Stop and Smell the Roses for 3-5 year olds

Have you ever heard someone say, “Stop and Smell the Roses?” It means we shouldn’t be busy all the time and rush right by a beautiful flower without even noticing it. When you put your mind on the Rose and take the time to smell it and even touch its petals, you’re learning about the real world. Sometimes this is called being mindful. And you can grow your mindfulness when you read a good book!

Watch these videos, download books to read together, and explore things to do with BookSpring.

Books to Read Together 

Here are some books to read together! You can download and save them and keep them forever, to read again and again. Discussion questions are available for each book.

My Garden
What is a pipit?
What kind of flower would you put in a garden?

ABCD- A Nature Alphabet Book
In the book, what does O stand for?
Can you name a flower that starts with the letter D?

Flowers
What color is the sunflower?
What is the name of your favorite flower?

Los colores de la Naturaleza
¿De qué color es el pez?
¿Quien bailó con una flor violeta?
¿De qué color era el sombrero del gato?

La Mariquita
¿De qué forma son las alas?
¿Has visto una mariquita? estaba grande o chica?

Mi Jardin
¿Cuales insectos miras en el jardín?
¿Cuales flores plantarias? de que color son?

Mi Pequeño Jardin
¿Donde hicieron su jardín?
¿Donde harias tu jardín?

Things to Do Together

Pause: pause to take three slow belly-breaths together, breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. Big enough breaths fill up your whole belly!

Talk: Look around and observe things you notice when you are out and about, then share as a family. What do you see? Are there people around? What sounds are you hearing? What smells are you smelling?

Move: Standing up, slowly reach up to the sky to stretch as far up as you can, and then slowly reach down to your toes. Observe and talk about the sensations you feel in your body when you stretch and notice how different movements feel.

Explore: Take a nature walk around your yard or neighborhood – what do you notice? Flowers? Trees? Birds? Insects?

Share Together

At the end of the week, reflect on what you read and what you did.
Did you practice pausing and experiencing each moment? Did you enjoy slowing down to do that?
Did you notice anything new about the world around you?

More Ideas To Build Young Readers

Come back each Sunday for new Weekly Themes from BookSpring. Meanwhile, keep reading for more parent tips and recommendations!

  • Do a Cloud Meditation together when the weather is right! “Meditación en la nube”
  • About the Seasons (Spring) from PBS – You can watch the video in Spanish or English!
  • For PARENTS: Guided Mindfulness Practice from PBS

Please share your photos and stories by emailing them to communications@bookspring.org or tag us on FacebookTwitter, or Instagram with #BookSpringATX #ReadTogether.  Remember to subscribe to our YouTube Channel for more weekly themes and Community Storytime videos.


BookSpring Weekly Themes are released for reuse under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.  You are free to use and share this for personal and educational use.

Stop and Smell the Roses for 3-5 year olds
Weekly Themes 34: Smell the Roses Card Ages 3-5
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