Adults know that the shape of the real heart isn’t actually the shape all of us have come to know as a heart. It’s a shape that’s everywhere, from emojis to greeting cards to the much-loved Valentine’s Day. Therefore, here’s a little science: a picture with labels of an actual heart.
“Your heart is sort of like a pump, or two pumps in one. It pumps blood around your body. Blood provides your body with the oxygen and nutrients it needs. It also carries away waste. The right side of your heart receives blood from the body and pumps it to the lungs. The left side of the heart receives blood from the lungs and pumps it out to the body.” It is one of your body’s organs, but it’s also a muscle working all the time to help keep you healthy.
You can feel your heart. Take your finger and move it down your nose, past your mouth and neck; when you get just below your neck, move your hand to the left a little. That’s where your heart is! Hold your hand there for a little bit and you’ll feel your heart. Now, try running around a little or do jumping jacks. This makes your heart pump faster and you’ll feel it more. One of my favorite ways to hear a heartbeat is to cuddle with someone near their neck and put your ear to their body; you can hear the Lub Dub of the heart! Here’s a lot more about the heart: Your Heart & Circulatory System (for Kids) | Nemours KidsHealth.
On Saturday, February 15, Crestwood’s Full Steam Ahead Storytime (10:30) will be about the heart and there will be a demonstration of how blood moves through the heart. As always, there will be handouts to take home.
Enough of the science! Here are some fun crafts to do with your child, 10 Valentine's Day Heart Art Ideas For Kids - Little Bins for Little Hands, including designing hearts like famous artists Haring and Kandinsky.
February is also Library Lovers’ Month, and all three branches of YPL are celebrating! You can click this link to our very full calendar of events - Month Calendar | Yonkers Public Library - but here are a few spotlighted events!
Maker Mondays for Seniors: Pop-Up Valentine Card. Monday, Feb. 10 at 11:00 AM at the Riverfront Library. Registration required.
Mix and Match Mondays: Activities for Teens. Valentine Cupcake Flower Craft on Monday, Feb. 10 at 3:00 PM at the Will Library.
Be Our Valentine at the Library! Monday, Feb. 10 at 5:30 PM at the Riverfront Library.
Valentine Crafternoon @ Will! Thursday, Feb. 13 at 3:00 PM at the Will Library.
Valentine’s Day Craft. Thursday, Feb. 13 at 3:30 PM at the Riverfront Library.
Love Your Heart with Dietician Tina McGeough. Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 1:00 PM at the Crestwood Library.
Heart Healthy Recipes. Thursday, Feb. 27 at 12:00 PM at the Will Library. Registration required.
You can also craft with us all month long at the Riverfront and Crestwood Libraries! Check out the crafts, coloring pages, games and more at the Riverfront Library, or embrace your creativity at the Crestwood Library Creation Station.
We love libraries, and we love reading too! Our Winter Reading Challenge for all ages is going on until March 15th. Sign up at your Yonkers library branch or go here to register online: Winter Reading Challenge | Yonkers Public Library. There are prizes and a raffle!
And here’s a few books available in Yonkers libraries about the heart to get you started:
- The heart: Our circulatory system
- My heart and blood
- The snail with the right heart: a true story
- Your one and only heart
Happy Library Lover’s Month and Happy Valentine’s Day!
Nancy Wissman is a part-time Children’s Librarian at Crestwood Library. She is especially excited about bringing science to Crestwood with the Full STEAM Ahead storytime, which combines her love of story reading and storytelling with her new passion for science. Nancy has been a librarian for over 30 years, working in several libraries in different library departments, but most enjoys connecting children with literacy.
Alison Robles is a Part-Time Junior Clerk at the Crestwood Library. She is an avid reader with a passion for YA lit, historical fiction and fantasy. A Yonkers native, she recently received an MS in Information and Library Science from the University at Buffalo.