The Valentine Bears Activities: Ways to Enhance the Story

Here is a sweet tale to introduce the true meaning of Valentine's Day (February 14^th) with fun and humor. The Valentine Bears by Eve Bunting (Clarion) is the story of Mr. and Mrs. Bear's valentine celebration. The Bears go into hibernation on October 14, but Mrs. Bear sets her alarm for February 14, so she can surprise Mr. Bear. Before she wakes Mr. Bear, Mrs. Bear leaves a sign for him, which says, "It's Nice to Share Valentine's Day With Someone You Love." She then goes off to collect a honey pot and dried beetles and bugs, "Crispy Critters" as she calls them, for a tasty surprise treat. Of course, Mr. Bear has a few surprises of his own: chocolate covered ants; and a poem, "Red Berries are Red, Blue Berries are Blue, Termites are sweet and you are too!"

After reading this book have the children think of nice things to do that represents love and friendship with each other. The Valentine Bears activities below are ways to enhance the story and include in your Valentine's celebration.

Soft Touch Valentine Friends

Materials:

-Markers

-2 1/2 X 2 inches of felt or construction paper for each puppet

-Tacky glue

-Scissors

-Felt scraps

What to do:

1. To begin the finger puppets, help the children roll the felt or paper into cylinders that will fit on their fingers.

2. Glue the cylinders together and set them aside to dry.

3. While the finger puppets are drying, encourage your kids to cut a heart shape from scrap felt or paper for the face.

4. Invite them to cut other bits of felt for puppet clothing or hair.

5. Let the children glue the trim on the puppets and decorate with markers.

How to use:

1. Invite the children to think of a scene in which the puppets could be involved and play it out with them. The puppets might be talking about how to show special people that they love them. They might be discussing a plan for a Valentine's Day party, or deciding to whom to send valentines.

2. Ask questions and encourage your children to describe what the puppets are doing.

Valentine Races

Materials:

-Construction paper

-Scissors

-Masking tape

What to do:

1. Prior to playing, cut several hearts, approximately 3 inches across, from construction paper. Fold each in half to form a crease.

2. Place a masking tape finish line at one end of the floor and place the hearts on the floor at the other end.

3. Invite everyone to line up behind the hearts on all fours. Then blow the hearts across the finish line.

4. The first person to cross the finish line starts the hugging. As each person crosses the finish line, he is hugged by the rest of the people already across.

Valentine Necklaces

Materials:

-Cardboard or construction paper

-String, yarn, or narrow ribbon

-Crayons or markers

-Hole punch

-Glitter glue

-Stickers

What to do:

1. Invite children to draw hearts on construction paper or cardboard. (Wallpaper samples also work well). You can make cardboard patterns of different sized heart shapes for your kids to trace and cut out.

2. Help the children cut out each heart and decorate it.

3. Using the hole punch, invite them to make small holes in the center of each heart.

4. Encourage the children to thread the yarn through the hole of each heart.

5. Then tie a knot in the yarn on each side of the heart. After your child has put all the hearts she wishes to on one necklace, tie the two ends together. Make sure the necklace is long enough to easily fit over her head.

It's fun and educational to take literary books and enhance them with activities to do together. The Valentine Bears activities in this article will help children to understand the true meaning of Valentine's Day - and of course everyone just loves bears!