7 Valentine Activities You Can Do with Your Kids

Less than a week to go before Valentine's Day! Are you still thinking of activities that you can do with your kids?

Let me share 7 simple but meaningful activities that you can do even with small children. 

 

 

1. Valentine's Day Countdown - I got this inspiration from Catholic Icing but I modified it. We started our Valentine countdown last February 1. I chose 14 Bible verses about love (with the help of Google and my own Bible) that I want our family to focus on this month of love. Then, I printed the verses in pink bond paper and my eldest cut the paper into strips, folded them into two and taped them with masking tape to form a chain. Once the 14 strips were made into a long chain, I cut a pink ribbon and attached it to a heart-shaped pink board (that I cut as well). I taped it at the back of the door of our master's bedroom. What we do is get 1 heart from the countdown chain every night after evening Mass, read it and try to memorize it. Then, we stick it on the door. Our goal and challenge this month is to memorize all 14 Bible verses about love. Aside from reading the verse several times and memorizing the verse for the day, my husband and I also try to explain the meaning of the verses to our kids.

These are the verses on love that we have read so far.

John 3:16
1 John 4:7
Mark 12:31
Deuteronomy 6:5
1 John 4:16
John 13:34
Luke 6:35
1 Peter 4:8
1 John 3:13

You can still do this activity starting tonight or Thursday this week.

 

 

After this activity, we proceed to our next Valentine activity.
 

2. Q and A on how we expressed love and felt loved - Every night, we tell each other how we felt loved by the different members of our family. It's a good exercise to teach kids that there are different ways of showing love. Through this activity, our eldest son is slowly learning how to show love in many different ways. I remember one night when he said that one way he showed love to his younger brother was when he accompanied him to the bathroom to wash his hands even though he was annoyed that it takes his younger brother a while before he is done. I praised him for doing that and emphasized that love is doing something good to another even when you don't like it. Our 3-year-old is still a bit challenged by this exercise. His concept of love is still limited to hugs and kisses as of now even though we have explained to him the different love languages. hehe That or he is simply a physical touch person! ;)

 

 

3. Love Poster - The boys and I made a love poster inspired by the Bible verse "If you love me, you will obey my commands." They helped glue the pink hearts. My eldest wrote the verse on top of the poster.

I told them that every time they obey me, they can draw a flower inside "my heart" and they can draw a smiling face inside their "Daddy's heart" every time they obey him this month. I thought of this activity to further emphasize the virtue of obedience to my little boys.

4. Valentine Card-Making Activity - This is a yearly tradition in our home. I lead the boys in painting or crafting cards each year. This morning, we finished making cards for their grandparents, for my brother and for our pianist in the church who inspires my boys a lot! First, I cut hearts out of a white board then asked them to paint on them using watercolor. They chose the colors that they wanted to use on their works of heart. ;) After letting them dry, I put some glitter glue on the hearts and glued them to folded papers. Then, my eldest wrote messages on them and signed them. My 3-year-old wrote his name beside his older brother's name. So, that was our arts and crafts project for today with writing and spelling practice.

 

The Valentine card made by our boys for me and my husband today (February 11).
They each painted a heart. The blue one was painted by my 3-year-old
and the pink and purple one by my 6-year-old.

 

 

5. Valentine-themed Worksheets - Since we are a homeschooling family, I incorporated Valentine's Day lessons into our activities. My eldest has just finished answering some Math and English worksheets. My youngest started coloring a Valentine-themed Math worksheet also the other day. There are many that you can find in the internet. Just choose what is appropriate for your kids' current needs and interests. We got some of our worksheets from Education.com.

 

 

6. One-to-One Dates - We will be going out on one-to-one dates this week. There's an ice cream store near our house where I plan to bring each of my boys this week. It's just a few minutes away so perfect for when my newborn baby needs to breastfeed from me. Our maid can just go there and inform me that the baby needs me.

Took this photo during my Valentine date with my eldest son this afternoon (February 11).
We had ice cream at the park then had a light snack here in this place.

