We always seem to gravitate toward the oldies but goodies when it comes to children's literature, and The Day It Rained Hearts is a perfect example of this! The book was originally published in 1983 (so it's practically as old as I am), yet I love the simple story, adorable pictures and sweet writing. The book tells of a girl who collects heart while they rain down one day, and how she makes them into valentines to mail to friends. At the end, the book says that the following years, she "found other ways" to make valentines. This is a perfect jumping off point to ask your little one what he or she would use to make valentines.
Parker requested stickers and stamps, which he used on the blank cards I scored at The Dollar Spot awhile back. I introduced the trick of making a heart by folding paper and cutting a half heart outline. I traced these both on plain paper and also old pages that P had watercolored.
He was delighted to unfold them after his scissor work to discover a heart! After they were cut, he glued them onto more of the blank cards. The watercolor pages made the prettiest hearts!
You can probably tell which ones he cut out and which ones are mine ;) Although, I must say this was a great way for him to practice those fine motor skills!
To go along with our heart theme, I prepared a sweet snack of heart shaped strawberries, carrots and PB+ Mini Chocolate Chips. (Similar heart plate on clearance here!)
Parker was totally on to me and proclaimed "It's because it's the day that rained hearts!"
We also had our homemade Valentine themed play dough to work with! Sweet P had helped me make it the day before. Little Man loves to stir, and mixed all the ingredients before I heated them on the stove.
Homemade Play Dough
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 T cream of tartar
1 cup hot water
1 T olive oil (+ food coloring)
Mix well, and then heat on the stove while stirring until firm. It keeps for about 3-4 weeks.
And what better excuse to polish off a pint of talenti gelato? The containers are perfect for storing a batch of the play dough! ;)
Happy Love Month!
I have this exact book coming up on the blog next week. We did something with playdough as well but not homemade.
ReplyDeleteThe old school books are seriously the BEST ones! They are always my faves :)
ReplyDeleteSo cute! I am going to have to get my niece that book!
ReplyDeleteI just adore the old school books!! Bonus - they are usually not the ones people already have, so they make great gifts :)
DeleteI absolutely love all of the activities you shared. So cute and fun! My littles would love them. Thanks for linking up. :)
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