We invited the children to join us for a special activity that combined creativity and kindness. Each child was given a wooden heart to stamp with heart-shaped sponges dipped in a variety of colors—red, pink, purple, and orange. The preschools carefully dipped their sponges into the paint, using their fine motor skills to hold and apply the colors, and their creativity to decide how their hearts would look. As they worked on their art, we asked each child how they could be a kind friend. Audrey smiled and said, “By playing.” Luke shared, “By not hitting,” and Wesley added, “Caring.” Some children were happy to share their thoughts, while others preferred to focus on their artwork. When the hearts were dry, we wrote their kindness ideas on them and created a kindness display on the board in the classroom as a reminder of the importance of kindness and friendship.
Later, we set up a Valentine sensory table full of materials for the children to explore. There were heart-shaped ice cubes, sponges, foam hearts, red flower petals, and measuring spoons. Sacarra picked up a foam heart and proudly showed Nicole, saying, “A heart.” Wesley discovered the joy of shaking a heart-shaped ice cube inside a measuring cup, as it made a clanking noise. When Nicole asked him what the sound was, he grinned and explained, “I’m shaking it in here, it splashed my face.” He proudly added, “It’s melting,” when asked where the water that splashed him came from. The preschools were fully engaged in exploring; Finnigan came up with the idea to make a shaker by clinking two measuring spoons together, producing a unique sound. Bellamy picked up a small foam heart and said, “A baby,” noticing the different sizes of hearts in the tray. Grayson, ever the creative thinker, placed one ice cube between two foam hearts and called it a “sandwich.”
As the month continued, we set out foam hearts and markers for the children to create more artwork. The preschools eagerly picked from red, pink, and white hearts, using their fine motor skills and creativity to add colorful designs. There was a lot of chatter as they worked, sharing their ideas and admiring each other’s work. Jaime showed Bellamy his creation, saying, “Look what I made.” Some children noticed that the foam hearts had ruffled edges and quickly got to work popping out the tiny pieces from the hearts. It was a month full of creativity, kindness, and meaningful connections between the children.
