Wee Read - Valentine's Day

Early Literacy Tip of the Week: Make sure you get plenty of face-to-face time! Babies prefer to focus on human faces over anything else.

Good Morning

Hello, How are You?

If You Love Me and You Know It

Sung to: "If You’re Happy and You Know It"

If you love me and you know it, clap your hands. x2
If you love me and you know it,
Then your face will surely show it.
If you love me and you know it, Clap your hands.

Other Verses:
Say "I Love you", Blow a kiss, Give a hug

--PreschoolEducation

Open Shut Them

Book One

What Do You Love? by Jonathan London

Will You Be My Valentine

Sung to: "Do You Know the Muffin Man?”

Will you be my Valentine, my Valentine, my Valentine?
Will you be my Valentine, be a friend of mine?

--PreschoolEducation

Acka Backa

--from Lapsit Services for the Very Young II by Linda L. Ernst. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc, 2001.

Little Red Valentine Game

Little Red Valentine, I love you.

Little Red Valentine, I love you.

Little Red Valentine, I love you.

Yellow one says, "I love you, too!"

Use green and blue.

--Storytime ABC’s

I Wiggle My Fingers

Book Two

Where is Baby’s Valentine? by Karen Katz

Roll Roll Sugarbabies

Roll, roll sugarbabies (arms roll)
Roll, roll sugarbabies.
Push, pull,
Clap, clap, clap!

--Rain Makes Applesauce

Clap Hands, Clap Hands

Use signs for Daddy, Mommy, Grandpa, Grandma

--from Babies in the Library by Jane Marino. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, 2003.

Read Together

Clap Hands by Helen Oxenbury

The More We Get Together

Storytime - It Must Be Love

Toddler

Books: Hugs and Hearts by Toni Trent Parker and A Kiss Like This by Mary Murphy.

Songs / Rhymes: “Good Morning”, “Hello, How Are You?”, “Open, Shut Them”, “If You Love Me and You Know It”, “If You Have a Red Heart” game, and “The More We Get Together”.

Craft: I Love You Valentines. Materials: die cut construction paper hearts in red and pink, die cut construction paper hands in purple, crayons, glue, and tape. The toddlers glued their hearts together and then glued on their hands. When they were finished, their caregivers folded down the middle and ring fingers of the hands so that they said “I love you” in American Sign Language. The idea came from The Best Kids' Crafts and More.

Special Activity: I gave every child a different colored heart. When I sang the name of the color, the children with that color heart brought it to the front of the class to give to me.

Preschool

Books: Hugs and Hearts by Toni Trent Parker and The I Love You Book by Todd Parr.

Songs / Rhymes: “Welcome to the Library”, “Hello, How Are You?”, “Hi There, So Glad You Came”, “Head and Shoulders”, “Open, Shut Them”, “If You Love Me and You Know It”, “If You Have a Red Heart” game, and “The More We Get Together”.

Craft: I Love You Valentines. See above.

Special Activity: We also played "If You Have a Red Heart". See above.

Songs

If You Love Me and You Know It

Sung to: "If You’re Happy and You Know It"

If you love me and you know it, clap your hands.
If you love me and you know it, clap your hands.
If you love me and you know it,
Then your face will surely show it.
If you love me and you know it, Clap your hands.

Other Verses:
Say "I Love you"
Blow me a kiss
Give me a hug

--PreschoolEducation

Who Has a Red Heart? Game

Sung to: Mary Wore a Red Dress

Who has a red heart, red heart, red heart?

Who has a red heart?

Bring it to me now.

Use different color hearts.

--Miss Mollie

Storytime - Valentine's Day

Books

Big Hugs, Little Hugs by Felicia Bond

Toddler

 

Sweet Hearts by Jan Carr

Toddler

Be Mine, Be Mine, Sweet Valentine by Sarah Weeks

Preschool

Before reading this book, I explained what a rhyme was asked the preschoolers to listen for the rhymes. The poems leave out the last word and hide the answer behind a flap. The preschoolers were able to guess what word came next based on the context and a few hints from me.

The Runaway Valentine by Tina Casey

Preschool

This is a looooong story. My preschoolers sat through it, though. I was very proud!

Songs

If You Love Me and You Know It

Sung to: "If You’re Happy and You Know It"

If you love me and you know it, Clap your hands.
If you love me and you know it, Clap your hands.
If you love me and you know it,
Then your face will surely show it.
If you love me and you know it, Clap your hands.

Other Verses:
Say "I Love you"
Blow me a kiss
Give me a hug

--PreschoolEducation

Will You Be My Valentine

Sung to: “London Bridge”

Will you be my valentine, Valentine, Valentine?
Will you be my Valentine, be a friend of mine?

--PreschoolEducation

Activities

Who Has a Red Heart? Game

Sung to: Mary Wore a Red Dress

Who has a red heart, red heart, red heart?

Who has a red heart?

Bring it to me now.

Use different color hearts.

--Miss Mollie

Crafts

We made our own valentine's out of die cut hearts. I found the die cut for a pop-up heart card at my school district's resource center.

Wee Read - Hugs and Kisses

Books

All Kinds of Kisses by Nancy Tafuri

I Will Kiss You (Lots & Lots & Lots) by Stoo Hample

Hugs and Kisses by Christopher Loupy

Read Together book

Songs/Rhymes

I Have Ten Fingers

--from Babies in the Library by Jane Marino. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, 2003.

Criss Cross Applesauce

-- from Lapsit Services for the Very Young by Linda L. Ernst. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc, 2001.

Will You Be My Valentine

Sung to: "Do You Know the Muffin Man?”

Will you be my valentine, 

Valentine, Valentine?
Will you be my Valentine, 

Be a friend of mine?

--PreschoolEducation

*I taught the caregivers the ASL sign for Valentine, which is drawing a heart on your chest, and the sign for friend, which is linking your two index fingers together.

Little Red Valentine Game

Little red Valentine, I love you.

Little red Valentine, I love you.

Little red Valentine, I love you.

Orange one says, "I do, too!"

Use different color hearts.

--Storytime ABC’s

*We used the ASL sign for Valentine again, along with the signs for "I Love You" and the colors. 

If You Love Me and You Know It

Sung to: "If You’re Happy and You Know It"

If you love me and you know it, Clap your hands.
If you love me and you know it, Clap your hands.
If you love me and you know it,
Then your face will surely show it.
If you love me and you know it, Clap your hands.

Other Verses:
Say "I Love you"
Blow me a kiss
Give me a hug

--PreschoolEducation