My handsome little Valentine today, February 12.

7. Book-Giving - Last but not the least, I will be giving my boys a book as a gift on Valentine's Day since we love books and it's International Book-Giving Day. I have a perfect book in mind already. I hope there is still a copy available in the bookstore of A Little Boy After God's Own Heart. This book was written by one of my favorite authors, Elizabeth George. I believe that this book is something they could reread over the years and grow up with. I pray that they would grow up to be boys with hearts burning for love of God.

What activities do you plan to do with your family this week or this month? Feel free to share them with me in the comments. Advance Happy Valentine's Day to you!

Nothing Fancy on Valentine's Day Yet Still Happy

Yanthy decorates a heart using red glitters and glue.

My kids and I spent the day before Valentine's Day doing some art activities. They decorated some hearts with paint and glitters while I supervised them. The kids love painting and I was happy to see my two children enjoy painting together. They finished decorating 4 hearts that day.

 

Mateo puts finishing touches on a heart that
his older brother painted before he woke up.

 

Painting together.

 

The heart on top and the one on the left is a joint effort of the boys.
Yanthy decided to give the pink heart to me and the one with blue paint to his Dad.
The red heart and the one on the right was made by my eldest.
He gave the heart on the right to his younger brother.

 

On Valentine's Day morning, I woke up to a wonderful surprise. My husband gave me 3 pink roses. I love flowers especially on Valentine's Day!

 

 

I initially wanted to go out with the kids and bond with them by playing in the park at The Fort and ride with my husband on his way to the office. But my eldest son was still sleeping and I wanted to show him love that day by not rushing him so I scrapped my plan of going out early with the boys. Instead, I had cereals for breakfast with my youngest son who was up early. We waited for his older brother to wake up until I realized it was already almost noon. So, I woke up my eldest son and told him that we will have a lunch date.

 

After eating sundae at McDonald's.

I had another plan again. I was thinking of going to McDonald's or Jollibee to eat spaghetti and strawberry sundaes with the boys. But my eldest woke up too late for us to go far from our house so we ended up eating lunch in a nearby café. It was still a good alternative. The pastas in that café are actually good. The boys had spaghetti while I had puttanesca. After finishing our pasta, we went to SM Bicutan to have our sundaes. My eldest wanted a chocolate-flavored dessert so I bought him hot fudge choco sundae while I got myself a strawberry sundae. We shared our sundaes with the little one. Mateo wasn't in the mood for a lot of sundae then so he just had a little.

 

After that, Yanthy rode a Lightning McQueen toy car and then we went to the Book Sale. We spent some time searching for good books but we were not lucky that day. We left and headed for the taxi stand. We were blessed to find the line at the taxi stand to be short and that we found a taxi right away that took us to SM Aura. Actually, I wanted to go to Bonifacio High Street at first but my eldest wanted to go to SM Aura. So, I gave in to his request.

 

We went to Toy Kingdom and they had a few rides. When I felt the rumble in my tummy, I brought them to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf for some snacks. We went to the fountains and let them run around.

 

My Valentine dates.

 

 

 

 

 

We had ham and cheese pandesal and banana chocolate muffin.

 

We went back to Toy Kingdom again spent some more time there before we went home to go to Mass.

 

My husband and I were thinking  of going to Mass at the chapel in SM Aura since we were already there but our eldest son wanted to go to Mass near our house because he wanted to see his/our friend Tito Ed who usually plays the piano in the church. The kid prevailed and we went to Mass in our village. But before that we ordered dinner so that it could be delivered to our house after the Mass. Our eldest son's request prevailed once more. He wanted chicken from Bon Chon so that's what we ordered for dinner. Our eldest son doesn't eat a lot usually thus when he requested to have Bon Chon chicken for dinner on Valentine's Day, we granted it hoping that he will eat plenty that evening and to make him happy.

 

We had dinner after Mass and put the kids to sleep after cleaning up in the dining area and in the kitchen.

