Valentine activity

1 little, 2 little, 3 little valentines.
4 little, 5 little, 6 little valentines.
7 little, 8 little, 9 little valentines.
10 little valentines.

10 little, 9 little, 8 little valentines.
7 little, 6 little, 5 little valentines.
4 little, 3 little, 2 little valentines.
1 little valentine.
(That’s you!)

This simple little song helps kids learn numbers, counting, sequencing, auditory memory, listening and other kindergarten readiness skills. It’s also good for kids who are learning English because the vocabulary is limited, basic and easy. (It might be a tad too easy because kids can sing at all by themselves, over and over and over.) I like to add the last line and and get a big smile on the face of a little one.
Speaking of over and over, what did the girl octopus say to the boy octopus? I want to hold your hand, hand, hand, hand, hand, hand, hand, hand. Now, what did the boy centipede say to…?

Sports reviews of yesterday’s exciting Super Bowl talked about key plays. While kindergarten readiness is not a sports contest some of the strategies are the same: practice, teamwork, using what you already know and having fun. A key play for kids is learning how words work. Just like the players on the field Sunday put together some different plays, when we use words we put them together using different bits of sounds, (think of the ‘at’ family of words-bat, cat, mat, rat, sat,  or words that start the same like super, sandwich, snack, etc. ) This is critical knowledge for later learning to read.  Here is a fun idea for some practice on word sounds, using the sound at the very start of words.

Valentine starts with the sound ‘vh’ . Together, you and your child can think of some other words that start like valentine, like vacuum, or violin, or vampire. Make up some pairs and ask your child if they start the same or not. “Do vanilla and grape start the same?” “How about vine and video?” Here are some more v words: vein, vulture, van, vent, voice. Oh, and one more–vacation! What else starts with a ‘vh’ sound? Q. What did the Valentine say to the stamp? A. Stick with me and we’ll go places.

Q. Why do firefighters wear red suspenders? A. To keep their pants up. Yesterday was a warm-up activity: go for a walk to see red things, draw about it and maybe read the book Red Is Best. Today is an extension of that activity that helps children develop the idea that print has meaning. Using the … Continue reading Kindergarten Readiness – Valentine Countup #1 →

February and Valentine’s Day are very special highlights for kids. At Christmas, children are excited about getting presents. At Valentine’s the focus changes to giving and kids are excited to be able to create something to share. At Valentine’s they participate just like all the adults and feel quite grown-up themselves. To start a series of … Continue reading Kindergarten Readiness – Valentine Warm-Up →