Books about Love that we Adore * inspired by Valentine’s Day*

Reading and storytelling is a HUGE part of our days. We read on circle time. We read while we're eating snacks/lunch. Our art is often inspired by books. 

In the month of February we will be welcoming the Story Truck, a wonderful initiative offered by the Calgary Public Library, in which a Facilitator of Play meets children on-site (at their dayhomes. child care facilities). 
I want to write a separate post about the program, as well as our first visit, so I will not say too much here.

Are you looking for books to read aloud to your learners on Valentine’s Day? I’ve put together a list of our favorites just for you! We hope you like them.

 

Le Grand Coeur de Clifford

It's Valentine's Day. After preparing a basket of small toys and treats, for dogs in a local animal shelter, the two friends go to the kennel. The main message of this lovely book, is that all dogs need love - every day- not just on Valentine's Day.

Guess How Much I Love You, by  Sam McBratney

"Guess how much I love you," says Little Nutbrown Hare. Little Nutbrown Hare shows his daddy how much he loves him: as wide as he can reach and as far as he can hop. But Big Nutbrown Hare, who can reach farther and hop higher, loves him back just as much. Well then Little Nutbrown Hare loves him right up to the moon, but that's just halfway to Big Nutbrown Hare's love for him.
This book has been a circle and quiet time favourite for the past few weeks.

 

Pete the Cat: Valentine's Day is Cool, by Kimberely and James Dean

We love Pete the Cat, so this book is an added bonus for all the Pete fans. 
At first, Pete thinks Valentine's Day isn't cool...until he realizes all the special cats there are in his life. Pete the Cat: Valentine’s Day Is Cool comes complete with a poster, stickers, and twelve punch-out Valentine’s Day cards.

 

Hugs from Pearl, by Paul Schmid

Pearl is the sweetest little porcupine who loves to give hugs. Her friends love hugs, except, Pearl’s hugs kind of hurt...just a bit. What can a friendly little porcupine do? You'll have to read to find out just what Pearl does to fix this little problem. Definitely 2 thumbs up :)

Plant a Kiss, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

This is a simple but wonderful book about the importance of spreading love wherever we go. Its whimsical illustrations will make any child feel as if the book is written with him/her in mind.

 

Have You Filled a Bucket Today?, by Carol McCloud 

I know! This is not a Valentines book - it's an every day, every season book. This heartwarming book encourages positive behavior by using the concept of an invisible bucket to show children how easy and rewarding it is to express kindness, appreciation and love by "filling buckets." This book should be read/shared often, but we thought this was a great time to help the children focus on helping others feel good and useful.

The Day It Rained Hearts, by Felicia Bond

This sweet book...loved by my 6 year old, is about a little girl who catches raining hearts. She uses them to create special valentines for her animal friends. You'll love the illustrations as well.

What Does Peace Feel Like? ~ September Book of the Month

Our September book of the month was What Does Peace Look Like? (V. Radunsky).
Radunsky's vibrant book combines visuals, and encourages (young) children to use their 5 senses to discuss the topic of peace. Using quotes from children in an International school in Rome, this book takes a serious matter, and gets right down to the child's level.

Working with younger children, I think the word peace can be so abstract. I think this is true for many people. We use our senses in every day life, and I think this is why it sticks with the younger reader.  Going even further, the books illustrates how we all see, hear, feel, taste and smell things differently - something that we take for granted. For example, many of the children's answers are practical, and the pictures helped to draw the children into the text. I thought that was awesome!

Check out the last page, where you can find the word for peace in nearly 200 languages. I don't think we got through all of them.
I encourage you to read this book, or create your own activity exploring ways to talk about peace at home with your child (no matter the age).

BOM Activity ~ Storytelling & Meditation
Peace starts within. Even young children can practice meditation. For this exercise I didn't capture any photos (perhaps if Iman was here I would), but I needed to be as engaged as the children, so we left the camera aside.

On a cool autumn morning, the children and I practiced a simple breathing technique, which I think is perfect for anyone-any age, and be used anywhere and everywhere. The children and I spoke about the importance of letting our brains help us sometimes when we feel tired or just moody.

I asked the little ones to sit down in a circle (as we do for circle time). I then asked them to close their eyes (no peeking or giggles). First we did some mimicking- to make sure that everyone was present. 
We played Salma Says. I asked them to "cough" "wiggle their tongues" and "pretend to sniff the air" - all with their eyes closed..
We then moved on to the exercise. I asked the children to breathe in slowly and breathe out X 3 (of course I did this with them).

