Tap, Shake, Roll, Spin: Bringing "Press Here" to Life

The other day, I watched a room full of 2-3 year olds tap the floor with their feet, rub their hands together, tilt their whole bodies to the left, and then fall down laughing - all because of ONE little book. That book was Press Here, and honestly, it was such a delight to see a group of toddlers this excited to "read".

If you haven't come across it, Press Here is a wonderfully simple picture book that asks its readers to DO things. Tap the yellow dot five times. Shake the book. Tilt it to the left. Blow on the page. Using nothing but primary colors and a clever play on words, the author basically hands you a room full of movement activities on a silver platter. As you can imagine, I couldn't resist!

Turning Every Page Into a Whole-Body Movement

We read through the book together, but with a twist. Every little instruction on the page became a BIG body movement. Tapping the page? We tapped with our feet instead. Rubbing a picture? We rubbed our hands together. Every tiny gesture on the page turned into something the children could feel in their whole bodies, not just their fingertips. And on another read-through, we took it even further - when the book said to tilt the page left, we tilted our WHOLE bodies left. When it said to stand the book up, we all stood up too. The story practically became a game of Simon Says.

Since the book's dots come in red, blue, and yellow, I took inspiration from a song I found on the internet and changed the words a little bit:

Colorful dots went dancing, dancing all around, 

Yellow, Blue, Red dots, sing a silly song. 

Boing! Boing! Boing! Jump up high! 

Boing! Boing! Boing! Touch the sky.

Colorful dots went rolling, rolling all around, 

Roll to the left, roll to the right, rolling round and round. 

Roll, roll, roll, roll around, 

Roll, roll, roll, touch the ground.

Colorful dots went spinning, spinning all around, 

Spin to the left, spin to the right, spinning round and round. 

Spin, spin, spin, spinning all around, 

Spin, spin, spin, we all fall down!

Watching a room of toddlers jump, roll, and spin together to this song was pure joy. And yes, we all fell down together at the end… every single time. On another day, I brought out yellow, red, and blue play scarves to go along with the same song, and the children waved and swirled them through the jumping, rolling, and spinning lyrics. There's something about adding a new prop to a familiar song that makes it feel brand new again… the kids lit right up.

Sensory Bottles and a Splash of Color

Then came the sensory bottles! Each child picked their own pom pom colors and decided how many to drop into a clear plastic bottle, filled it with water, and I sealed the lid nice and tight. Watching those little pom poms rise and float and swirl was mesmerizing enough on its own - but it didn't stop there. The children rolled their bottles across the floor, flipped them over and over, and even started stacking them into towers. Free play at its finest!

We also made our way to the art table! I taped down some paper and set out round stamps, round objects, and even cinnamon sticks (a personal favorite - they smell amazing and roll beautifully through paint). Some children experimented with patterns and mixed colors, while others simply wanted to feel the paint on their fingertips, tapping and dragging lines across the page. It got messy, in the very best way, and the children washed up proudly and took their masterpieces home.

What Made This Book So Different

Here's what struck me most: the children were noticeably MORE eager to interact with this book than with previous stories we've read in class. I was able to read the entire book, start to finish, every single time - no wandering attention, no breaks needed. There's something about a book that invites you to DO something on every single page that just clicks for this age group.

And interestingly, not every child fell in love with the same part. Some children couldn't wait to tap and shake and tilt the book itself. Others came alive the moment the song started. It was such a good reminder that one book, brought to life in a few different ways, can reach every child in the room… just through a different door.

The Real MVPs: Sensory Play

As expected, the sensory activities stole the show. The sensory bottles and the paint stamping, each held the children's attention for more than ten minutes at a time - which, if you've ever spent time with a toddler, you know is basically a small miracle! They moved easily between playing on their own and playing alongside a friend, stacking and rolling bottles, swapping stamps, just soaking in the experience with their hands, eyes, and whole bodies.

Why I'll Keep Coming Back to Books Like This

Press Here reminded me all over again why I love building classes around books this way. A story doesn't have to stay flat on the page - it can turn into a song, a dance, a bottle full of floating pom poms, or a handful of paint. And when it does, children don't just listen to the story. They live inside it, with their whole bodies and all their senses.

Here's to many more Sensory Speech Adventures - tapping, shaking, and rolling right along with our little ones!