Happy Valentine's Day!

St. Valentine's Day, 2009 was not quite as candy fueled as 2008. That was nice. This year, however, I wasn't responsible for students in the afternoon which made all the difference. I'm still not sure if I like this holiday or not. Not because I'm a man, or because occasionally I am forced to wrangle with successively candy high, then sugar crashed students. I like to think of myself as a romantic (Tracey would be the final judge on this one). Perhaps I feel a certain amount of pressure, but I blame the commercial media for that.

All in all, celebrating Valentine's day with young children is a pleasant experience. For some students it's their first extensive writing project. I have my "once a year" pink dress shirt which I sweat straight through this year! That's Miami in February for you. It has turned out to be a lovely day.

I wanted to leave you with my favorite and perennial Valentine's Day activity. I am not sure where "The Warm Fuzzy Song" came from. I learned it at LEAP school second hand. It's cute and I created a Valentine's variation a few years ago. The melody is based on "John Brown's Body" I think. 

The Warm Fuzzy Song

[Students' name]'s a warm fuzzy creeping on the rug,

[Students' name]'s a warm fuzzy creeping on the rug,

He's/She's gonna give a hug,

A Valentine's hug,

[Students' name]'s a warm fuzzy creeping on the rug.

I typically play this one on the hand drum to give a nice beat for creeping around. The motions are pretty self explanatory I guess. I have to watch some of the kids here in South Florida who are wearing shorts so they don't get rug burns, but in general it's a blast. I have a rule that each new student to take a turn must choose another student who has not yet had a turn so the whole group cycles through. 

Kids' Quote of the Day: "I am a little, giant monster that breathes fire that is hearts," ~Kearin (age: 3)