Littles Learning Link Up: Valentine's Day Literature and Craft Round Up

Welcome to Littles Learning Link Up. Each month you will find:

• A seasonal round-up (usually toward the beginning of the month)
• A guest post featuring crafts, activities, tips, snack ideas or other early childhood topics. (usually toward the end of the month)
• Posts where I share what I have been up to with my preschoolers and/or early elementary children (including occasional highlight posts where I share how we used ideas that have been linked up here on Littles Learning Link Up).

Each week, I will host a link up, where you can share either what you have been up to recently, or old posts that may go with the theme.  Feel free to link up more than one post.

Each week I will continue to feature a couple of posts from those that have been linked up. 

I hope you will continue to share your wonderful posts, and I hope you will find something new to try with your child.

It would be great for everyone to stop by and visit the other linked-up posts as well. Check them out, leave some comments, pin those that interest you. Let's make this a real party and socialize with each other.

It's time for this month's Round Up

Recently I have been trying something different for my round up posts. I share a selection of books that focus on a specific topic (like Celebrating the Birth of Christ or Snowmen) and then I share a round up of "Favorite Book List" posts that other bloggers have compiled, plus craft/activity posts that went with those books. I have decided I am going to continue this through the year. I hope these posts have helped you find some new books to share with your children. I know they have helped me find books I have never heard of before, and reminded me of books we have read in the past but I had forgotten about.

This month I decided to compile Valentine's books, as Valentine's Day is just around the corner.

As I did last month, after I share my book selections, I will share a list of posts that also compile Valentine's Day books, then there will be some fun craft/activity posts that focus on books.  I hope you find some new books to share with your children this Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day Literature and Craft Round Up

14 Books for Valentine's Day

4 Sweet Books About Creating That Special Valentine

Valentine Surprise by Corinne Demas

The little girl in this story is trying to make a special Valentine for her mom. She tries every day, but there is always something "wrong" with the heart she is making. She ends up taping them all together and mom has a valentine for every day of the week.

Valentine's Day by Anne Rockwell

In this story, the children in the class are all making valentine's for a friend who is missed, though at first we don't know why she isn't there. They each make their valentines as they remember special memories of this friend. They then deliver it to the post office and we discover she is with her grandparent's in Japan. She also has sent them valentines,special origami valentines.

Mouse's First Valentine by Lauren Thompson

A sweet book about two mice. One who is gathering special materials while the other smaller mouse follows along wondering and trying to figure out what all the things are and what is being made. We discover the mouse named Minka has made a special valentine for Little Mouse.

The Runaway Valentine by Tina Casey

This story is actually about a valentine named Victor, who thinks he is the best valentine card ever. He is puffed up and prideful, and tries to get people to notice him so he can be purchased first. Unfortunately he ends up on the floor under the shelf. He ends up cartwheeling away and figures someone will pick him up and want him, even though he is now dirty. Several people do find him, and need him, but not in the way he wants. They all need just bits and pieces of him, until one little girl finds what is left over and creates a special valentine out of that piece.

4 Fun Books About Delivering Valentines

Sweet Hearts by Jan Carr

In this story the little panda goes around the house hiding valentines in special places for all the members of the family.

1 - 2 - 3 Valentine's Day: A Counting Book by Jeanne Modesitt

The mouse in this story goes around to the different animals giving Valentine's Day gifts. He always gives two knocks on the door, but there are increasingly more animals in each house, from 1 frog, to 2 pigs, all the way to the 10 little mice of his own house.

Rhyme Time Valentine by Nancy Poydar

The young girl named Ruby in this story is very excited about Valentine's Day and being able to create and deliver Valentines. Unfortunately on the way to school her valentines are whipped away by the wind. She tries to make more, but there is no red paper left. She ends up giving out her Sweet Hearts candy with its special sayings, and then a special surprise greets the children, as her valentines are blown around outside the window and people on the street pick them up and read them.

Valentine Mice! by Bethany Roberts

The mice in this story are traveling through the woods with their sled, delivering valentines to all the woodland creatures. They suddenly realize one of them has gone missing, though the reader knows that mouse has slipped and slid on the ice and ended up buried in some snow. The story ends with a special valentine's hug.

2 Informative Books About Valentine's Day

Let's Celebrate Valentine's Day by Peter and Connie Roop

This book shares facts about Valentine's Day, starting with who Valentine was and why Valentine's day is on February 14th. Traditions and symbols are looked at. And instructions for making a pop up valentine and Valentine's Day Sugar Cookies are given.