 

Finally, it was time for me and my husband to have some alone time when the kids were already in bed. We've decided to watch a few episodes from Merlin (a tv series that we both liked) before we called it a night. In truth, it was already the wee hours of the morning.

 

Because we slept late the night before, we woke up the following morning just before lunch time. Good thing I was able to thaw the steak and the ground beef for the pasta. I whipped up spaghetti for lunch and marinated the steak. My husband took care of grilling the steak. We had fun feasting on our food. My husband and I were also happy to use our new stove with grill to cook steak for the first time in our new home.

 

My HS BFF with my eldest son.

We were supposed to do some errands but we were too full to move after our very filling meal. hahaha! Thus, just rested before we left to attend a kiddie birthday party of my high school best friend's nephew. Before we left though, my eldest son painted a heart and wrote a love note for my best friend who is his godmother/ninang. We spent some time chatting with my best friend who is in the country for a vacation with her family before heading home.  

With my HS BFF, Antoinette.

Today, as I write this post, my sons are again painting a couple of hearts for their grandparents. My eldest son also started writing a letter for my parents.

 

There was nothing fancy that happened or that we did this Valentine weekend. Our Valentine celebration this year is more of a family day but it's okay. What is important is that we indulged in activities that made all of us happy.

 

How about you? How did you spend your Valentine weekend this year?

Breastfeeding is Love Poured Out From One Heart to Another

A child first learns about God's love 

at his mother's breasts.

When a mother promptly provides milk for her hungry child, a child experiences and learns about God's timely provisions. When a mother consistently nurses her child over a long period of time (like a number of years), the child experiences and learns about God's faithfulness. A nursing mother's loving arms gently wrapped around her baby warms not only a baby's body but also the baby's heart and soul. The baby is comforted by his mother's loving presence and touch. This experience in infancy gives the baby a sense of security and protection from the world around him. Psalm 22:9 (AMP) says, "Yet You are He who took me out of the womb; You made me hope and trust when I was on my mother's breasts." Babies learn to hope and trust that their needs would be met at the breasts. They hope and trust that when they cry (be it out of hunger, thirst or fear), their mom would be there to nourish and comfort them. Breastfeeding, therefore, not only provides for their bodies; but also, for their souls.

I was amazed when I discovered in the Old Testament that God compares His love for His people to the love of a nursing mother for her child. One popular verse related to this is Isaiah 49:15 (NLT) that says, "Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget." This verse recognizes the very strong unique bond between a mother and the child that she nursed. It's as if God was saying in this verse that it's impossible for a mother to forget or stop loving the child that she nursed at her breasts. Wow!

Here's another verse. This time, it's from Isaiah 66:12-13 (ESV). "For thus says the LORD: Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip, and bounced upon her knees. As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you..." I'm so honored to be a nursing mom! Imagine, God compared Himself to a nursing mom like me! God must have high regard for nursing moms! He definitely sees the powerful love that fills a nursing mother's heart which overflows through the milk that comes from her breasts. This verse gave insight, too, to the other purpose of breastfeeding, which is to bring comfort to a child.

When I was a first-time nursing mom, one of the pieces of advice that I heard was that I should not use my breasts to pacify or comfort my baby. I was told that breastfeeding should be mainly for providing my baby with food. I felt torn by this advice; for, a part of me wanted so much to bring my baby to my bosom every time he cried. Now I understand why I felt that way!

God designed a mother's breast not only as a source of nutrition or food for her child; but also, as a place of comfort and love.

I'm glad that as I grew in experience as a nursing mom, I've learned to break away from this advice. I'm thankful for the grace and wisdom to follow my instincts and to comfort my child through my breasts whenever he needs it. My second child is so blessed since he benefitted from the new lessons I have learned.

That's me breastfeeding my youngest son last year 
during our Mother's Day photo shoot.

I so love breastfeeding! I think God designed us moms this way so that when our babies are hungry, we would feel it in our breasts. When we are away from our babies, we would feel a tug in our hearts to run home to them. I think God designed us mothers to be near our children especially when they are young. I pray that we moms would recognize this wiring from God and we would choose to show our love to our children by breastfeeding them.

