Valentine's Day is coming quickly. How do you celebrate it? We just exchange cards and sometimes I do something special with Hazel. Steve's birthday is right before it, so it seems a bit silly to celebrate them both so close together. As I was thinking about Valentine's Day, I thought of some activities to do with different ages of kids. The activities go with today's board book, so I'm going to share them all together. First the book. It is God's Love Is Like Sunshine by Sarah Parker Rubio and illustrated by Dream Chen. It is recommended for ages 1 to 4.
From the Publisher:
Explore the infectiously cheerful nature of God's love with this heartwarming board book!A joyful celebration of God's deep love for little ones, God's Love Is Like Sunshine takes a subject that could be confusing—God's love—and makes it accessible to kiddos. How? By comparing that love to objects and ideas children know and love, such as warm sunshine, overflowing orange juice, and soft clouds. These comparisons paint a beautiful picture of a love that is kind, gentle, and generous. But most importantly, God's Love Is Like Sunshine celebrates how God's love fills up our hearts so they overflow with kindness, gentleness, and generosity for other people. With illustrations that radiate childlike joy and a message that encourages little ones to love God and the people around them, this sweet board book is sure to make you smile.
From Me:
The Bible tells us that we love because God loved us first (1 John 4:19). God's love shows us how to love others and fills us with such a sense of peace and blessing. As a Christian I have discovered this truth and it has offered me so much peace even in times of pure chaos. It is a lesson I have tried to instill on Hazel although I am not sure it is one that can be taught when it really needs to be experienced. This sweet board book is introducing young children to this lesson. An introduction at a young age so they can learn and experience God's love and thus love in their own lives. The book is happy and cheerful. It compares God's love and love to many everyday things like sunshine, a large stack of pancakes, orange juice and more. It shares that God's love makes us feel full and gentler with others.
The book uses simple words to explain an important concept. The pictures are adorable, and I love that it is a multicultural book with people of all races and even a child in a wheelchair in it. It is cheerful and a feel-good book that you will enjoy reading over and over again, as we know young children have us do with their favorite books. I hope you will check it out!
Now as I said in my introduction, I had this idea in my head for Valentine's Day. First I imagined a large heart with the names of people and things one loves and then zentangle designs and doodles filling the heart and making it beautiful. Now I haven't had the time and am not sure I have the talent to actually produce the idea in my head. So I went digitally and came up with this. (To download right click on the picture and save it. All my printables today are sized to letter size paper so they should be easy to print.)
I wanted to get more to my idea for older kids, so I also made this version with just the lines and letting the child or adult decorate the heart however his or her heart moves them.
Then I got to thinking it would be great not only to think about what one loves but also what one loves about himself or herself. So I came up with these printables (different versions for different ages/talents).
I think this one will be harder for everyone to do but I also think it is important to do it.
Then for the older kids who want to decorate the heart themselves I made this one.
Of course, this could also be adapted for a classroom where each child has a heart and enough lines for each child to write one thing they love about that child. I imagine it would be a powerful thing for the person to keep and know they are loved by others. So today spread the love and enjoy these activities and this cute board book!