Valentine's Day is... by Gail Gibbons

A book that shares different aspects of the holiday.

4 Random Valentine's Day Books

Let's Get Ready for Valentine's Day by Lloyd G. Douglas

This is a beginning reader type book about a little girl describing how she celebrates Valentine's Day.

Valentine by Carol Carrick

Heather is a little girl who is disappointed that her mommy has to go to work on Valentine's Day. She spends time with her grandmother making cookies and then going out to tend to the sheep. It is discovered that the sheep gave birth to 3 little lambs, one of which is near death. Heather helps her grandma nurse it back to health. She names the lamb Valentine.

If You'll Be My Valentine by Cynthia Rylant

A cute rhyming book about a little boy who shares valentines with his family and stuffed friends, and pets. He shares his affection, and tells how he will spend special time with each one.

Plenty of Love to Go Around by Emma Chichester Clark

This sweet story is a tale about a dog named Plum and a cat named Binky, based on the author's real life dog named Plum. Plum is used to be the special one, but then her friends get a new cat named Binky and Plum becomes jealous. You can read my review and enter to win your own copy here.

More Valentine's Day Crafts and Activities that Go With Books:

Tara from Homeschool Preschool shared Jesus Loves Me Valentine's Day Craft to go with the book Jesus Loves Me by Laura Logan.

Laura from Sunny Day Family shared Valentine's Day Pet Activity for Preschoolers to go with the book Here Comes Valentine Cat by Deborah Underwood.

Chelsey from Buggy and Buddy shared The Kissing Hand Pop-Up Card to go with the book The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn.

Trisha from Read Science shared Valentine Themed Discovery Basket For Baby to go with the book Snuggle Puppy by Sandra Boynton.

Trisha from Inspiration Laboratories shared Raining Hearts Word Game to go with the book The Day It Rained Hearts by Felicia Bond.

Trisha from Inspiration Laboratories shared Hide and Seek Valentine's Day Card to go with the book Happy Valentine's Day, Mouse! by Laura Numeroff.

Natalie from Planet Smarty Pants shared An Art and Writing Project - Map of Your Heart to go with the book My Map Book by Sara Fanelli.

Darla from The Preschool Toolbox shared Creating a Friendship Star With Kids to go with the book The Shape of My Heart by Mark Sperring.

Kristina from School Time Snippets shared Easy Yarn Wrapped Hearts Mobile for Valentine's Day to go with the book The Day It Rained Hearts  by Felicia Bond.

Deirdre from JDaniel4's Mom shared Valentine's Day Tangram Activity With Printables to go with the book Somebody Loves You Mr. Hatch by Eileen Spinelli.

Deirdre from JDaniel4's Mom shared Valentine's Day Crafts - My Heart is Like a Zoo to go with the book My Heart is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall.

Ali from Mom Explores Southwest Florida shared Valentine Footprints to go with the book The Day It Rained Hearts by Felicia Bond.

Maggy from Red Ted Art shared CD Rainbow Fish Craft for Valentine to go with the book The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister.

Carolyn from Simple Play Ideas shared DIY Touch and Feel Valentine's Day Hearts to go with the book My Fuzzy Valentine by Naomi Kleinberg.

Kate from Homebound But Hopeful shared Where's The Love? A Mad Lib Valentine to go with the books A Crankenstein Valentine by Samantha Berger and Roses Are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink by Diane de Groat

Tina from Lit Mama Homeschool shared Story Time: The Valentine Bears to go with the book The Valentine Bears by Eve Bunting.

Favorite Valentine's Day Books Compilation Posts

Jacquie from Edventures With Kids shared Valentine's Day Scavenger Hunt and Activities which includes a list of favorite Valentine's Day books to read to children.

Katie from Gift of Curiosity shared 9 Books About Valentine's Day For Kids.

Melissa from Fireflies and Mud Pies shared Sweet Stories For Valentine's Day.

Kate from Homebound But Hopeful shared Books & Flower Fun For Toddler Valentine Play.

Felicia from Homeschool 4 Life shared Valentines for 14 Days - Book List.

What are your favorite Valentine's Day books that you read to your children?

Don't miss my giveaway for the children's book
Plenty of Love to Go Around
(US only, Ends 2/22)

I am lining up guest posts for the new year. If you would be interested writing a guest post for Littles Learning Link Up one of these months, please leave a comment or contact me via my contact info on my About Me page. I will need to have your email address so I can contact you. I am looking for posts that have to do with young children: crafts, activities, foods/snacks, tips, or other ideas. I am open to suggestions.

