RSS
 

Archive for the ‘Relationships’ Category

Valentines Toddler & Preschool Children’s Books

09 Feb

Love is Walking Hand and Hand by Charles Shultz – This book is a family favorite. Classic illustrations and warm sentiments. My favorite is “Love is being happy just knowing that she’s happy…”. A sweet book to read on any day but especially on those days when you need a little reminder about how lovely simple things can be.

If You’ll Be My Valentine by Cynthia Rylant – This book is very sweet. It was also helpful in explaining to my 2.5 year old that Valentine’s Day is about celebrating the people (and animals, real and stuffed!) that you love. The text is written in a way that makes reading aloud fun and also full of humor as the young boy makes promises to his family, friends and animals.

Wherever You Are: My Love Will Find You by Nancy Tillman – This book made me cry the first time I read it through with my son. Very few days pass by when I don’t wonder if there is any possible way that my sons can comprehend or feel how much we love them. This book does a wonderful job of conveying that message. The illustrations are lively and will grab the attention of your child in true Nancy Tillman style.

The Day It Rained Hearts by Felicia Bond – This book does a great job illustrating the idea that love is all around us especially making the point at the end when Cornelia, the main character, sees hearts in the trees. As the rain pours down, Cornelia collects “heart” drops, each unique. She plans carefully which hearts to give to which friends. She is thoughtful in considering the qualities of her friends and why she loves them so dearly. The Day It Rained Hearts, originally published in 1983 with a different title, Four Valentines in a Rainstorm”, makes my family very happy.

Where is Love, Bisquit by Alyssa Satin Capucilli – A touch and feel book, this story is a good one for younger children. Adorable sentiment and, as always, the illustrations are cute as can be. The author takes us through all the places that we can find love. A great reminder and lesson to all of us that love is all around us.

Thank you for visiting! Happy Reading!
Marnie

Pin It

 
No Comments

Posted in Activities, Early Literacy, Education, Emotions, Holidays, Infant, Kindergarten, Parenting, Preschool, Reading Corner, Relationships, Seasonal, Toddler

 

Valentine Puppet – Preschool Activity

01 Feb

We had a bunch of cardboard sitting around to recycle one day. My son and I grabbed it and began to draw hearts on it. I decided to continue that activity, pulled out red paint, a brush and red popsicle sticks. Then I searched for some family photos to add a bit more sentiment to the “puppet”. Plus it is a great way for my boys to continue to get to know our family and other people very special to us that live far away.

Super easy. Cardboard. Marker. Draw Hearts.

Cut out the hearts.

Paint the heart. I painted it after I cut it out but I painted the rest of them before cutting out the hearts.

Let dry and glue the popsicle stick onto the back of the heart.

Then go nuts. Add glitter, buttons, pom poms, anything you and your child want to use to decorate.

I used a picture of my brother. I cut it in a circle but go nuts by cutting with fun shapes.

Glue or tape (with double sided tape) the picture onto the dried painted cardboard.

Pretty simple. Holiday fun. A little family heart warming. Perfect.

Thanks for visiting!
Marnie

I shared this link on:
”I

Pin It

 
1 Comment

Posted in Activities, Art, Celebrations, Emotions, Preschool, Relationships, Seasonal, Toddler

 

Valentines Sensory Love Tub

27 Jan

I love Valentines Day because you get the chance to not only think about those you love so dear in your life but you also have a chance to tell them and reflect on that love. A lovely “holiday”. Like most of my tubs, this one is super easy and quick. Most of the items listed below I grabbed at Target. Michael’s, Amazon and many crafts stores are sure to have ample Valentine Day supplies.

For this tub, we have:

  • pink, red and purple colored rice as the base
  • pink and red bouncy balls
  • small erasers with the word “love” on them

 

  • a super cool red mini mailbox
  • heart shaped (plastic) “slinkies”
  • heart shaped containers for scooping

 

  • Valentine themed cupcake wrappers for scooping
  • my favorite, “table scatter” of X’s and O’s
  • I included a few (the wee ones figure it out fast & can’t resist) traditional Valentine sentiment candy “be mine”, “oh my” , etc

 

c

 

We all had a blast with this tub. Love the colors, the feel and the sentiment. All round goodness.

 
No Comments

Posted in Activities, Celebrations, Emotions, Family Wellness, Homeschool, Montessori, Preschool, Relationships, Seasonal, Sensory, Sensory Tub, Toddler

 

Kids Birthday Party Ideas

25 Jan

A few shots from my son’s birthday party. He turned one. So basically the party was for his older brother (2.5) and his buddies. I took a lot of short cuts by outsourcing to a local grocery store for catering and to a local bakery for cupcakes. Loads of fun. I was indeed exhausted at the end of the night (4-7pm party window) but also elated at the excitement and mess. I laughed as I picked up post party. The things that ended up every which way astounded me. Kids are truly amazing to watch in action. I set up a bunch of “activity stations” for the kids to explore and, wow, did they explore in ways I never imagined they would…Here are a few things we did…

Playdough Table

Lemon & Blueberry Playdough

InstaSnow Winter Tub

Water Bead Tub

Colored Pasta and Lacing Tub

Dinosaurs Invading the Island of Sodor Train Table

Light Table

Customized Party Favor Bags from Whimsy Sweet on Etsy

We also had a designated “quiet area” with pillows, books and puzzles. Of course even that room turned a little wild.  I also scattered baskets of cars, legos and sensory discovery bottles and texture boards throughout a few rooms for the children to discover.

We had a blast! You live and you learn when throwing a party. Most importantly, you just gotta let go. For example, the insta-snow and the water beads quickly became one as kids scooped and combined the tubs. It was fascinating to watch. Another point, for my toddler’s next birthday (3), we’re moving out of the house where there is more space for people to move and explore.  Finally, if you are so fortunate to have the luxury of a house cleaner, wait until after the party to have the crew come over to clean (and you should have some help, you deserve it). I almost made the mistake of having them come before the party. That would have been a huge waste as our home turned into a (good kind of) disaster minutes after the first guests arrived….just a little tip.

Thanks for reading…

Marnie

Related Posts with Thumbnails

 
No Comments

Posted in Activities, Celebrations, Kindergarten, Preschool, Relationships, Sensory, Sensory Tub, Toddler

 
« Older Entries