Valentine's Day Activities You Will LOVE!
It's that time of year when store windows are pink and red and covered with hearts! I always love any excuse to be creative in therapy, so today I'd like to share some of my favorite Valentine's Day activities that you can incorporate into your sessions to make them hands-on and exciting!
♥ Creative Collage. One of my favorite ideas is to visit any crafty little store and buy a variety of Valentine's Day stickers, foam hearts, red and pink glitter, heart cookie cutters, etc. This time of year the stores will be full of these items and most likely at a discounted cost! During my therapy sessions I use white, pink or red construction paper (or black which will offer some color contrast) and allow the children to create a Valentine's Day collage! They need to "use their words" to ask for the glue and to choose the items they want. This allows them an opportunity to get a little messy and very creative!
♥ Heart-Shaped Cookies and Other Munchies. Always a favorite! If you would like to be more healthful with your food selection, you can always roll out low-fat crescent rolls, in place of the cookie dough, and sprinkle cheese and shredded veggies on top. Bake for about 10 minutes for a tasty treat. Another way would be to use the heart-shaped cutter to slice very soft bread. From there, you can add anything you want...peanut butter and jelly, cream cheese, etc!
♥ Red and Pink Play Doh with Heart-Shaped Cutters. Play Doh is fun any time of the year. Use different sized hearts to practice the concept of "big" and "little". Count the hearts to practice the concept of "how many".
♥ Make a Valentine for Mom/Dad. From time to time I have the children make something memorable for their parents. Valentine's Day is a perfect holiday for this. One way to decorate the paper is to dip their little hands in non-toxic red or pink paint - this is a great way to really personalize their card.
♥ Suite 101.com is a website I recently found that presents articles on a wide variety of topics. This particular article has some really unique ideas for celebrating Valentine's Day with toddlers, including book suggestions and the Valentine's Day Song, which begins "Love, Love, Love" [Peggy, Perpetual Preschool, 2000] sung to the tune of the "Three Blind Mice". Here is the link: http://day-care-activities.suite101.com/article.cfm/valentines_day_activities_for_preschool
Hope you found these suggestions helpful and please send in activities that you use in your own sessions!
Next week, tune in to read my interview with colleague and friend, Lona Otero-Nardone, Early Intervention Occupational Therapist. She will be talking about sensory concerns and solutions, co-treating with speech therapists and much, much more!