Now onto:

Littles Learning Link Up Features

On my last Littles Learning Link Up post, there were 9 wonderful posts linked up. I will be picking one randomly selected post to share, plus the top clicked-on post.  

Don't forget to stop by other posts that are linked up. See what catches your eye, stop by, pin the post to a relevant board, and perhaps leave a comment to let the author of the blog know you have been by for a visit. I know I appreciate others commenting and letting me know they have read my posts, so I am sure others do too.

This week's randomly selected post is:

Every Star is Different shared Autism and Montessori Practical Life at Home.

And here are this week's top clicked on posts.

Lisa from Syncopated Mama shared Ladybug Girl Addition Bugs.

Shecki from Greatly Blessed shared Arts and Crafts in Our Homeschool.

Shecki from Greatly Blessed also shared Our Week with Cokie Science.

Join the Party!

I would love to have you join in this week! What sort of activities do you do with your young children? Do you have some favorite activities you would like to share? I invite you to link up below. I will be pinning posts on my Toddler Ideas or other relevant board, and I would love to feature some of the activities each week from what is linked up.

Please know I may share a picture from your post and link back to it, along with sharing how we used your idea in our school time, if applicable. By linking up you are giving me permission to use a picture from your post. I will ALWAYS give credit and link back. Additionally, if you choose to try out any of the ideas with your child, please make sure you give credit where credit is due.

Linky will be open through Sunday night, to give me time to check out all the posts and get the Features organized. Please take the time to visit some of the other wonderful posts linked up.

This post is a part of the:

An InLinkz Link-up

Plenty of Love to Go Around Children's Book {Review and Giveaway}

We had the opportunity to review this sweet children's book called Plenty of Love to Go Around. This book was written and illustrated by the creator of the popular "Plumdog" blog, Emma Chichester Clark.

About the book:

This story is based on the author's dog Plum. Plus was originally featured on the author's blog: Plumdog Blog where she chronicles Plum's life. The first book about Plum is titled, Love is My Favorite Thing, which Us Weekly called an "action-packed picture book." While we have not read this original book, we were thrilled to receive this follow-up story that shares Plum's struggles with feeling left out because of a new cat that recently moved in next door.

Plum always felt that she was so special, because she was loved by her owners Emma and Rupert, and her best friends from next door, Sam and Gracie. Then, one day, Sam and Gracie had a special surprise for her. They had a new cat named Binky. Binky seemed to want to be friends right from the start. Unfortunately, Plum saw this little cat as a threat to her "specialness" and of course, cats aren't supposed to be favorite things for dogs. Binky was following Plum everywhere, even to the dog park, and did everything Plum was doing.

One day they got trapped in a shed and Binky was able to escape. Plum thought she had been abandoned, yet Binky led Sam and Gracie back to her. Though you would think this would warm her heart to the kitty, Plum then started getting more jealous, because she saw all the special things the cat could do, and figured her family and friends loved him more.

Even Plum's dog friends at the dog park tried to reassure her. They wanted to know if she had tried being friends with Binky, and told her that there's plenty of love to go around. Still, Plum wasn't convinced. She even barred poor Binky from the house, and then it started to rain.

Before she could decide whether she was going to let him in or not, Emma and Rupert came home and saw what she had done. They realized that Plum was jealous and reminded her that there was room in their hearts for both of them, and wanted to know if Plum had a big enough heart to let Binky in to hers. The last page shows her answer:

Such a sweet, heart-warming picture to end the story with. Don't you think?

What did we think of it?:

This is such a sweet book that we all enjoyed. I loved learning that Plum is based on a real life dog. This story is both a great way to show that love is BIG and can get bigger. There is no need to be jealous of a new pet or even perhaps a new baby that might be on the way. As a mother of 11 children, this is definitely something I can attest too. When one more child joins a family, that doesn't mean the other children get less love. The love that is in the house doesn't have to be divided among the children. The love we have multiplies to include everyone.

This story is told in such a sweet way. We can understand Plum's concerns, but we also see poor Binky's attempts at befriending Plum. I realized I could feel pain for both of them. This book really tugged at my heart-strings. Binky just wanted to be friends, and Plum didn't want to lose her special place in her family and friends' hearts. The combination of the sweet text and playful watercolor and colored pencil illustrations tells a wonderful story of love.

This is a wonderful book for children to understand there is no need to be jealous when there is a new friend on the playground, or a new baby joining the family. We need to embrace these new playmates and family members. It is also a great book to share on and around Valentine's Day, to remind your children that you love each and every one of them.

