Looking for Valentine’s Resources?
This year I came across a blog that has a wonderful set of Valentine’s resources. There’s everything from meal planners to preschool and toddler packs; acts of kindness we can do with our kids, coloring sheets, crafts, cards and recipes. Be sure to go check out Jamerrill’s amazing post over at The Better Mom: Free Valentine’s Day Resources:
Last weekend, I shared some of the Valentine’s math sheets and games I made for the kids.
- Valentine’s Multiplication Worksheets and Game Boards
- Valentine’s Bump Game Doubling (Addition)
- Valentine’s Bump Game — Division
The Wrinkled Heart Activity
Another thing I plan to do this coming week is The Wrinkled Heart Activity. I first found this wonderful idea at ProTeacher. It’s something I did with the kids a couple of years ago when we were studying the heart and circulatory system. It is an activity that shows how hurtful words and actions can linger; it reminds us to be kind and gentle with our words.
Before I read Chrysanthemum to the kids (since that’s the book I had on hand), I cut out a heart.
Then after we read the book we talked about the things the mice said that were hurtful (and I made folds in the heart) and things we’ve said to each other that have been hurtful (more folds) and things that they’ve heard others say that might be hurtful (more folds).
We then talked about things we say that are kind (unfold). We said as many kind things as we could until the heart was unfolded.
Then we talked about how the heart was still wrinkled and how the hurtful things we hear can linger for a while in our heart. We hung our wrinkled heart in the homeschool room as a reminder to be kind to one another.
Other books you could use with this activity (suggested by the teachers over at ProTeacher):
- Oliver Button is a Sissy by Tomie DePaola
- Willy the Wimp by Anthony Brown
- Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon
- Timothy Goes to School by Rosemary Wells
- Recess Queen by Alexis O’Neill
- How to Lose All Your Friends by Nancy Carlson
- Mr. Peabody’s Apples
- Sweet Briar Goes to School by Karma Wilson and LeUyen Pham
- Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae
My kids can always use a gentle reminder to speak kindly to one another!
