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If you have been following this blog for very long, you probably already know that Valentine’s at our house means ice cream sundaes! My children start reminding me about this fun family tradition by mid-January.
In addition to ice cream sundaes, we love to read Cranberry Valentine. Cranberry Valentine is another book in one of our favorite series; you might be more familiar with Cranberry Thanksgiving.
A Cranberry Valentine Homeschool Unit Study
Cranberry Valentine is a fun story involving Mr. Whiskers, Maggie, Grandmother, and the ladies of Cranberryport. We enjoy it because it is a good reminder about the value of friendship and how we can use valentines to help us show our friends how much we appreciate them.
There is a fun recipe for Cranberry Upside Down Cake at the end of the book. You can make this to celebrate after you read the book, or make it ahead of time and enjoy it while you read the book aloud.
Hands-On Ideas for A Cranberry Valentine
Handmade Valentine cards are a great way to add a hands-on component to this study. Depending on the ages of your children, they can create them all on their own, you could cut out hearts for them, or maybe you could write on them, and they could decorate them with crayons and stickers.
If you want a little more inspiration, you could check out the chalk pastel heart lesson from Nana at You ARE an Artist. It is simple enough for preschoolers and a great start for older children.
These are the perfect cheap and easy gifts for neighbors and friends. It shows them you care and will bring a smile to their faces.
If your children love Mr. Whiskers, you can also check out this Mr. Whiskers art tutorial.
Science Ideas for A Cranberry Valentine
You can tie science to your Cranberry Valentine study by learning more about this delicious fruit and how it is farmed. There are many resources online, but this blog has some great basic information, and this video is excellent for showing how cranberries are harvested.
If you want to do some science experiments, you can check out this list of 10 fun science experiments with cranberries.
Nature Study for A Cranberry Valentine
We love incorporating nature study into our units. If you have one locally, a cranberry bog would be a fantastic field trip. However, we live too far south for cranberries, so we will study them in our home.
You can grab a bag of fresh cranberries from the store and let your children study them. They can dissect them to see what they look like on the inside. Next, use a magnifying glass or microscope to look at the seeds and different parts of the cranberries.
Then they can draw and write about them in their nature journals. If you need help getting started with nature journaling, I recommend checking out Homeschool Nature Study. They have some great information and printable templates.
Free Printables for Cranberry Valentine
For children old enough to write and spell, you can add a bit of word practice to your study. I have included a printable pack in the resource library with Cranberry Valentine printables. Your child can make words from the letters in cranberry and valentine.
There are also some fun writing prompts to go along with the book. It always amazes me how much more they enjoy writing about something fun.
Finally, if your children are fond of the If You Give a Mouse series… you can check out this fun Valentine’s Day movie that is free with Amazon Prime.
I hope your family enjoys Cranberry Valentine as much as our family does. We read it every year. I would love for you to share your ideas or experiences in the comments below.
Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure
When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library you will get a link and password to the library, we are adding to the library each month with new items. You will also get a bi-weekly newsletter email to keep you up to date on what we have going on.
This post may contain affiliate or referral links, including Amazon affiliate links. As always I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. It does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.
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