Grade: Elementary
Subject: other

#2485. Valentine's Day Lesson on Caring

other, level: Elementary
Posted Wed Feb 13 10:48:50 PST 2002 by Tandy Reifsnyder (Tandycounselor@hotmail.com).
Page county Schools, Luray, Virginia
Materials Required: Roses are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink, Diane Groat, red paper and scissors
Activity Time: 30 minutes
Concepts Taught: Caring, Using Nice words

Materials Needed: Book Roses are Pink and Your Feet Really Stink by Diane Groat.

Anticipatory Set: With the class seated on the floor, start talking about the difference in the
things we say that make people feel good or hurt them. While talking, cut a big heart out of the
construction paper (red or pink). After it is cut out, hold it up and tell students that each one of us starts out with a heart that is as pretty as this one. Have the children begin sharing things that a person might say that might be hurtful to someone else. With each response, fold the heart (in random ways - just so it gets another fold in it for each "hurtful" comment. Eventually the heart is crumpled in your hands. Tell the class that each time they same something hurtful to someone, they are putting a little wrinkle in that person's heart. Talk about how someone's heart might begin to look like this crumpled heart if people continue to say mean things to them. Then have the children begin to tell things that they might say to someone to make that person feel good. With each response, unfold one of the creases in the heart, eventually you will have pressed out
all of the hurts...except, of course, for the fact that the wrinkles can still be seen, event though the heart is now all the way unfolded. Talk about how we each have those wrinkles in our hearts from things others have said to us, and that wrinkles last forever. Stress that we want to be careful with what we say, so as not to add wrinkles to anybody's heart.

Read aloud Book.

Coloring sheet of Eeyore and Tigger dressed for Valentine's Day. Available to Print out at
Disney go.com or Various Valentine's Day Activities Available on the web.