Five Minute Favorite: What Do You Love?

Valentine’s Day is a few weeks away!

Before you stock up on card-making and cupcake supplies, take some time to talk with your child about a simple yet profound topic:

What do you love?

This was always one of my favorite conversations to have with the children in my classroom, playful and connective.

Each conversation might include one or two subjects, and we’d keep coming back to these five minute chats.

I love mangoes. I love their vibrant colors and sweet taste, sometimes with a hint of vanilla, and smooth texture, so different from a banana or an apple or a blueberry. I do not love to peel them, however! Let me tell you more…

I love dogs, and particularly my sweet shepherd. I love her dark, velvety ears, her wide smile and so-excited scamper when I come home, the way she puts her paw in my hand to communicate, and collects tennis balls from outside the courts in Central Park.

I love books. I love all kinds of books, and especially picture books. The children knew some of my most favorite ones, and why they were beloved… Our Favorite Day, by Joowon Oh, because I loved the way the grandfather tended to his home and picked up take-away dumplings to enjoy with his granddaughter. Everybody in the Red Brick Building, by Anne Wynter and Oge Mora, because I loved the different families and the sounds we made and the beautiful gray cat. Today, by Julie Morstad, because I loved the vivid colors and the way it shows the way time changes things.

I love libraries, and bookstores, too. The glorious homes for books! The way they smell like paper, the hushed quiet, the concentration of choosing a book with care, the narrow aisles for wandering, the voice of a librarian or author reading. Let me tell you about my favorite one…

I love the sound of acoustic guitar as my husband plays softly at night, after work and dinner, the same melodies sounding over and over as he practices a new song and sings along quietly. Want to hear how a guitar sounds?

I love taking a walk, especially by a river or a lake or the ocean, with the wind in my face, watching the patterns of waves and ripples on the water.

I love laughing with my friends. The fun of a silly moment. Let me tell you about one I just had, laughing with Caroline and Helen and Sara about how cold we were during the snow storm, wearing so many layers! Let me tell you about how many layers I wore on that cold day!

When I was your age, I loved going to lunch with my caregiver, Rose, who was tall and patient and actually smelled like roses. Who wore Mary Jane shoes like I often do now, who gave me this slender golden watch on my wrist. It used to rest on hers. We’d have lunchtime chats, and sometimes silences, over my favorite toasty grilled cheese sandwiches.

I made a point, on Valentine’s Day, to not say the obvious - pat phrases about loving my family members, friends, treats, gifts, etc.

Instead, I aimed to show the children that I loved the world around me.

Loved many of my experiences as a human being.

With people and places, animals, plants, creations.

All of the scenarios I described above are concrete and relatable for the young child.

Notice that I included interesting sense-based details - not too many details, but enough to bring a smile to a child’s face, a twinkle to their eye. To mine, too.

This Valentine’s Day, talk with your child about what you love.

Show them that you love aspects of the world you inhabit.

And talk with them about what they love, too.