Valentine's Day

I have so many Valentine felt sets that I usually do a couple or three weeks of storytimes about friendship, love and Valentine's Day. There are soooo many books that lend themselves to these themes. Many of the books I like to use aren't necessarily Valentine's Day books.  This year a new book came in that isn't a Valentine book but will be perfect for the theme!! You Know What I Love? by Lorena Siminovich.  The illustrations are clear, uncluttered, two-page spreads and there is minimal text. I know this one will work with 2's and up for storytime!  It's my newest favorite! Another book that works well is The Biggest Kiss by Joanna Walsh.  A couple of songs I like to use are, 'A, You're Adorable' and 'Teddy Bear Named Freddy Bear' by Ralph Covert.  

I have a few flannel sets and not-flannel sets to share with you.  Be sure to check out the Flannel Friday Pinterest boards for a treasure trove of Valentine ideas. You'll see that this first set was inspired by a post I saw last year at Busy Crafting Mommy;  Six Little Valentines by Elizabeth Stefanov and Miss Meghan. I used laminated Google images for the animals and laminated WordArt hearts that I programmed with the rhyme for the Valentine. I put a small piece of velcro on the backs of each piece. The felt envelopes were easy to cut, fold and glue. I used a small stick-on foam heart for my 'stamp'.

     

Five Little Hearts
Five Little hearts all in a row;
The first one said, "I love you so."
The second one said, "Will you be my Valentine?"
The third one said, "I will, if you'll be mine."
The fourth one said, "I'll always be your friend."

The fifth one said, "We'll all be friends until the
very end."

I flip the hearts over after I do the rhyme and we read the hearts. I always tell the kiddos that my favorite is the one that says KISS! (I'm such a grandmother! LOL!)

I have another counting to 5 rhyme that I've used for many years.

Five Pretty Valentines
Five pretty valentines waiting at the store.
(child's name) bought one and then there were four.
Four pretty valentines for everyone to see.
(child's name) bought one and then there were three.
Three pretty valentines said, "I love you"
(child's name) bought one and then there were two.
Two pretty valentines, this was so much fun.
(child's name) bought one and then there was one.
One pretty valentine sitting on the shelf.
I liked it a lot! So, I bought it for myself.

I glued/taped kiddy valentines to heart cutouts and laminated them for my pretty valentines. I added a dot of velcro to the back so they'll stick on my flannelboard. I've used these for about 15 years!!  When I taught preschool I would tell the children that we would do the rhyme again so that every child would have a chance to hear their name and come up and 'buy' a valentine from the board.  Simple things are always a big hit with small children! Thank goodness!
Valentine's day is so much Fun With Friends at Storytime! Be sure to check out the Flannel Friday Roundup at Mel's Desk.