The Kissing Hand

Anyone who knows me well, knows they are likely to find me and my sidekicks in the children’s section at our local bookstore several afternoons a week.  We will cozy up in the corner of the children’s section to read, show up for story time, play at the train set, and play hide-n-seek and peek-a-boo between the shelves for hours and hours.  Last week while at the store we picked up a new book, The Kissing Hand, which was the perfect book for back to school time.

This book is all about going to school for the first time, and all the fears a child may have on the first day.  In the story, a baby raccoon is worried about starting school and talks about his fears to his mom.  She comes up with a very sweet solution to remind her son that her love is there even when she is not.  It was the perfect addition to our book collection at home.  There are so many valuable lessons in this story, not only overcoming fear, but also reminding children to share their fears and thoughts with their parents.

There are so many activities teachers and parents can do after reading this book to make the first day of school a tear-free day, at least for the kids.  ;)  Here is one that we worked on –

I always send a little something to school packed in lunch to make it special.  Sometimes it’s a note on a napkin, other times it’s a sticker, and occasionally a special treat.  After reading the book I wanted to make a special kissing hand to keep in their lunch bags.  I traced my hand and added a heart in the middle, with these words:

My love is strong and close to you all throughout the day.
Heart in hand, always near, and will never go away.
Love, Mommy.   

Hopefully this will remind them how much I love them…and remind them to eat their veggies.  :)