Secret Message Valentines for Dia del Amor y Amistad! I love that in Spanish a common way to to translate Valentine’s Day is saying “Day of Love and Friendship.”

My boys love all things spies, secret agents, mission impossible…. So when  I told my oldest that we were going to write secret messages to his dad and brothers, he was on board.  This is even a super easy Valentine’s card you can have kids make in class or to give to classmates.

I am always looking for simple  ways to make 40 plus Valentines for my boys classmates. One of our desires as parents is to help our boys see that Valentine’s day is not just for lovers but a time to share “nuestra amistad y amor” with our friends, neighbors, those in need…

What you will need for our Secret Message Valentines are basic things you can find around your house.

Supplies:

• white card stock paper shaped into hearts
• white crayon
• water color paint

The “invisible ink” is the white crayon.  The watercolor paint is what helps uncover the secret message!

1. Write your message with the white crayon on your white card stock paper. Make sure you press down hard when writing.

2. Make cupids arrow and attach over heart.

2. Give your Valentine their secret message and let them know that they will need water color paint to uncover the message. Or you have the water color paint on hand and let them paint over it in front of you.

In celebration of Valentine’s Day or Día Del Amor y la Amistad we are sharing these Spanish language Valentine’s Day cards with you! These can be printed, cut and then folded to make cards, or even be printed on sticker paper for added fun. They would also make cute notes for Valentine’s Day gifts. There are so many possibilities and they are our FREE gift to you to enjoy and share.

For a printable version of both sets of cards click here.

Check out all the Valentine’s goodies we have for you here and our Valentine’s Pinterest board is really cute too!

January is over and Valentine’s is right around the corner. As I’ve said before I’m not a huge fan of this celebration, but I do think it’s a great time to do fun things with my kids. So I loved the idea of creating our own messages in Spanish on the large conversation hearts by Brach’s pictured above.

I figured that it’d be not only fun, but it’d be a great Spanish vocabulary lesson for my kids.

First, I showed them the idea concept behind the conversation hearts and I gave them an example by writing the word AMOR on one of them with the red food-safe pen that comes in the box. Then, I told them that before we got started we had to come up with a list of words related to love, friendship and Valentine’s Day in Spanish. We had so much fun coming up with words!

In all honesty, I figured most of them would come from Vanessa, since she’s the eldest. But boy was I in for a big surprise! It was actually my 3.5-year-old son who came up with the majority of the words on our list. Check them out:

Vanessa wasn’t too thrilled, but then she came up with a few phrases herself (such as ¿me quieres? and eres mi amor) and we were ready to get started. My first-grader did an amazing job writing these words onto the conversation hearts. (And her little brother has fun scribbling on them too!) So not only did we get to brainstorm some vocabulary, but Vanessa had a chance to practice writing all these words in Spanish too.

I must say I that my favorite part of Brach’s Conversation Hearts, which are available exclusively at your local Walmart, is their large size — perfect for little hands with plenty of space for those just learning to write. ¡Quedaron súper lindos!

Check out all the Valentine’s goodies we have for you here and our Valentine’s Pinterest board is really cute too!

Disclosure: As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program, I’ve received product samples and compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Bebe Bilingual want to wish you all a Feliz Día de San Valentín with a little gift. They have provided us with this free printable for our niños to enjoy! For a color Valentine card version of the printable above  check out the Bebe Bilingual etsy shop. They are available in Spanish and French!

For a printable version of the bilingual Valentine’s printable click here. 

Check out all the Valentine’s goodies we have for you here and our Valentine’s Pinterest board is really cute too!

In the mood for besos y abrazos? Your day is here. Remember to celebrate el día de San Valentín (or Día del Amor y la Amistad) with all of your Valentines, young and old. It’s a good opportunity to discuss the proverbial ties that bind and the reason we are all making such great efforts to raise well-rounded, bilingual kids: ¡AMOR!

Keep the love alive by starting a collection of LOVEly books like the ones below. Find them, along with tons of other great ones, in La Tiendita.

Para los niños:

El Día de San Valentín/Valentines for Vinnie by Greg Roza

Un día del amor by Sujatha Lalgudi

El Primer San Valentín de Clifford by Norman Bridwell

On Valentine’s Day/Día de San Valentín by Judith Mazzeo Zocchi

Para los padres:

El amor en los tiempos del cólera by Gabriel García Márquez

De amor y de sombra by Isabel Allende

La Maestría del Amor: Una Guía Práctica para el Arte de las Relaciones by Don Miguel Ruiz

100 Love Sonnets: Cien sonetos de amor by Pablo Neruda

Un Día/One Day by David Nicholls

 
Check out all the Valentine’s goodies we have for you here and our Valentine’s Pinterest board is really cute too!

