THE TASTY PASTY VALENTINE
(The figures you will need are a mouse, cheese, boy, girl and hearts. The figures can be mounted on a cupboard, bulletin board or a door with a small circle of masking tape. Put up the figures as they appear in the story. If you wish you can make a permanent flannel board story by tracing the figures onto pellon and coloring them with felt tip markers.)
Little gray mouse peeked out of his cozy little house. "I'm so lucky," he thought. He was lucky. His little hole in the wall was just right, his house was just right and the people that lived in the house were just right too. There was a mother, a father, a boy and a girl. They had the most delicious food in their kitchen. Little mouse loved to run in there to get a snack every now and then. Little gray mouse's house was in the boy's room and sometimes that caused a problem. Like right now. Mouse wanted to go to the kitchen, but the boy was in the room, right in his way. The girl was there too. Oh, how the mouse wished he could run by them and get a piece of wonderful cheese that he smelled in the kitchen. But, he was afraid. "I wish those two would go out and play," thought little mouse. The boy and girl were working on something. They had red paper and paste and scissors. He cut up the red paper. They put paste on the paper, they snipped and they snapped.
"Oh, dear" said the girl, the one's I'm making look awful." "My valentines look terrible, too. Something is wrong," said the boy.
"I wanted them to look pretty, but something is not quite right. They don't look frilly enough," said the girl.
"Come on," said the boy, "Let's finish them up so we can go out to play. Maybe when they're dry, they will look better."
"Yes, thought the mouse, "Please finish them and go out to play. I want my cheese from the kitchen."
The children left and the gray mouse popped out of his hole. He was about to make a dash for the kitchen, when he stopped. He smelled something wonderful. Sniff! Sniff! The smell was coming from the red papers that the children had left. It was the wonderful smell of white paste.
Mouse ran to the papers. Um, the paste smelled good. Nibble, nibble! Little gray mouse nibbled all around the papers. In and out and around and around, nibble, nibble he went, wherever there was the wonderful taste of paste. At last he finished and went back into his house to go to sleep.
Little gray mouse was still when the boy and the girl came back. They ran into the room. They stopped.
"Look at our valentines," said the boy.
"Why they're beautiful," said the girl. "I wonder who did this for us. They look as if they have been nibbled all around." All at once the boy and the girl looked at one another and they both began to laugh.
"I know who it was," said the boy. "We must thank the special little creature who did this and I know just how to do it."
Little gray mouse was just waking up from his nap when he smelled something. What could it be? He had never smelled anything that good before. He ran out of his hole as fast as he could. The boy and the girl were gone, but what a surprise. There in the middle of the room was some cheese, and on the cheese was some paste. There were words on the red paper that said, "BE OUR VALENTINE." Little gray mouse didn't care about the words. He cared about the cheese and paste. It's not often you can eat cheese and paste at the same time.
"What a day!" he said happily. "What a wonderful, tasty day!"
Special Valentine
(prepare five valentines and five envelopes to use on the flannel board)
Look at all these valentines, (put valentines on board)
I made one for each friend.
I'll put them in some envelopes, (put envelopes on board under valentines)
So each one I can send.
How many valentines do you see?
Start to count them now with me.
1,2,3,4,5,
One for----------(name of child)
One for---------
One for----------, too.
One for----------
And here is one for YOU! (point to child)
(Repeat until each child's name is mentioned)
Valentine poem
5 little valentines just for you.
The first one says, "My love is so true."
The second one says, "You have my heart."
The third one says, "Let us never part."
The fourth one says, "Won't you please be mine?"
The fifth one says, "'Til the end of time."
Counting Valentines...
Valentines, valentines, how many do I see?
Valentines, valentines, count them with me.
I have red ones, orange ones, yellow ones, too.
I have green ones, purple ones, and some that are blue.
Valentines, valentines, how many do I see?
Count them with me! 1-2-3-4-5........
Give each child a red, orange, yellow, green, purple or blue heart. While adult says verse, children place hearts on flannel board at appropriate time. Count number of hearts and identify different colors when verse is finished.