About the author/illustrator:

Emma Chichester Clark has written and illustrated numerous picture books, including Love Is My Favorite Thing and the Blue Kangaroo series. She grew up in the Irish countryside, where she began making books with sewn-up spines when she was five years old. She studied graphic design and later attended the Royal College of Art. Her first picture book project was illustrating Laura Cecil's Listen to This!, which won the Mother Goose award for Best Newcomer to Children's Book Illustration. She lives in West London with her husband, three stepsons, and of course, her beloved dog, Plum

Published by Nancy Paulsen Books is an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group (www.penguin.com/youngreaders).  The book retails at $17.99. Release date: November 22, 2016. The book is suitable for young children, 3-5 years of age.

Giveaway Time!

Great news! I have been given the opportunity to offer a giveaway for one person to win their own copy of Plenty of Love to Go Around.

All you need to do is enter in the Rafflecopter form below. 

There are only 2 simple mandatory entries, with the remainder of the entries being optional. 

Remember, you do not have to do the extra entries, but they will increase your odds of winning. 

This giveaway is open to US residents 18 and over. 

The giveaway runs February 7th through February 22nd.

Thanks for stopping by, and good luck!

 By entering the giveaway, you understand and agree that your contact information will be shared with the sponsor.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received a hardcover copy of  Plenty of Love to Go Around in exchange for my honest review. No further compensation was given. This did not in any way influence my review. I only recommend products I use personally and feel will be a good products for my readers.

Tuesday's Giveaway Link Up- February 7, 2017

Welcome to Tuesday's Giveaway Link Up with your hosts Karen @ Tots and Me, Emily @ Emily Reviews, Shelly @ The Attic Girl, and Rena @ An Ordinary Housewife.

So glad you could join us as we share our giveaways on  Tuesday's Giveaway Link Ups. 

This link up will be posted Monday at 7 PM est. and run all week long! Make sure you stop in as often as you can to list your latest giveaways.

Here is how to use the Giveaway Link Up

1. Post your reviews and/or giveaways, as many as you have, be sure to add the end date (family friendly please)

2. Help spread the word about the giveaway link up by grabbing our button, Tweeting or posting on Facebook. (Not mandatory- but it helps get more exposure to your giveaways as well!)

3. Take a moment to enter any giveaway that strikes an interest to you!

If you would  like to follow the  hostesses, we will gladly follow you back! Simply leave us a message to do so.

Featured Giveaways

$50 Save-a-Lot GC US only Ends 2/11

An Assortment of Dr. John's Sugar Free Candy 

(Dr. John's xylitol sweetened candies are sugar free, don't contain artificial sweeteners, flavors or colors and taste just as good as their sugar sweetened counterparts. These candies are considered acceptable by those following the Trim Healthy Mama eating plan and are great to have on hand to resist your kids' leftover holiday candy. And, Valentine's Day is coming up! So if you're trying to go sugar-free this year, this is a giveaway you don't want to miss out on!)

US only Ends 2/7

$150 Amazon Giveaway US only Ends 3/4

Thank you for linking up with Karen @ Tots and Me, Emily @ Emily Reviews, Shelly @ The Attic Girl, and Rena @ An Ordinary Housewife.

An InLinkz Link-up

It's Groundhog's Day: Here's a Fun Craft to Do With Your Children {Groundhog's Day Circle Flip Craft}

Happy Groundhog's Day

No, we don't usually do a whole lot for Groundhog's Day. And, I'm not very happy with him right now because he saw his shadow, which means there are 6 more weeks of winter. Of course, there are 6 more weeks of winter left anyway, but we'll blame the groundhog, right? It's always seemed like a silly tradition to me, but I used to always love making groundhog cupcakes for my older children to take into school. I haven't made those in years, and we usually don't do anything here at home. But I thought it would be fun to do a groundhog's day craft at co-op yesterday with the preschoolers. I decided to share the craft today because it won't really be relevant come next week's Littles Learning Link Up, plus next week will be my Valentine's Day Literature and Craft Round Up. 

I found this great idea over at Almost Unschoolers. We called it a Groundhog's Day Circle Flip Craft.

Now, when I was reading the directions over on the Almost Unschoolers blog, I ended up having to do the craft 3 times because I kept making mistakes. I was hoping to explain how I ended up doing the craft with the children, so it can be a bit easier to understand. Though, I admit others may not have the comprehension problems I did. 

