Hello Book Bums families!
This week's newsletter is here to get you ready for Valentine's Day. We're offering games, poetry, learning activities, history, and book ideas! However you celebrate the day, we hope it's a good one for you and those you love.
Word of the Week
resilient ( ri-zihl-yuhnt ) adjective/describing word - able to handle any situation
Mom showed her resilient character when she fixed the flat tire and got us to school.
Literary Calendar
• February 11 is the birthday of author and illustrator Mo Willems.
• Willems is the creator of beloved characters like Elephant and Piggy and Knuffle Bunny.
• His website is full of fun activities and videos, including one on how to draw Piggy.
From our Bookshelves
Plant a Kiss, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal is a simple children’s book that demonstrates how one small act of love can blossom into something magical. It reminds us that when we generously share and nurture love and kindness, they bloom and grow (and grow!) until there is more than enough to go around. Plant a Kiss is a joy-filled message featuring rhythm and rhyme and simple, sparkly illustrations that just might make the perfect Valentine’s Day gift.
Tips for Readers and Writers
Tips for Teaching Readers and Writers
Valentine’s Day is on Tuesday, and because it’s traditionally a day for sharing handwritten notes along with other tokens of affection such as candy, flowers, and gifts - it’s the perfect time for promoting writing.
Valentine greetings date as far back as the Middle Ages, but written valentines became a thing as early as the 1500s. In America, valentines were exchanged in the 1700s, though those purchased in stores had been imported from England. It wasn’t until the 1800s that a woman named Esther A. Howland was inspired to make and sell her own valentines right here in the US.
After her father purchased supplies from NYC, Esther made ten samples. Her brother gathered orders, friends and family members fulfilled those orders, and it wasn’t long until Esther had a thriving business. This is how Esther Howland became known as The Mother of the American Valentine.
Today, Howland’s valentines are collectors’ items. Her artistic creations often included ribbons, colorful illustrations, hidden doors, gilded lace, and hidden envelopes containing secret messages. She is credited with using accordion folds and other effects so parts could move to reveal a verse. Howland also introduced “lift the flap” valentines. Though she sold inexpensive cards, some of her valentines sold for as much as $50 apiece. Today, one of Howland’s valentine cards can sell for between $300 and $400. You’ll know it’s hers if you spot a red H on the back.
Tips for Families
Since Valentine’s Day is coming up, we thought we’d share some fun activities your family might enjoy.
Letter Learning fun with Kisses (for younger kids)
For your little letter learners, introduce the letters k, i, and s. Share the letter names and the sounds those letters represent (using the sound /i/ as in icky for the i), by writing them on a piece of paper. We often refer to a k as a “kickin’ k” because its leg kicks out. For the i, we pretend to hold it by the dot. We wrinkle up our noses and say, “It’s icky.” And for s we say, “It looks like a snake, and it sounds like a snake.”
Next, write the letters K, k, I, i, S, s on those inexpensive circle stickers you can find at the dollar store and place them, one each, on the bottoms of eight Hershey’s Kisses. Have the kids mix up the Kisses and try matching up the uppercase letters with the lowercase letters, like in the Memory game. Of course, your kids will make the sounds associated with the letters as they try to find the matches.
Kids can learn to slide sounds together to make words even if they only know a few letters and the sounds they represent. Be sure to note with your kids that the word kiss has two s’s. (In single-syllable words ending in f, l, and s, those letters are often doubled.) You could also share that s has a buzz sound. S usually says /s/, but it can say /z/. In the word is, the s makes it’s buzz sound. Actually, an s says /z/ in more words than z does.
Find It. Bring it to Us/Take Us to It (for elementary-age kids)
This is an open-ended game you can play with your kids. It promotes creativity, and if you look for it, you can find some nods to Valentine’s Day.
Copy a handful of the following three-word lists onto small pieces of paper. Fold them up and toss them into a bowl. Take turns drawing a paper and reading what it says to the family. Then everyone searches for something that has at least one of the characteristics listed on the paper. Players bring their items (one each) to the group’s designated meeting spot after three minutes—or, if it’s too big, they can take the group to their item when it’s their turn to share. Players get one point for each characteristic their item has from the list. Sometimes the selected item has only one of the characteristics, but sometimes it has all three. Keep track of players’ points and see who makes it to twenty-five, first.
BONUS: Add one point for each letter the item name shares with the word
V A L E N T I N E.
Scoring Example:
red, soft, smells good
ITEM: rose 4 points (1- red, 1- soft, 1- smells good, 1- e in Valentine)
ITEM: sock 2 points (1- red, 1- soft)
ITEM: marshmallow 4 points (1- soft, 1- smells good, 2 a & l in Valentine)
Characteristic Ideas:
bumpy, expensive, pink
heart-shaped, handmade, sparkly
opens & closes, old, shiny
longer than me, cold, fluffy
rolls, heavy, sweet
bright, treasured, loud
store-bought, moves, silent
funny, colorful, round
squeaky, tiny, from someone special
older than me, bounces, edible
brings back happy memories, floats, small
Synonyms for Kiss (for older kids)
How many words can you think of that have the same, or nearly the same, meaning as kiss.
This is a challenge! For such an ordinary word, there are extraordinarily few words that convey similar meanings.
We’ve listed ten (and some we’d never heard of!) at the end of this newsletter. See how many YOU can think of without peeking and then try integrating some of the new words into your conversation as you smooch with your sweetheart.
A Progressive Dinner (for date night or the whole family)
Consider adding some flair to this year’s Valentine’s Day celebration by enjoying a progressive dinner. Plan to visit four different eateries, but only order one course at each stop.
It’d be great if all places were within walking distance, but we’ve driven to all four stops and enjoyed the adventure very much.
If you’re feeling REALLY adventurous, you could predetermine the stops, and draw a card to determine which course you “have to” eat there. Sure, you could end up eating a dessert, then a main course, then an appetizer, and then a salad, but it would be memorable. This is the stuff memories are built on! You could also let each person choose which item s/he wants at each stop. You just have to check one off at each location.
Stop one: appetizer.
Stop two: soup/salad.
Stop three: main course.
Stop four: dessert.
Practical Grammar
In the song, “An American Girl” by Tricia Yearwood, it says, “She used to tie her hair up in ribbons and bows, sign her letters with xxx’s and ooo’s.”
We may not see them used often, today, but the addition of x’s and o’s to the bottoms of friendly letters has been documented from the early 1960s and is a light-hearted way to express affection, sincerity, or deep friendship. These letters represent love, for sure, but not an undying passion; so they’re fair game for use with just about anyone.
Some say the x is a stylistic representation of lips kissing and the o is a stylistic representation of arms embracing.
X O
Can you see it?
Others say the x is a Christian symbol signifying that an oath was “sealed with a kiss.”
It could also be that it’s just sort of . . . random.
Did you know that the SOS distress symbol was chosen simply because the Morse code dits/dots for s and the dahs/dashes for o were easy to remember. It didn’t mean “save our souls” or “save our ships.” It was just a signal—not an abbreviation for anything.
Maybe that’s what happened with the x and o, too?
Either way, when you’re signing valentines this year, consider adding some x’s and o’s. It’s one way we can plant kisses to share and nurture love and kindness.
Synonyms for Kiss
smooch
peck
neck
make out
French
pucker up
smack
buss
snog
osculate
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