Cut a large and a small heart shape out of the following colors of felt; red, orange, yellow, green, purple and blue. Arrange the large hearts on a flannelboard. Give the small hearts to your children to hold. Read the following rhyme aloud. As you say each color, have the child with that color of heart come up and place it on the matching colored heart on the flannelboard.
Valentines, valentines, how many do you see?
Valentines, valentines, as pretty as can be.
I have red ones, orange ones, yellow ones, too.
I have green ones, purple ones and some that are blue.
A rainbow of valentines, as you can see.
A rainbow of valentines for you and me.
Five gay Valentines
Five gay Valentines from the dollar store.
I sent one to mother, now there are four.
Four gay valentines, pretty ones to see.
I gave one to brother, now there are three.
Three gay valentines, yellow, red and blue.
I gave one to sister, now there are two.
Two gay valentines, my we have fun.
I gave one to Daddy, now there is one.
One gay valentine, the story is almost done.
I gave one to baby, now there is none.
Games
Valentines Game...
Staple a 2" piece of string to a heart cut out of tagboard. Hide the heart while the children close their eyes. The Valentine maybe covered but the string must be left to show. Tell the children to search for the Valentine, but when they find it they should not pick it up or tell anyone. Instead they must just go and sit back down until everyone else has found it. The first child to sit down then may hide the heart.
Valentine Bingo...
Prepare four heart-shaped cards. Write I Love You on them. For each player print a set of alphabet letters, I, L, O, V, E, Y, O, U, on 1 1/2" hearts. Make a heart spinner that has these letters printed also. Players take turns spinning. Use candy hearts to cover the letter spun.
Musical Valentine...
Cut out and laminate enough huge hearts for each child in group to stand on. Place hearts in a circle on the floor. Play music when the music stops the children must stand on a heart. Take away a heart for each time the music stops. Allow all the children to stay in the game, however they must then share the amount of hearts.
St. Valentine Says...
This game is played the same way as Simon Says.
Follow the Heart:
Make a large heart shape on the floor with masking tape. Play some lively music and have your children walk, jump, march or hop along the heart shape. To make it more challenging have your children walk and at the same time do another movement, such as waving or clapping their hands patting their head, or pretending to be playing instruments.
Valentines Basket:
Cut varying sizes of heart shapes out of several different colors of construction paper. Place the hearts in a basket. Let your children take turns sorting the hearts by size or color.
Hug Tag:
Have your children spread out in a large room. Choose one child to be the Tagger and one child to be the Hugger. Explain to the children that as they walk around the room the Tagger will try to touch them. When they are touched, they must freeze in place. Once they are frozen, the Hugger will come over to unfreeze them with a hug or a handshake. Change Tagger and Hugger often so that each child has a turn to be both.
Won't You Be My Valentine Song
Oh, won't you be my valentine My sweet little, pretty little valentine, Oh, won't you be my valentine, My sweet little, pretty little friend?
Have children sit in a circle, one child is chosen to walk around to circle holding a valentine, she/he places a valentine besides another child's back, at the end of the song, the children look behind their backs to see who has the valentine, now it's their turn!
Sweetheart Dance
(Sung to "Skip to my Lou" )
Cut large heart shapes out of red, yellow & blue construction paper. Give each child one heart and have the children stand in a circle. Then sing the song below & have the children follow the directions. Change the activity/add more verses. Have fun!
Red hearts, red hearts, take a bow
Yellow hearts, yellow hearts, take a bow
Blue hearts, blue hearts, take a bow
Now all hearts jump up right now.
Yellow hearts, yellow hearts touch the ground
Blue hearts, blue hearts touch the ground
Red hearts, red hearts touch the ground
Now all hearts turn round and round.
Blue hearts, blue hearts, sit right down
Red hearts, red hearts, sit right down
Yellow hearts, yellow hearts sit right down
Now all stand and run to town! (run in place
I Have A Valentine Just For You:
Have your children sit in a circle. While the following song is sung, choose one of your children to be the valentine and walk around the outside of the circle carrying a paper heart. At the end of the song, have the Valentine give the heart to the child sitting closest to him or her. That child gives the Valentine a hug or a handshake and becomes the new Valentine as you sing the song again. Repeat as many times as you wish.
