February is the smallest month, but it has some big events for kindergarten readiness fun and learning; Groundhog Day, Super Bowl, Chinese New Year’s, Pink Shirt Day and, of course, Valentine’s Day. All of these events come around every February.
Repetition is part of learning, and doing some favorite activities over each year is certainly part of the fun. For Valentine’s Day, that would include cards, cookies, chocolates, friends and more. It’s hard to decide where to start, but books and stories may have been waiting a whole year.
Just recently, Maxine’s Trottier’s book, Claire’s Gift, has become a favorite at our house. In this story, a little girl is sent to spend the summer with her great aunt. Claire is painfully shy and cries herself to sleep, not able to overcome homesickness. One night, Claire watches her aunt hooking rugs and soon finds solace as she learns how to hook rugs. In every rug that is done, the rug-hooker includes a little piece of her heart and this repetitive activity heals Claire’s heart.
While this isn’t a typical Valentine’s story, it does contain hearts. It also reminds us that learning how to cope with all kinds of emotions and stress can be challenging for young children. Often, a story with a similar concern can help children, especially when they do not have the words for how they feel.
There are many marvelous children’s books for Valentine’s or for anytime. Are there some books that especially connect for your child?