A Classy Heart

This year I'm responsible for E's pre-K Valentine's Day party. Despite the fact that this is her third year in school, this is my very first party. I've lucked out the past two years with canceled parties, but now I'm having to face the music. Surely I, a children's book and craft blogger, can throw a little preschool party!
The trick is finding a craft that will take up an appropriate amount of time, be easy enough for 4 year olds to do with little assistance, and not create a huge mess for the teachers. My find:

Pony Bead & Pipe Cleaner Heart Necklace.

I came across the tutorial on the Women's Day website via One Pretty Thing. I modified it a bit to make it even simpler:

What you'll need:

• 1 red pipe cleaner
• 24 red, white, and pink pony beads
• white ribbon

1. Fold the pipe cleaner in half and give to the child with a bag of beads.

2. Have the child thread the beads onto each side of pipe cleaner in whatever pattern they choose.

3. Thread the last bead onto both pipe cleaners and twist down to shape into a heart.

4. Wrap the ends of the pipe cleaner around that final bead and trim, tucking extra into two neighboring beads.

5. Loop a ribbon around the heart to create a necklace.

Voila! A pretty heart necklace the girls can wear and the boys can beat each other with give to their moms.

For storytime, I'm reading my new favorite book: My Heart is Like a Zoo. But if you haven't run out and bought it yet, here are a few others that might work...

Snuggle Puppy by Sandra Boynton

All the Boynton books are cute, but this one is pretty adorable. Read to your own little snuggle puppy (or to a class of precocious 4 year olds) and enjoy a silly but sweet song of love.







Happy Valentine's Day, Mouse! by Laura Numeroff

So it's getting obvious that this franchise is going to milk every holiday for every last cent, but that doesn't mean it's not a cute read. I mean, c'mon, that's one adorable little mouse!