Valentine’s day is more than saying “I love you” or gifting treats and flowers- it’s a great time to teach about friendship, social situations, and acts of kindness! Using a sweet (and super affordable) book found at the Dollar Tree- paired with visuals and a matching song, our students have been able to express multiple ways to show acts of kindness in our sessions.

I found this adorable illustrated board book while browsing my local Dollar Tree and immediately thought what a great tool it could be in our music therapy sessions.

The book features various animals (racoon, squirrel, and skunk) performing different acts of kindness (making treats, sharing candy, making a friend, etc.).

I paired the visuals with an original song (see below) to teach appropriate acts of kindness, not only during Valentine’s season but throughout the whole year.

I love how versatile this book and song can be. Besides teaching acts of kindness you can also…

• Teach less common animals like squirrels, skunks, and racoons and their sounds or facts about them
• Encourage and prompt students to think of other acts of kindness
• Discuss acts of kindness in more detail (Ex: the skunks name is Mr. Smellgood- could this be an act of kindness compared to naming him something smelly?)
• Discuss appropriate boundaries for acts of kindness based on social situations. For example: It is nice to share with your friends. It nice to share affection (hugs and kisses) with your family, but not with people you just met.

I wrote this song with an age group of 6-10-year-olds in mind but I can imagine line three and four to be re-written based on group/session setting, goals and age group.

If you are teaching a student or client a specific behavior (saying “thank you”, listening quietly, saying nice words, etc) you can use those examples instead to tailor the song to individual needs.