Sung to "Skip to My Lou"
I have a Valentine just for you,
I have a Valentine just for you.
I have a Valentine just for you.
I'll give you my heart, my darling.
A Tisket-a-Tasket
Children sit in a circle, one child walks around the outside of the circle while everyone sings. He drops a heart shaped bean bag behind on of the children, that child chases the first around the circle similar to duck, duck, goose.
A tisket-a-tasket,
A red and yellow basket.
Sent a Valentine to my friend,
And on the way I dropped it.
One of you has picked it up,
And put it in your pocket.
Activities
Valentine Sort
You can prepare this for the flannel board or make the pieces from construction paper. Cut hearts of different sizes and shapes, the children can use them to make patterns, sort them into groups or sort them by size.
Valentine Color Match
Cut two sets of hearts, one set of white hearts and one set of different colors. Print the color words on the white set. The children match the color word heart to the colored heart.
Valentine Match
Use valentine cards or stickers to make two sets. Make a game board with one set, and cards with the other set. The children match the cards to the game board. You could also make two sets of cards to play a memory type game.
Heart number match
Cut ten large hearts from construction paper. Cut the hearts in half so the children can match them together to make the heart. On one side of the heart print a number. On the other side of the heart glue small pink hearts to correspond with the printed number. Laminate for durability.
Valentine Relay Game
Cut out a heart for each child. If you have an odd number of children cut an extra one. Think of an action for the children to do like jump, crawl, hop, skip, and walk backwards. Print each action on two hearts. Sort the hearts into two piles. Make two teams of players. Line each team up behind a string. Put the piles of hearts across the room from each team. The first player on each team runs up to the pile and picks a heart. The player then comes back doing what it says on the heart. When the first player gets back to their team the next player runs to the hearts. If there is an extra player on one team the first player will go twice.
Valentine Game
Take red poster board and cut into a heart shape. Use cupcake liners , glue them to the heart shape cut to represent a box of valentine chocolates. At the bottom of the cupcake liner with permanent marker write the letter or number you choose. Then write the matching letters or numbers on a deck of heart shaped cards to create a fun matching game that looks like a box of chocolate.
Candy Heart Patterns...
With a supply of candy hearts, tagboard strips and glue, make up patterns for the children to try to match. After they have matched your patterns allow them to make up their own patterns for others to follow.
Bean Bag Heart Toss...
You will need to make up a box ahead of time for this center. Take a cardboard box and cut out Valentine hearts 5-6, make them big enough for the children to throw bean bags through. Decorate the rest of the box in a Valentines Day pattern. Have the children practice throwing bean bags in.
Tinted Sensory Water...
Tint water red (food coloring) add to the sensory table red heart sponges.
Heart Puzzles...
Decorate large hearts. Cut the hearts apart in as many pieces as you feel your children can put back together. Store the pieces in plastic ziplock bags.
Stringing Noodles...
Ahead of time dye assorted pasta shapes red, white, and pink. Do this by using food coloring and rubbing alcohol. Set up pattern for the children to follow or allow them to make necklaces.
Queen Of Hearts Land...
In the housekeeping area add red dresses, red shoes, shirts, decorate the entire area with large hearts. Make a few wands by using hearts made of construction paper and stapling them to cardboard cubes.
Post Office...
Have the children make up a mailbox for themselves to place on shelves in the housekeeping area. Place envelopes, paper, stampers, stickers, pens, pencils, boxes, tape, money etc. Allow the children to make pictures, letters, and mail packages to their friends. To add extra props throughout the week you may add postal bags, toy mailboxes, junk mail, wagons or tricycles.
Flower Shop...
Add the following props. Plastic pots, artificial flowers, gloves, seed packets, baskets, vases, garden tools, watering cans, notepads, telephone and pens.
Matching Hearts...
