Friday, February 13, 2009

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)
 

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, you are very romantic. Happy Valentine's my love!

Anne Deysher said...

I'm glad to know that you weigh in as romantic...

Your movement song sounds like fun! We do the "Shake a Friend's hand, shake a hand next to you (squeeze a knee, scratch a back, hug a neck)" from Bible School, I think, although in our version there is no mention of God.

JJ said...

Thanks for the autographed giveaway of your new CD. I am sure whoever wins will have fun with their kids while dancing and singing along. I became a "follower". lol Thanks.