Ah, it’s time for Valentine ’s Day parties in the elementary
school again. Getting my kindergartener
to get Valentines ready for his classmates made me think about what it was like
a few short years ago when my oldest had to do it. Getting my oldest son to write his name 24
times when he was in kindergarten was grueling.
Seriously painful. He hated it. It took us days. I tried to make it more fun for him by letting
him pick out any store bought kit he wanted.
He ended up with a popular cartoon character that boasted free temporary
tattoos. I rationed them out over
several days so he only had to do a few at a time. In the end I was able to appreciate how his
handwriting improved and how it had gotten easier. (He was just glad they were done and that he got
to keep the extra tattoos.) Last year he was into rainbow loom bracelets so he made them
for the whole class and I taught him how to use publisher to layout a card to
go with them. There are so many cute
ideas out there on Pinterest, but I resisted the urge to take over and follow
the latest trend this year. I really
want the valentines to be their own, something that they are excited to give
their friends and classmates. I left it totally open to them.
One child chose to buy his valentines, the
other was super excited to make his. My
husband and I overheard them talking about their valentines. Each child thought that what they were doing
was better. That’s when my husband
brilliantly interjected that they should use “I statements”. For example, instead of saying: “Making your
own valentines is better than buying them!”
Try saying: “I enjoy making my own valentines because I like to draw.” Or instead of saying: “My valentines are
cooler.” Say: “I think my friends are going to like getting the valentines I
picked out for them.” It worked
amazingly well!
 |
| Working on fine motor and organizational skills here! |
Saturday each boy set up a spot to work on their
valentines. My youngest stuck with it
and made a unique card for each member of his class. I did lay some ground rules. He chose colored construction paper which I
cut in half on the paper cutter so each card was the same size. He then could cut, glue and draw to his
heart’s content as long as each one had his name and his classmates name on
it. It was great for his cutting skills,
I was pretty impressed with the hearts he was cutting out by himself by the
end! He also kept track of who he made
valentines for and crossed them off his list as he went. It was pretty exciting to see these
organizational skills come together!
My oldest resisted the task of completing the valentines so
early in the week at first, but once he got started he said it was actually fun
to do. (And I don’t have to worry about
him staying up late the night before while he completes them last minute.) He went to the store with his dad and chose a
cute kit with a scratch off heart that concealed the message on the card. He
carefully taped a penny to each one so that his classmates could scratch off
the heart on their card right away.
In the end both kids were excited to give away their
valentines and I hope learned valuable organizational and people skills in the
process. Using “I” language instantly
changed their attitude, making positive statements that expressed their
opinions instead of nasty comparisons that put others down. I think more adults should put this into practice. What do you think?
