As we welcome the month of February here in School-age 2 at Rising Oaks | John Sweeney we also welcome the discussion of what Valentine’s Day means to us. The children were abuzz with excitement for the heart filled holiday!
On the very first day of February we sat down as a group and discussed what Valentine’s was all about. Jaden first shared to the children how she views Valentine’s Day is a day to show appreciation to everyone you love and care about. Maria was chosen next to speak and she talked about how the holiday is about being kind to others. Lucas stated that Valentine’s Day is about friendship. The children were able to express the idea of Valentine’s Day in an inquisitive and thoughtful manner.
The children then did a worksheet titled “A Few Things I Love”. It was so interesting, seeing and hearing the children’s answers to the questions about what they personally love and hold dear to their hearts. Avika answered that she loves playing hot potato while Nico answered that he loves playing Sonic. All of their answers varied except when it came to the last question; “Who do you love being with?”. Every single child answered with some variation of “My family!”. Tina then did a two-part craft with the children. They first covered a cut out of a heart in paint, then placed it into a baggie. The children squished the paint around for a great sensory experience that created some beautiful heart paintings. The next day, the children were encouraged to use those hearts to create smudge art leaving just the outline of a heart. Tina then asked the children to give one part of their heart to their dearest friend at Rising Oaks. Maria happily handed her heart to Dami, who took it with a smile. When Tina asked Jeremiah to give it to his dearest Rising Oaks friend he also gave it to Dami! With a giant smile on her face, Dami exclaimed “Another one?”
These activities have been amazing at promoting a sense of self for the children. It showed us they understand what sense of self means by showing us how passionate they are about the things and people that they love. Having these discussions, opportunities to talk about their interests and opportunities to connect with other children allow the children of School-age 2 at Rising Oaks | John Sweeney to learn about kindness and express themselves proactively. I am so excited to continue on with this school year watching their kindness and sense of self grow.
