Preschoolers love holidays! Here are fun ways to prepare for Valentine’s Day with your child.
Valentine’s Day Books
Enjoy these terrific books together:
- The Berenstain Bears' Funny Valentine by Stan Berenstain: Sister Bear has her eye on Herbie Cubbison, the cutest cub in class—and she also plans to let that annoying Billy Grizzwold know exactly what she thinks about his dumb jokes. But an extra-special valentine turns her plans completely upside down.
- The Berenstain Bears' Valentine Blessings by Mike Berenstain: Brother is practicing with his hockey team to prepare for the big game against their rivals. But, when he gets a secret valentine in the mail from “Sweetie Bear,” readers have to wonder if he’ll play his best in the big game. What will he learn about love?
- Clifford’s First Valentine’s Day by Norman Bridwell: Clifford the Big Red Dog was adorable, even before he was big. As a puppy, he helps Emily Elizabeth to make a very special valentine for her grandmother. And, when they go to mail the card, Clifford unexpectedly gets a behind-the-scenes tour of the post office.
- Happy Valentine’s Day, Curious George by N. Di Angelo: Curious George enjoys a fun day with friends, decorating for the holiday, baking and making cards. Picture a curious monkey—with balloons, frosting and glitter. Fold-out flaps reveal surprises throughout.
Valentine’s Day Cards
What would the holiday be like without cards? An astonishing 141 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged each year—and that doesn’t count the pre-packaged cards that children hand out in classrooms.
Your preschooler can have plenty of fun making his or her own cards; here are several templates you can print out. These cards come with dotted lines for cutting—you decide if your child is ready to do the scissors work (with supervision). Plus, there is room for children to trace a Valentine’s Day word on the card with room left over to sign their names.
You can make your own cards from scratch, using red, pink and white heart doilies of different sizes. Have your child glue a smaller doily on top of a larger one, using a glue stick, making sure that the doilies aren’t the same color. Then, glue a smaller one yet on top, again in a contrasting color. Provide crayons so that your child can draw a picture or write a message.
Or download heart shapes and cut them out. Use the largest one as a base and have your child glue the next smaller one on top, then the next and so forth. Allow him or her to decorate with crayons or markers.
Another Angle
What if you have a preschooler who finds Valentine’s Day to be too, well, mushy? That’s easy! Make Heart Monsters. Cut hearts out of pink, red and white paper—at least one large one for the head, plus five medium-sized ones for hands, feet and mouth, plus five small ones for eyes, nose, ears and horns. Cut strips of each color of paper, as well.
Let your child glue the hearts together (using a glue stick) in whatever way makes sense to him or her. After all, how do we really know what monsters look like? Provide markers or crayons, as well, for additional artistry. Ask your child to tell a story about the monster. What body parts does it have that people don’t? In what way are we alike? Have fun!
Looking for more ways to enrich your child’s learning and life? Horizon Education Center provides affordable quality care, including educational and enrichment opportunities for children in the following Northeast Ohio locations.