Celebrate this Valentines Day or Día del Amor y la Amistad with one of our niños favorite TV amigos: Pocoyo! The cards feature Pocoyo and his friends Elly, Pato, Loula , and Sleepy Bird for a total of five different cards. These super cute cards are a great option for our kids to share this Valentine’s Day.

Click here to download a printable version of these cards and visit the Pocoyo site en español for more fun activities and games.

Check out all the Valentine’s goodies we have for you here and our Valentine’s Pinterest board is really cute too!

What can be cuter than pretend play with this osito de la amistad puppet?

My kids love their stuffed animals especially this old raggedy looking bear. I wanted them to express their love and friendship through pretend play.

I knew that creating my favorite childhood activity-a paper bag puppet- would encourage them to do so.

Here are the step-by-step directions to make one of your own.

Supplies

• Paper bag
• glue
• marker and pencil
• scissors
• 2 sheets of 8.5×11 colored paper
• 1 sheet of glitter paper- Optional
• Template shapes {Download here}

 Prep your craft

Print out your template and trace each shape on to the paper color of your choice.

Cut each shape out.

Step by Step Tutorial

Step 1- Measure the circle against the paper bag and with your pencil, draw a line to know where to cut.

Step 2- Cut where you drew your line.

Step 3- Glue your ears on to the bag. Make sure to adhere them to the flap of the bag this will be the head portion of your puppet.

Step 4- Glue the bigger half of your bear head. Make sure to line up the edges to each other.

Step 5- Glue the smaller half of the bear head directly under the flap to line up the edges to recreate the circle.

Step 6- Cut your nose circle in half. Glue them the same as you did on steps 4 and 5.

Step 7- Make sure your circles are aligned.

Step 8- Glue the eyes and the nose. Tip- the nose should be the upside down heart.

Step9- Draw the mouth for your bear with a maker.

All done. ¡A jugar! 

Enjoy these Friendship bears from our familia to yours.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

¡Feliz día del amor y la amistad!

Check out all the Valentine’s goodies we have for you here and our Valentine’s Pinterest board is really cute too!

Editor´s Note: Mari is the founding editor of the Ezine, Inspired by Family, a place where we want you to feel encouraged as you join in their journey to leave a legacy to our children and strengthen our family relationships.

In our home we love to celebrate holidays, friends, family and just life! This year, we decided to have a Valentine´s Crafting Kids Party with my sons and 10 of their friends.

Who doesn’t need fridge magnets! This is a practical and easy gift to give to your child’s teacher for Valentines day (or Día del Amor y la Amistad!)!

Okay Chicas, ready to get your craft on?

You will need:

• Metallic crafting paint for a glossy look
• Paint brush
• Air dry modeling clay
• heart shaped cookie cutters (various sizes)
• magnets
• Stamp block of your choice

Instructions:

1. Roll out your clay flat, just as if you were making cookies.  If you roll it out too thin, it will easily break.

2. Use cookie cutters to make your heart shapes.

3. Press stamp block over heart to create your design.

4. Let dry according to instructions on the modeling clay package.

5. Once it is dry, paint.

6. Attach the magnet to the back.  You will need a thick magnet to hold your hearts.  Otherwise, they will just slide down the fridge.

7. Wrap ribbon around them and package them in these easy to make Valentine’s Day Pillow boxes.

Note: Clay will crack and break if dropped or bent.

Check out all the Valentine’s goodies we have for you here and our Valentine’s Pinterest board is really cute too!

We are just a weekend away from one of the cutest holidays to celebrate with kids:  Valentine’s Day.  This holiday is known in Spanish-speaking countries as either San Valentín or  El Día del Amor y la Amistad.  I love calling it El Día del Amor y la Amistad because it not only celebrates romantic love, but also love in friendship and family. Viva Greetings has created these special Valentine’s coloring cards just for you–our dear SpanglishBaby friends!  You can print a sheet with four cards for your kids to color and give to the special people in their lives. You can also print several and use as a classroom activity.  Or just print the full-color version on stock paper, cut and use as ready-made cards. Whatever you do, spread the love,  share the links and have a beautiful Día del Amor y la Amistad!

Click here to download the Viva Greetings Valentine’s  Coloring Sheet

Cick here to download the Viva Greetings full color Valentine’s cards

A huge ¡Gracias! to Viva Greetings for the gift. Check out their goodies!

Check out all the Valentine’s goodies we have for you here and our Valentine’s Pinterest board is really cute too!