Story Mix for Three to Six: Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day is a great day to explore colors with your little one!  Red and Pink are often colors associated with Valentine's.  Colors can be both useful and expressive ways for children to not only learn new words, but also identify objects and feelings.  Using such skills, children can begin to learn about colors in books and get ready to read!

These are two great resources to use for learning more about how colors help children learn and grow:
Purdue University College of Consumer and Family Sciences
Kennesaw State University Educational Technology Center

There is also a Valentine themed rhyme in which you can pretend to make a Valentine!  Or for more fun, bring out the craft supplies and make real Valentine's for everyone your child loves!  Crafts are a great way for your little one to enhance their imagination, as well as, engage important hand and eye coordination for improving fine motor skills. 


Let's Make a Valentine Rhyme
Snip, snip, snip the paper.  (scissor motion)
Glue, glue glue the paper.   (glue stick motion)
Press, press, press the paper.  (pressing motion)
Here’s a valentine for you!  (give valentine away)

Valentine Kisses Rhyme
1 little, 2 little, 3 little kisses
4 little, 5 little, 6 little kisses
7 little, 8 little, 9 little kisses
10 little kisses on Valentine’s Day.

We read these Valentine themed books at Story Mix this week:

Clifford's First Valentine's Day by Norman Bridwell
Clifford spends his first Valentine's Day going to the post office with Emily Elizabeth to mail valentines, but he gets lost in the carts full of letters. 
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My Heart is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall
Depicts in rhyming text how love can be many different things, such as eager as a beaver, steady as a yak, or silly as a seal. 

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Hug Me by Patti Stren
More than anything in the world, Elliot the porcupine wants a friend who will hug him. 
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Never Too Little to Love by Jeanne Willis
Tiny Too-Little loves someone who's very, very tall, and Tiny wants a kiss. What if he stands on his tiptoes on top of a thimble? What if he stands on his tiptoes on top of a matchbox on top of a thimble?
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