*****

This piece above is an excerpt from the first chapter of my latest book BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking, which was released during the last quarter of last year and launched officially at Mothercare, BGC last January 25, 2014.

My strong belief is that breastfeeding is love poured out from God's heart to a mother's heart and into a baby's heart. I believe that we moms are privileged to be given this sacred task of being God's first instruments in making His unconditional and passionate love known to our children. I pray that more mothers would accept and embrace this sacred calling. That is one of my reasons for writing BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking. If only more moms would know what really transpires when a mom breastfeeds her baby, I think that more moms would choose to breastfeed their kids.

  

Let's keep the love flowing from God's heart through ours into the hearts of our babes!

To buy a copy of my breastfeeding book, please click here.

This post is part of the "Breastfeeding is Love" blog link up party. 

Please feel free to visit other posts from fellow mommy bloggers on the joys of breastfeeding! 

Hosted by Chic Mompreneur

Chic Mompreneur: Breastfeeding is Love

My Finance MD: Breastfeeding is Love

Art of Being A Mom: Breastfeeding Love

Mommy Bares All: Breastfeeding is Love Poured Out

Wear and Nurse Baby: Breastfeeding is Love! Why I Breastfeed. 

 Pinions and Plumage of Love: B-R-E-A-S-T-F-E-E-D-I-N-G is the Longest Spelling of Love

The Binondo Mommy: Breastfeeding is Love

Mamanee's Nest: Breastfeeding is Love

*I'm linking this as well to the Catholic Bloggers Network Monthly Link Up Blitz for February 2014.

Valentine 2013 Activities

We started our Valentine activities this year around a week before Valentine's Day.  My eldest son and I had an advance Valentine's date.  We went to one of his favorite fast food restaurants and ordered his favorite food.  Then, he enjoyed some kiddie rides inside the mall. 

 

 

He also wrote love letters in the days that followed.  First, he wrote a love letter for his Dad then to my parents.

 



Yanthy's love letters to my parents which he gave yesterday to my mom
when she visited us and watched over the kids while I went on a date with my husband.

 After writing those letters, we finger-painted the envelopes for his love letters.

 

 

 

That same day, Yanthy and Mateo painted some hearts.

 

 

Today, Yanthy completed the art work Mateo painted with the Bible verse I asked him to trace. Last year, I asked him to trace John 3:16.  You may see our Valentine/Lent art work last year here.

 

Bible verse from Mark 12:30 and
Mateo's foot print made into a heart.

Yanthy also wrote love messages for his baby brother, Mateo, and our maid on the heart cut outs they made yesterday while I went out on a date with my husband.

 

Yanthy wrote "I do, too." at the back of his love note for his baby brother.



Yanthy also made a love letter for me but instead of writing it by hand, he decided to type it in my laptop and print it.  He said that he's already tired and it's faster that way.  Anyway, I'm still happy that he made one for me even though he's already tired.

 

 

 

We also had some bonding over books.  We read our book Won't You Be My Kissaroo? before they had their nap.  Later, I plan to read I'm a Big Brother and Love You Forever to them before they go to sleep.

 

Those were my Valentine activities with the kids.  Yesterday, my husband and I had our advance Valentine date by watching a romantic movie and having dinner.

 

My husband also surprised me today by sending me three red roses and a small bear stuffed toy.

 

This inspired me to write a Valentine post in my other blog, When My Bridegroom Comes, to share about one of the most memorable Valentine parties I attended.  You may read here to find out why.

 

I plan to have more Valentine and Lent related activties in the next days.  Some of them are inspired by a Valentine activities I saw at Christian Preschool website. 

Inspiration for Lent 2013

I've been praying to God days before Lent to tell me what I need to do to be more like Him this Lent.  True enough, when we open ourselves to God's leading and guidance, He will surely answer us.  His answer to me was loud and clear on the morning of Ash Wednesday.