The craft was supposed to have 2 blue construction paper circles and one green construction paper circle cut in half. I thought by having two different color blues we could have one that was darker for the cloudy day and one light blue for the sunny day. However, when I got it put together I realized, we don't even see the other blue color. So, technically, the one circle COULD be any color. I think by having the two blues, it helped me to realize how the craft went together. So, I would recommend 1 light blue and 1 dark blue. 

You will also need a groundhog template. I usually google "_________ coloring page" to find images to use. But this time I used the same groundhog that was recommended over at Almost Unschoolers, because I agreed with her that it is just so cute. It can be found and downloaded at All Kids Network. 

Additionally, I cut flower shapes out of different color construction paper, a sun out of yellow construction paper, and gave the children cotton balls to use for snow and clouds. We also used a brown and a yellow crayon and a glue stick. Older children could draw flowers on their craft if they so choose. I was trying to make sure all the children in our group could make this craft as independently as possible.

The first step is to glue a green half-circle onto the bottom of each of the blue circles.

Then you cover the blue section of one of the circles with glue. You will want to put glue on the color you do not want to see in your finished project. Then you put the other circle directly over the other circle, pushing down on the top half to glue it down.

You should be able to lift the bottom half of the top circle up, so you can make a picture on both the top and bottom "pages."

Each child colors two groundhogs brown and cuts them out. One is glued in the middle of the first "page." The children then glue a sun into the sky and add a shadow  and cotton ball snow on the ground. We used the yellow crayon to draw on sun's rays.

We then wrote, "Six more weeks of winter!" on it.

The bottom flap is then flipped up in order to work on the second "page."

Here, the children glue cotton balls in the sky for clouds and flowers in the grass, in addition to putting the groundhog on of course.

On this page we wrote, "Spring is coming soon!"

Top page:

Bottom page:

Here are two finished crafts, side-by-side, one showing the top page, the other showing the bottom page.

Throwback Thursday Blog-Style #137: February 2, 2017

Welcome back to... 

I know, I know, Throwback Thursday seems to be all about sharing pictures from the past, great memories that mean something to you, that you would like to share with others. At least that is how it appears to me. Throwback Thursday wasn't something I was participating in, and then I came up with an idea.

I thought it would be great fun and a help to my blog to share old content, but not just any old content. Each week I will share an old blog post from a previous year, any year, BUT it has to be from the current week (for example, something I've posted around February 2nd, from any previous year)  I will go in, edit the post if needed, add a pinnable image if I don't already have one, and share it on Facebook.

Last year I focused solely on review posts for the posts I wanted to share. It was fun remembering some of the review products I had forgotten about. This year I will be focusing on recipes I have shared in the past.

Would you like to join in? You do not need to edit your past post in any way, you don't need to create a pinnable image, though it couldn't hurt, in fact it will help your blog traffic to add quality pinnable images to your posts.

Just go into your archives, choose a favorite post from this current week from any previous year, and link it up below. (If you don't have anything from this current week, it is still okay to link up with a post from a previous year around this time. And if you haven't been blogging for a full year, feel free to share any earlier post.)

Please make sure to share from the past as instructed above if you would like your post to qualify for the Featured Post. Most weeks I find that there is a wonderful post, but I can't feature it because it is a current post, not from the past. I love reading the current posts, if you want to share them. However, I am not able to feature them, because the spirit of Throwback Thursday Blog-Style is to share posts from the past.
Thank you

I will be pinning posts to my appropriate Pinterest boards and will be randomly selecting a Featured Throwback Thursday post to share next week. Just a note, I will be sharing a picture from your post if you are selected as the featured post, but I will link back to your post. I will ALWAYS give credit and link back. By linking up you are giving me permission to use your picture in the post. 

Here is my Throwback Thursday post:

Originally posted January 30, 2015
Kids and a Mom in the Kitchen 108: Trail Mix Candy Bars

Here is this week's randomly selected

Featured Throwback Thursday:

Our Unschooling Journey Through Life shared 

Lamingtons; An Australian Treat Made the American Way.

To participate, link up below. It would be great if you could visit several of the other posts that have linked up. Stop by, comment, and pin images so we can help each other.

If you would like to help spread the news:

<a href="http://totsandme.blogspot.com/search/label/Throwback%20Thursday"><img alt="Tots and Me" src="http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt58/kewkewphoto/b12c3aba-c5a6-4946-9ea1-59a49cc3dd00_zps8e60622d.jpg"/></a>

Happy Throwback Thursday!

An InLinkz Link-up