wide variety of skills. Some Eager Beavers are reading and very comfortable writing many things including their full names. Some will struggle with writing a few letters and haven’t started learning to write their names. Most are likely between these two extremes. Regardless where their skills are, we want all of them to be successful!
I created our name worksheets to hit a few different skill levels. Kids who are struggling with pencil skills can focus on tracing their name. Advanced kids can quickly write their name on the line and spend the time waiting on their class by coloring the title letters and the little hands at the bottom. And the middle group of kids can trace their name and, using the provided example, copy their name on the bottom line.
I made these custom worksheets in Canva. I have created an editable version for you to use for your class. (Link at the end of the post. Not sure how to make a copy and begin editing? Watch this video.) After they finish writing their name, ask them which hand they write with.
Blue & Red: Left & Right
Fulfills Requirement # 3
We used these mini stickers to fulfill the requirement “Put blue dot stickers on the fingers of your left hand. Put red dot stickers on your right hand.”
The Good: The Eager Beavers enjoyed sticking the stickers on their fingers.
The Bad: They fell off so fast, I’m not sure they stayed on long enough to get them all on before they started falling off. And then one kid started throwing the falling stickers everywhere.. (Fortunately, a more responsible Beaver cleaned up the floor and tossed the used stickers in the trash.) I really hate giving my Eager Beaver teacher a situation that creates more havoc and mess..
We think using one larger sticker on each hand would stay on better, and next time, I will make this change. Ideally, the stickers would stay on for the whole meeting to be used as a reference.
Simon Says: Left & Right Version
Fulfills Requirement # 1
This is just like a normal game of Simon Says except for one difference: Use left or right in your commands (“Stand on your left foot.”) Don’t know how to play Simon Says? You can find instructions here. This is a fabulous game to add to your tool chest for crowd control too. It’s one of those games you can pull out whenever you need to fill a few minutes. It works with a small group of two all the way to large groups of 20 and more!
Left & Right
Fulfills Requirements # 4 & 5
Which side of a faucet controls the hot water? Which side is cold?
Both of these requirements are pretty simple. For the first one, you’ll need to take your class on a tiny field trip to your nearest faucet. The most complicated issue with is that it’s likely a restroom, and your class likely contains both boys and girls. Personally, I’d just take the whole class into the ladies room (make sure it’s empty first!) and have the kids experiment with the faucets. If you want to split up according to genders, please only do so if you have the appropriate ratio of adults to kids in each group.
Put your shoes on the correct feet.
Hopefully everyone came to Adventurers with some sort of footwear! Note: The requirement says to put shoes on the correct feet. It says nothing about tying those shoes.
Marching
Fulfills Requirement # 6
Practice marching while chanting, “Left, right, left.” Don’t overthink this one. Will all the kids be on the correct foot at the correct time? Probably not. If they had fun, the activity was a success.
Craft: My Left and Right Hands
This craft is optional. As a craft is a typical part of our Eager Beaver meeting, I added it in. If you are short on time, this one can be easily dropped. Parents can trace their child’s hands, and the beaver can then color their hands. We encouraged the kids to figure out which colored pencil was closest to their skin tone to color their hands. Coloring their hands in whatever colors they want is also lovely.
Downloads and Links
I Can Write My Name: Canva File
Thanks for reading all the way to the end! Tell me, what is your preferred way to either teach kids to remember which hand is which or your favorite way to remember yourself?