The Growing Up Feet

In preparation for a trip to the shoe store, the twins (3 years old) and I did a quick little activity about foot size.  We were (still are) in the process of moving to a new house (downsizing, but more convenient location), so I wasn't sure where all our old shoes were, or I would have extended this activity to a full Shoe Store Dramatic Play (maybe another time).  Nevertheless, here is what we did...

We read the chapter on "The Growing-Up Feet" from the book Two of a Kind by Beverly Clearly.  In this chapter, the twins go to a shoe store to get new shoes only to discover that they're feet haven't grown enough for new shoes, but they do end up with new red boots instead.  We spent some time pretending to put on our own boots and splashing in make-believe puddles.

Then we discussed how children's feet grow larger as they grow taller, but adult feet stay the same size.  I traced the girls' feet, as well as my own, and even Baby H's, so we could compare:

If I had known where the ruler was (or even unit blocks), we would have done some measuring, but this was literally a day before our move, so the house was a mess.  I was, however, able to locate their shoes from last year so we could compare how much their feet had grown:

The girls tried on last-year's shoe and saw that it was too small.  "We have growing-up feet!" they exclaimed (just like in the book). 

A couple days later, we finally made it to the shoe store and bought new ballet and tap shoes for their dance class that starts this week...

The shoes are adorable, and the kids were so excited to try them out in our living room.  My only lament is that they'll outgrow them in a year and I'll have to buy new ones...