The Kissing Hand

While in Virginia I had the privilege of working with an amazing team of Kindergarten teachers. They had Kindergarten down to a science and it was a great place to learn while not having to get lost in planning and coming up with new ideas all the time. They really were a PLC before ‘Professional Learning Communities’ were in style.

At the start of the year, the very first book they read was The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. The Kissing Hand is a story about Chester Raccoon who is getting ready to go to school for the first time – and is really unsure about this idea. His mom tells him about all the fun things he will do, but then shares a special secret with him that will keep him warm and cozy at school.

The secret is the Kissing Hand, which is a special kiss from Chester’s mom onto the palm of his hand. Whenever Chester is lonely, he can press his hand to his cheek for a kiss from his mom and remember that he is loved. It is a wonderful book for the first day of school and after reading the book we all make “Kissing Hands” to take home from school for our families. 

Since it was the first day of school, my assistant and I would trace the shapes onto the felt and paper so the students only had to cut them out. Felt can be a little tricky, but with the Fiskar scissors it usually went pretty well. It was always nice to have something to take home at the end of the first day and a story to share. I will say I usually waited until the mid-afternoon for this project since it gave any friends who might be having a hard time on the first day of school a chance to calm down and realize school was fun before hearing the story.

Since The Kissing Hand I believe Audrey Penn has written two sequels that include stories about Chester’s brother called A Pocket Full of Kisses and A Kiss Goodbye.