Oral Language Feeds the Reading and Writing Process

Favorite February Songs, Books, and Writing Connections

Oh, My Darling Valentine
(To the tune of Clementine)
February is a short month
28 days or 29
In the middle is a love-day,
Won't you be my Valentine?
Oh, my darling
Oh, my darling
Oh, my darling Valentine.
In the middle is a love-day,
Won't you be my Valentine?
—Author Unknown

This “just right” song came to me from mentor, retired kindergarten teacher, Joanie Cutler. Clementine is a contagious melody, so you may find yourself repeating, “In the middle, is a love-day, won’t you be my Valentine?” over and over again. What a memorable way for children to learn about February calendar skills, the concept of “middle,” and cultural traditions of love and friendship!

Download: Oh, My Darling Valentine for your Poetry and Song “I Can Read” Notebook.
We hope you sing and dance every day in kindergarten: It’s how the brain learns best!

February Themes of Love and Friendship

View our growing collection of songs and rhymes: February Themes of Love and Friendship. (These are either in the public domain or are shared with permission.)

You'll be able to download 8.5” x 11” copies for your “I Can Read” Notebooks. Children will memorize, recite, illustrate, and read them.

See Photo Essay: How to Organize Poetry “I Can Read” Notebooks

Here is a view of the first page of what you’ll find this month. Then just scroll down!

February Is a Time to Sing, Sign, and Write Messages

View our sign language video clip on our YouTube Channel:

Singing, signing, and spelling are powerful ways to learn high-frequency “heart” words.

February message writing activities provide great practice in writing meaningful sentences and phrases:

To _________
I love you.
I like you.
You are my friend.
From _________.

Write Secret Messages to Take Home and Hide!

One boy decided to make ten secret messages to hide all around his home—even his sister’s bedroom.

I love you. To _________.

I like you. From _________.

You are my friend.

Keep sentence strips, photo/name cards of classmates, and a variety of paper, pens, and envelopes in your card-making center. Children can practice writing a message (with high-frequency “heart words”) and adding “To _____” and “From _____”. Enjoy their delightful, creative designs.

See Write-a-Message Center Resources on TPT

Write-a-Message Center is one of the 5 Independent Writing Centers we will present in our spring workshop.

Write Love Coupons

Invite children to write “love coupons” and take them home for Mom and Dad. This idea comes from the book Kid Writing: A Systematic Approach to Phonics, Journals, and Writing Workshop by Eileen Felgus and Isabelle Cardonic. (Page 92)

Study Artist Marc Chagall

We remember Joanie Cutler’s magical kindergarten where children came to know about the life of artist Marc Chagall during Valentine month.
Notice his use of color, the floating figures as in a dream, flowers, and the people of his childhood…

Children’s Books That Say, “I love you...”

The most power-packed words a child can write (besides their own names) are “I love you.” We teach these important high-frequency “heart words” early in the year, and we teach for fluency. Our kinders (even special needs children) can all proudly read, write, sign, and spell “I love you,” “I love my…,” and “I love the…” How happy the children are to confidently read these words in so many wonderful books! Here are some sample children’s book pages and covers: