The start of a new school year can be difficult for both parents and kids. For children starting school for the first time, it can be hard to be away from the parents they have spent most of their time with. It can also be a difficult transition for parents, as they deal with being apart from their child and watching them grow up. Today’s book provides a beautiful message to comfort both kids and parents.

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The Kissing Hand is a beautiful story written by Audrey Penn and illustrated by Ruth E. Harper and Nancy M. Leak. This book has helped numerous parents and their children to deal with situations where they need to be separated. It can be helpful for the first day of school or their first night away from home.

Chester Raccoon is worried about the upcoming school year. To help him understand that her love is always around, his mother places a kiss in his paw. She reminds him to feel her love in his paw whenever he is sad or lonely. There are many ways to use this story to create learning opportunities and memorable experiences with your kids.

Prepare for times spent apart

Night Before School Read Aloud – Make it a tradition to read this book the night before the first day of school. You can recreate the hand kisses together to prepare you both for the next day. My daughter and I use this signal when we have to be apart and it has really helped us both.

Check out this list for more back to school books to share!

Create Your Own Kissing Hand– Come up with your own ritual with your child for times that you need to be apart. It can be something as simple as a kiss on the palm. You could also make a special bracelet together that you will wear when you are apart. Talk to your child about what will make them feel loved even when you are not there with them!

Practice hand eye coordination and fine motor skills

Raccoon Crafts – The blog “Kindergarten Days” posted an adorable raccoon craft where kids use different sized hearts to create a raccoon face. Our raccoons were inspired by their craft, but we decided to make raccoon masks. This can be a fun way to work on hand and eye coordination and fine motor skills while cutting out the shapes. It also allows young children to familiarize themselves with the heart shape as they cut the shape in various sizes and manipulate it to create a raccoon face. I recommend cutting the holes for the eyes yourself since it has to be done carefully.

Kissing Hand Cookies – On her blog, The Three R’s of Kindergarten, Michaele Sommerville used a hand shaped cookie cutter and Hershey kisses to create adorable “kissing hand cookies”. Baking with your kids is a great way to teach them math and reading skills, and the heartfelt meaning behind the cookies allows you to take the story of The Kissing Hand and incorporate it into your lives. A kissing hand cookie that you made together could be the perfect snack in their lunch box on the first day of school.

What do you do in your family to stay close when you are apart?

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