 I then began my storytelling for the day, about 3 little kids, 2 girls and a boy (MB, ZA, & JM). In the story, I took them to familiar sights - like the backyard in our garden, then to the green space that we visit weekly. They walked over the bridge to a magical place where there was an ice cream shop. I asked them to think about their favourite ice cream flavour.
I told them that they could put ANYTHING at all on their ice cream. (I gave them hint), like peanut butter, strawberries, sprinkles, even macaroni and cheese). Giggles were heard. 

Then I finished the story by asking the children to come back home for lunch, and I counted down from 5, and told them to open their eyes.

We've done another storytelling & meditation activity since that day. I had the children lying down, which is think is better. We will see...
   

4 Reasons you should Raise a Reader

A few years ago I worked at a literacy-based organization. I worked with adult-leaners who struggled with reading, or had various disabilities that made it difficult. I often felt very anxious about literacy in my home, and the importance of starting my children young. The truth is, as I had been homeschooling since forever, it was actually quite simple to continue to push books into the hands of my children, or sit down for story-time.The problem was, and still is, that with the advance in technology sometimes it seems that the good ole' days of library visits and the love of books is becoming extinct. 
Seems a bit dramatic...maybe so, but I think there is a thin line. At Small Wonders early childhood literacy is very important to me, and thankfully, I have a group of kids who cannot get enough of books and story-telling.

Here are 4 reasons why I support early childhood literacy AND I am raising readers.

It Builds Vocabulary
I am often AMAZED at the words that come out of the childrens' mouths. I know that many of those words are from books. Reading a lot of books- diverse ones too- will help children expand their vocabulary.

It provides Bonding
Anytime you read a book to a child (not just your child), it allows for a bonding experience. Helping to develop the emotional and mental well-being of  any child is no small feat. Consider that stories can come to life for children in many ways (learning about new people & foods; waiting for a new sibling to be born; or sharing pictures and stories of animals in different parts of the world).

Imagination & Wonder
Who needs TV when you have books? Really, who? Reading books is entertaining, educational, and promotes active, rather than passive learning. And reading will surely help improve a child's attention span. 

Cultural Awareness
According to research conducted by author Jim Trelease, regular reading of books “creates empathy toward others, because literature values humanity and celebrates human spirit and potential, offering insight into different lifestyles while recognizing universality”.
 Uhm, yes, yes, and yes - I could not agree more! One of the reasons the children at Small Wonders enjoy our Book of the Month project is because the books show diversity, and celebrate humans in all shapes, forms, and abilities (sometimes animals too :)

Are you raising a reader? How do you help your family focus on reading?

Reading this week

We are going to visit the fire-hall on Thursday. The children are really excited, and they have been counting down the days. We were going to do this fire-fighter craft, but all the kids wanted to do was colour-  NOT paint (they said), just colour.

Words we learned:
le pompier - fire-fighter
le feu - fire
le camion de pompiers - fire-fighter's vehicle
le camion d'incendie - fire truck
une pompe à incendie - fire-hose
rouge- red

Post with hats coming later...when we make them :)

scenes from the dino party

Our August book of the month was Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp by Carol Diggory Shields. I have to thank my good friend over at EZKids for gifting this book to our dayhome. What a lovely surprise :)

I did not make a mistake when I noted the book was our August read. It just happens that August almost didn't happen for us, and we really wanted to do some dinosaur related activities, so we made it our September book of the month as well. Skipping the dinosaur dig was a bummer, but this was just as good. I think the kids will agree we had a roaring good time...

I'll let the pictures do the talking

they each got to keep the dino on their mud cake

they coloured their favorite dinos

some party favours

I also want to thank Iman for gifting us the treats and favors \;\0

This post may contain an affiliate link. Please see my Disclosure Page for more information.

Soup day & Peter Rabbit soup?

This week to celebrate International Book Giving Day our activities are all about reading  and oral storytelling. Since we will end our week with our International Book Giving Day event I really wanted to get the kids geared up.

For soup day we read The Tale of Peter Rabbit, which inspired our yummy soup.
If you remember the book, Peter sneaked into Mr McGregor's garden and "sampled" some of his vegetables and herbs. Z was asleep during story-time but the boys had a blast hearing all about Peter in the garden.

We gathered

onions

potatoes

peas

cucumbers

parsley

lettuce

we also added

tomatoes

carrots

I added some rice to fill the kids us a bit and one chicken-breast.  It was fun...I think we will do this again.
Remember, book giving day is on Saturday. We are having our event on Thursday...

Happy Monday!