 

God gave me His general instruction through the First Reading from the Book of the Prophet Joel (Joel 2:13).

 

 

"For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment."

 

The first thing that came to my mind when I read this verse was how I deal with our eldest son.  I knew right away that God was asking me to be more gracious to him, to be slow to anger, to be extra patient, to show him extra kindness and love, and to relent in punishing him or being harsh to him.  I admit that sometimes in my anger and frustration, I have spoken harsh words to my son which I knew broke his heart and mine eventually.  There were also days when I have spanked him more than once... more than enough to communicate my message.  Obedience is not one of his strengths and I'm tried everyday to be patient and understanding to him.  This Lent, I know that this is one big way I can be more like God... starting with my son.

 

It's amazing how God speaks volumes into our hearts with just a single line from Scriptures.  As Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

 

I thank the Lord for honoring my intention by sending me His Word.  His Word indeed is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

 

A parallel verse affirms this message that I got from God.
 

"The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love." Psalm 103:8
 

 

I think that it is God's perfect timing again in action that I was led to this parallel verse (Psalm 103:8) on Valentine's Day.  I pray for His grace to put these Words from Holy Scriptures into action not just this Lent; but every day of my life as I raise my sons.  I acknowledge that on my own, I cannot do this.  But with God's grace, I believe that all things are possible.

 

Let me end with an excerpt from a poem I wrote years ago (2005), which was also published in my book When My Bridegroom Comes.

 

Love so patient and forgiving

Love that's stubborly kind

That is the love that rules Your heart

The same love You've poured into mine

 

Know that my heart's desire

Is to learn to love like you

Dispel my fears with Your love

Fill my heart with love that's true

 

                      - To Love Like You

Update: I recently discovered Catholic Bloggers Network when I joined the Keep Love in Lent blog link up. I also found out that they have Monthly Link Up Blitz this 2013. So, I'm adding this post to the Catholic Bloggers Monthly Link Up Blitz for February 2013 under the Readings and Reflections category.

4 V-Day activities you can do with your kids

Here's one of my latest articles published at Philippine Online Chronicles (POC).

 

 

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Valentine’s Day is not just a day for lovers. We can celebrate it by spreading love not only to our spouses; but to the other members of our family as well, like our kids. Here are four simple activities that you can do on Valentine’s Day or throughout this month of love. Choose one or choose all and make this your happiest Valentines ever with your kids.

 

 

Pre-Valentine date with my eldest son. 
Enjoying some of his favorites - spaghetti, french fries and ice cream.

Go out on a date with your child. – Who says that we can only date our spouses? This month of love, take time to plan for a special one-on-one bonding with your child to make him/her feel important and loved. If you have more than one child, plan something special for each one of them. I first heard this from bestselling author and lay preacher, Bo Sanchez. I also read about this from Stephen Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families. I have practiced this since then and this is something my eldest son looks forward to each week. A lot of times, I accompany my son as he enjoys some rides then we have a donut, a pastry or ice cream after. On some days, we go to the bookstore together and find new books we can read. Think of some of your child’s favorite places and activities and take your cue from there. It can be a play date between you and your child followed by snacks afterwards. You can have strawberry ice cream or cup cakes with pink and red candy sprinkles for example. Or you can begin with a lunch date in a fancy restaurant or in his/her favorite restaurant followed by a trip to the toy store, department store or bookstore where you buy something for the child.



Pretending to be in a race car.

Yanthy tries a bike with a passenger seat at the back.
He asked if we could buy that for him and his baby brother.

 

Write love letters together. – It is already the digital age and very seldom do people write love letters by hand. But it doesn’t mean that this practice has lost its sweetness. Why not write love letters again this Valentine’s Day? Write one for your husband. Then, encourage and assist your child to write one for your spouse. Ask your child questions like “what does Daddy do that makes you happy?” or “why do you love Daddy?” to help your child come up with something to write for your husband. If you’re kid/s are still very young, you can think of a short but sweet Valentine message that your child can write for your spouse. When my son was only two years old, I assisted him in writing a Valentine message for my husband. Last year, he wrote something in his own handwriting. Your kids can also write love letters to their grandparents. I’m sure the grannies’ hearts would melt as they receive these old fashioned expressions of love from your kids.