You will need an old deck of cards. Remove all of the heart cards. Cut each card in half so that the numbers show on both ends. Let the children match them up.
Valentine Bean Bags...
With red chalk, we drew a heart "target" on our wall outdoors. (It took a long time to wash off - so you might want to tape up a heart instead.) I made three heart-shaped bean bags made out of red vinyl to throw at the heart. Each child who wanted a turn, stood behind a line and threw (3) beanbags at the heart. You can make it easier or harder by moving the line.
Easel Painting...
Easel painting on a big heart shape using red. We used a red maker to outline the heart shape, so it was easier to see the shape.
Feelie Box...
The children had turns feeling objects in the feelie box and then pulling them out. We used all red objects, with lots of different feels.
Using Red Playdoh...
We played with red play dough, rolling pins, and lots of different heart cookie cutters.
Heart Sponge Or Cookie Cutter Painting...
Using cookie cutters and sponges dipped in paint to create pictures.
Sensory Table
I put Valentine candy hearts into our sensory table. The kids loved not only pouring, scooping, sorting and measuring, they loved identifying the letters and words on the hearts.
Circle Time
Play a counting and sorting game with conversation heart candies. Try sequencing by making patterns of colors. Divide the candies by telling children , in turn, to take one pink candy, or two purple candies, etc.
ART:
Don't "Hog" All the Hugs, There Are Plenty For Everyone! Have your children paint both a large and small paper plate pink. After the plates are dry, glue the plates together with a little bit overlapping. Give the children 1/4 piece of pink paper and 1/2 piece black paper. Tell them to cut 2 triangles and a circle out of the pink paper. This will be the ears and the nose of the pigs. Have them fold their black paper in half and then half again and cut a "W" shape. When they have cut that they will have four pig feet. Then have them cut two small black circles for the nose. Glue on wiggly eyes and draw a mouth. Give them 1/2 of a pink pipe cleaner and show them how to curl it around a pencil. Tape it on as the tail. Have your children make heart valentines to place around the pigs for a really cute Valentine bulletin board!
Heartful Helpers,
(good parent/child project).
I sent a letter home asking my children to have a heart and be helpers. I gave each of my children 10 cut-out hearts to take home. Each time they helped out around the house, with chores, with pets, or siblings, they got to bring a heart back to school. They had to write their accomplishment on the heart. Then at school, I will display their hearts on the wall to create a huge heart. At the end of the month, if they were hearty helpers, I told them we would have a heartfelt party.
Valentine Day
- Remove set of hearts from a deck of cards. Cut in half and have children match the cards together
Size Discrimination: Large or Small? Without looking, have children take turns reaching into a box that has both a large and small heart shaped pillow in it. They are to "feel" the hearts as much as they wish to compare them and thereby determine which is the small and which is the larger heart. To lessen the difficulty, you can demonstrate the activity yourself by letting them see the hearts then allowing them to observe your hands in the box as you compare the hearts through "touch." This is also a great game to keep in the Quiet Corner or some other part of the classroom for children to do during Free Choice Play. Variation: Without looking, let children compare two textures of heart shaped cutouts by "feeling" them. For example, you could glue cellophane to one cardboard heart and sandpaper to another for rough versus smooth. Another option would be to compare soft and hard.
Counting/number matching Game
I use an old Valentine candy box to create a counting/number matching game in our math center. In each compartment of the box, I glue a number. Then I have laminated heart shapes with corresponding number or dots to place in the matching compartment.
Matching Valentines Cards
We always use left over store bought valentine cards for a matching game. My kids love to match up the cards. Just glue one set inside a folder and have the kids match up the other set of cards to the cards on the folder. Stickers work well too.
For A Valentine's science idea I bought some white carnations and mixed up a lot of red food coloring and water. Then you cut the stem to fit in your vase and then cut a vertical X in the base of the stem and place the flowers in the red water. The next day it will already be turning a light red color and will keep changing. On the day of our Valentine's party we put the flowes on our lunch tables. The children were very excited to see that the flowers had changed colors!!!