We had a fun Valentine’s Day storytime this morning at the park. Here’s what we did:

Books:

Love Monster and the Last Chocolate by Rachel Bright

Although this isn’t specifically a Valentine’s story, it is a funny, sweet friendship story that revolves around chocolate. When Love Monster arrives home from vacation, he is thrilled to find a box of chocolate waiting on his front doorstep. Before he opens it though, he wonders if he should share the chocolates with his friends. This leads him to worry about what would happen if there weren’t enough chocolates for everyone, or if someone else might eat his favorite chocolate, and he almost decides not to share them. In the end, he rushes out to share with his friends before he can change his mind, only to learn that they have already shared the chocolates from the box, and saved Love Monster’s favorite one just for him.

Click, Clack, Moo, I Love You! by Doreen Cronin; illustrated by Betsy Lewin

In this cute addition to the Click, Clack, Moo series, the animals on the farm are getting ready for the big Valentine’s Dance. Little Duck has decorated with streamers, and balloons, and made Valentine’s for everyone. When Little Fox follows the decorations down the hill to the party, all the animals stop dancing…until Little Duck gives Little Fox a Valentine, and they all dance together. Full of lots of opportunities for kids to join in on the “quack, quack, quack’s” and “yip, yip, yips.” Plus, the mice do The Hustle several times, so I invited the kids to join me for a few seconds of the Travolta Move while we sang part of The Hustle.

Be Mine, Be Mine, Sweet Valentine by Sarah Weeks; illustrated by Fumi Kosaka

Very cute rhyming Valentine’s book, which invites the kids to guess which Valentine gift would be best for each animal, with flaps that open to reveal the answer. The dog gets a bone, the cat gets cream, etc. The kids had fun guessing.

Songs:

If All the Raindrops

We sang this song after reading Love Monster and the Last Chocolate. After singing the first verse together, I asked the kids to suggest favorite foods to sing about for the next two verses. We sang “If all the raindrops were pizza and mac and cheese,” and “If all the raindrops were chocolate and ice cream.” Here are the lyrics and chords, and a YouTube link for the melody:

[C] If all the raindrops were [G7] lemon drops and [C] gum drops,

Oh, what a rain it would [G7] be.

[C] I’d stand out- [G7] side with my [C] mouth open [G7] wide,

[C] “Ah, Ah, Ah, [G7] Ah, Ah, Ah, [C] Ah, Ah, Ah, [G7] Ah!”

[C] If all the raindrops were [G7] lemon drops and [C] gum drops,

Oh, what a [G7] rain it would [C] be!

Skiddamarink-A-Dink-A-Dink

This song is always a favorite with both kids and caregivers. I go over the sign language for “I Love You” before we sing the song together. Here’s a link to a YouTube video from Super Simple Songs with the tune:

Skidamarink a-dink, a-dink
Skidamarink a-doo
I love you.
Skidamarink a-dink, a-dink
Skidamarink a-doo
I love you.
I love you in the morning
And in the afternoon.
I love you in the evening
And underneath the moon.
Oh, skidamarink a-dink, a-dink
Skidamarink a-doo
I love you.

Six Little Ducks

I sang this one after we read Click, Clack, Moo, I Love You, which featured lots of quacking. I invited the kids to waddle and quack with me. Click on the triangle below for the tune:

C                                  G7
Six little ducks that I once knew,
C
Fat ones, skinny ones, fair ones too.
G7
But the one little duck with the feather on his back.
C
He led the others with his “Quack! Quack! Quack!”

Chorus:
G7                                         C
“Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack!”
G7                                              C
He led the others with his “Quack! Quack! Quack!”

Down to the river they would go,
Wibble-wobble, wibble-wobble, to and fro.
But the one little duck with the feather on his back,
He led the others with his “Quack! Quack! Quack!”

Chorus

Home from the river they would come,
Wibble-wobble, wibble-wobble, ho hum hum.
But the one little duck with the feather on his back,
He led the others with his “Quack! Quack! Quack!”

Chorus

Old MacDonald

Claire held up the Monkey Mitt with the Old MacDonald animal set while we all sang the song together:

[C] Old MacDonald [F] had a [C] farm,

E-I- [G7] E-I- [C] O!

And on that farm he [F] had a [C] chicken,

E-I- [G7] E-I- [C] O!

With a cluck-cluck here, and a cluck-cluck there,

Here a cluck, there a cluck,

Everywhere a cluck-cluck.

[C] Old MacDonald [F] had a [C] farm,

E-I- [G7] E-I- [C] O!

Stay and Play: Dot Resist Hearts

This was such an easy, fun activity. I adapted it from this Thumbprint Craft from A Dab of Glue Will Do, only instead of using thumbprints, we gave the kids Dot Markers. I cut hearts out of cardstock ahead of time, then taped them with removable tape onto blank cardstock. For some kids, I taped the outline of the heart to the paper instead.

The kids loved covering the pages with colored dots, and then peeling the top layer off to reveal the heart underneath.

What are your favorite picture books, songs, or crafts for Valentine’s Day? Please share them in the comments below.