Valentine's Plans

We made some Valentine's cookies for the girls' teachers (swim, Irish dancing, school) and our housekeeper. Isaac even got in on the action! He didn't want to be left out.

The mixing stage

The girls used their heart cookie cutters from Aunt Leah and Uncle Kent to cut them out. Fresh out of the oven! Yum!

The plan was to write "JOY" on the hearts. J for Jesus first, O for Others next, and Y for Yourself last. I found that clever idea online and thought it was a good lesson on how to love practically for preschoolers. (My husband had apparently already heard of this back in his Protestant Sunday school days and remembered the song to go with it. I heard him singing it to them while giving them a bath the other night.) Writing the letters was harder for Hannah than I thought it would be. She gooped it or went too fast and it just didn't look like "JOY." So I ended up doing a handful and then let them be creative with the rest.

I also taught them to cut out hearts the easy way by folding the paper and drawing half the heart. Genna is still in need of a little scissor help, but Hannah has mastered the art of cutting on a line. Then they went to town glittering and gluing and markering to make cards to go with the cookies. It was quite the mess to clean up! We gave little lollipops and Nerds out to their classmates.

I have some prayers selected for Valentine's Day, and we will read about St. Valentine, of course. Plus a coloring page from Waltzing Matilda will give them something to do Sunday afternoon. I also plan to make a Red Velvet Cake, or perhaps heart shaped Red Velvet cupcakes. We have the honor of making a dinner for a friend who just had a baby this weekend as well. Busy, busy!