 

 

Click here to continue reading.

Affordable Art Activities for Kids

I love doing art projects with my son. Since art is among my personal interests, it was natural for me to expose him to it. I’m glad that he enjoys it as much as I do. In fact, he always looks forward to our next art activity.


Engaging in an art activity is therapeutic for both of us. It not only helps my son develop his artistic skills and creativity. It also helps improve his concentration and focus. It helps lengthen his attention span as well. When I want him to slow down, and reading is not as interesting to him as it usually is, I tell him that we are going to have an art activity. It always works! He instantly lights up and becomes more obedient. We can spend around an hour or more engaging in this kind of activity. As for me, it enables me to take my mind off the things that give me stress and express my thoughts and feelings creatively through art. Like what Pablo Picasso said, "Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." Creating something beautiful from your imagination gives joy in itself. Creating something beautiful with someone you love makes the experience even more wonderful. That’s why it is one of my favorite bonding activities with my son.

"I love you from the tip of my hands to the tip of my toes."

 

Another benefit of doing art projects with my son is that it helps develop his fine motor skills regardless of the kind of medium or material that we use in our activity. These kinds of activities help prepare toddlers to write minus the stress on both parent and child.

But you might say that you are not an artistic person and that you are not skilled in painting or drawing. Does that mean that you need to enroll your child and yourself in an art program? What if I don’t have the budget for that? You can choose to join an art program if you want to but I suggest that you start small, at home, and see how you and your child would respond to it. Skill is not a problem at all; because there are many kinds of art activities for you and your child. And as an old saying goes, "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder."
 

Yanthy/Gian used glue and sand to "write" his name.
 

Let me share with you simple art activities that my son and I love to do.
 Finger, hand or foot painting.
 Doodling, drawing or sketching.
 Cut and paste art projects.
 Coloring activities using crayons, water color, poster paint or colored pencils or pens.
 Creating things with clay.
 Sand art.

Below is one example of an art activity we had today since we are still in the month of hearts and tomorrow we will be entering the season of Lent. I got the inspiration while navigating this

site. I just modified it a bit. Here’s how we did it step by step:

1. We first traced a circle in a bond paper using a pencil and one of our cups.
2. My son used his fingers (his thumbs to be specific) to paint blue and green on the circle to make it look like the globe.


3. While letting the globe painting dry, we traced a heart on a red colored board and cut it.
4. My son cut the globe painting from the bond paper when it was already dry.


5. He glued the globe into the center of the heart cut out.
6. He glued the heart with the globe into the bond paper.
7. I wrote the Bible verse from John 3:16 with a pencil using dots so my toddler son can trace it and practice his handwriting.


8. My son used crayons to trace the verse.


9. We put masking tape at the back of the bond paper and posted his latest artwork on the wall.
10. We took a picture of him and his artwork.

I chose to include Steps 9 & 10 because I believe that these are crucial in building confidence and pride in your child. When we let the child showcase his artworks, we communicate the message that we are proud of what he does and that his artwork is important to us. Taking a picture of him and his artwork or his artwork only lets us document and keep his art projects digitally in case we choose not to keep them in a scrapbook. It helps us see his growth and development as an artist.

If you need ideas and inspirations, you can always search the net and choose some which you find interesting and appropriate for the age of your child. Here are some sites and articles I discovered as I searched for art ideas that my son and I can do. I got some of my ideas for our art activities from some of these sites. Sometimes, I do exactly the same art activity suggested. A lot of times, I adapt the main idea but customize it to better fit our abilities, needs and available resources.

100 Excellent Art Therapy Exercises for Your Mind, Body and Soul
Art Therapy Instructions
Christian Preschool Printables
Catholic Icing Blog

Let me end with another quote from Pablo Picasso. "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up."