This week, our theme centered around Love as we prepared for Valentine's day. Mia enjoys having time to color & draw everyday so I created a minimalist Valentine's card with that in mind. I printed them out on blank 4x6 index cards. Did you get some of those yet? I linked the printable in the summary list below. Each day I gave her a few to color and by the end of the week, I had a nice big stack. Since she's still working on some of her fine motor skills, we also made a paper heart chain. I prepped a stack of paper strips the night before, but I let her help with the folding and creasing. You'll have to help your kid with the assembly part because it's tricky to fold over the ends of one strip while also lining up the next strip, but stapling is fun! And fine motor skill building. Bonus!
Mia's not really one for obvious signs of affection so I made up a game to help illustrate the concept of physical love -- Animal Kisses. It's simple, all you do is come up with an animal and a sign of affection for your child to act out. How does a monkey give kisses? What would a snake hug be like? Show me how a Tyrannosaurus rex blows kisses. It's pretty hysterical and you can play this game anywhere. Another simple activity we did is create a We Love/I Love chart together (I linked a printable below). This could be a good one for one parent to do with your kid while the other is preparing dinner. Get the whole family involved in this similar/dissimilar exercise. I asked Mia what things she loves and then I talked about whether or not it was on my list of loves. We agree on our love for cheddar garlic grits and daddy, but she's on her own with the bug love! Oh, and if your kid is into letter recognition, then you might like these Brach's alphabet candy hearts I found in the seasonal aisle at Target.
Wanna try? They're really easy to make. All you need is ready-made pie crust, jam, an egg (optional), powdered sugar, lemon (optional), milk, food coloring & sprinkles (also optional). Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. Unroll your pie crusts (KISS Tip: put down parchment paper first for easy counter & pan cleanup). Using a sharp knife cut the 2 circles down to rectangles. Give the side scraps to your kid and let them make worms or whatever (i.e. keep them occupied while you assemble). I can usually cut the 2 larger rectangles into about 16 smaller rectangles. This will then yield 8 small pop-tarts. Put a spoonful of jam in the middle of half of the rectangles, then brush the edges with the egg. The egg isn't totally necessary since you're pressing the edges later but I like to do it. Old habits. Place another rectangle over top and then use a fork to press the edges. Poke a few holes in the tops, too. Transfer them to your cookie sheet and bake for about 12-15 minutes. The glaze is just a mixture of powdered sugar, a touch of lemon juice, and enough milk to get a slightly runny consistency. You can add food coloring if you'd like. Let the pop-tarts cool completely before glazing but add sprinkles right away before the glaze hardens. Enjoy! I mean, give them to your friends to show them how much you care.
A summary of all Love week activities with links:
ACTIVITIES: Played the animal signs of affection game, Made a We Love/I Love chart (here's a printable), Practiced letter recognition with Brach's alphabet candy hearts, Did something nice for someone else (check out this great list of ideas!)
ART PROJECTS: Colored "i heART you" valentines (get the 4x6 printable here) for friends & family, Made a paper heart chain
OUTINGS: Took a surprise lunch to Dad at work, Heart scavenger hunt around the house or neighborhood
SNACK: Made homemade pop-tart treats for a friend
BOOKS: Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne
BIBLE STORY: Jesus loves the little children (the song, too!)
Happy Valentine's Day, friends!
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