1-2-3 Come Do A Valentine Storytelling Craft With Me

Do you read "There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Rose" by Lucille Colandro?

My students absolutely love this collection of stories, and they are perfect for practicing the “sequencing and retelling a story” standards.

If you don't have the book, and would like to familiarize yourself with the story, click this LINK to find it on YouTube.

With that in mind, I designed these quick, easy & fun storytelling "Slider" and "Wheel" craftivities that will help your students retell the story in the proper order.

Either craft is simple enough as a great addition to your Valentine’s Day party too.

First up, the "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Rose" storytelling SLIDER:

There are 4 “cover” options available:

• 2, little old lady "head options,
• a full-body granny, plus
• a rose. 

Pick your favorite or give children a choice.

All of them are easy-peasy to cut, as they are in a box shape; however, you can also choose to cut around the little old lady’s head.

I took pictures of both samples so that you can decide which you like best. 

There are also 2 size options available.

Both heads are bigger, with a larger "slider strip", while the rose & granny's body are smaller (on a half page). They have a smaller "slider strip" as well. 

You decide which best suits your students' abilities.

Children color, cut & glue their slider strips together, then insert it into the “slits” of their cover.

As they pull on the end of the “slider” the various pictures go through the “window”, so that children can take turns retelling the story to a partner.

I introduce the lesson by reading the story, then share my sample with the children.

We retell the tale together, using the picture prompts on the slider.

My students now know what’s expected of them, and are very excited to transition to making a “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Rose” slider of their own.

As always, both color, as well as black & white patterns are included.

For a quick, easy & interesting way to assess comprehension, there's a “Let’s sequence the story” worksheet, where students color and trim the picture tiles then glue them in the correct order on their worksheet.

Use the teacher’s colorful copy as a whole group sequencing activity,  by passing the cards out to your students. 

When you get to that part in the story, the child with the matching card, comes up & places it on the ordinal number mat. (Use magnet or Velcro dots to adhere the cards).

After the story, I pass the cards out to different children for a final review.

Remember to grab that teachable moment to practice ordinal numbers as well.

Both the Slider & Wheel packets include a “Here’s What Happened…” writing prompt worksheet, as another way to check comprehension, plus practice sequential writing.

Use the colorful template to do this as a whole group activity with younger kiddos, discussing beginning, middle & end.

Finally, the storytelling wheels are also a super-fun way for your students to practice the sequencing & retelling standards.

There are 3 wheel “cover” options to choose from.

Choose your favorite, or give students a choice.

When everyone is done, practice telling “There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Rose” using the manipulative.

Simply turn the wheel & call on a child to explain what’s happening in that graphic.

Afterwards, have students pick a partner and take turns retelling the story to each other.

Sometimes we do this with our older, reading buddies.

For more reinforcement, as well as another way to assess comprehension, I’ve also included 2, “color, cut & glue” puzzle worksheets.

Use the two, full-color versions for an independent puzzle center, where children arrange the pieces on a 5-piece pie grid.

There is puzzle for the first half of the story, plus another puzzle for the second half of the tale. To make this center self-correcting, number the pieces on the back using two different colors, which will make sorting easy-peasy.

Another super-fun thing for students to do is to play “Speed”.  Children pick a partner & race eachother to see who will be the first to complete their puzzle. 

Add to the fun by using a dice for the first puzzle. 

Whatever number a child rolls is the number that they put on their puzzle.

If they roll a 6 they lose their turn. 

When doing the second puzzle, children play with two dice, which will help practice simple addition.

Today's featured FREEBIE also has to do with Valentine's Day.

It's a simple, (rip & tear) "I love you to pieces" valentine card, that's lots of fun for your kiddos, while being a great way to help strengthen their finger muscles.

It's perfect for your valentine party day, and is generic enough so you can use it for Mother's Day, Father's Day or Grandparents Day as well.

Well that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by.

We just had 5 inches of snow dumped on us, so it's time to do a bit of shoveling.

Wishing you a toasty & warm week. 

Click this LINK, and come join the fun on Face Book for my exclusive FREEBIES & Monthly GIVEAWAYS.

Check out my educational Pinterest boards by clicking HERE.

 "The Giving of love, is an education in itself." -Eleanor Roosevelt

1-2-3 Come Do Some More Valentine Activities With Me

I love Valentine's Day; it's one of my favorite parties at school too, so I'm constantly dreaming up new ideas to make the day special, while still learning standards.     Today I'm featuring 3 of my newest creations. 

“Valenteens” are goofy little heart people that feature a ten-frame. 
I designed the craftivity to showcase teen numbers, which can be toughies for kiddos. However, because of the blank templates provided, you have the option to simply make a silly valentine, or one with numbers 1-12, for younger students.

Children can create a boy or girl "valenteen", by where they glue the bow.
The bows come blank, as well as printed with a teen equation.

There is a blank full-size heart pattern, so that children can draw their own silly face, as well as 10 hearts with a variety of faces for them to choose from.

I’ve also included a 1/2 heart pattern. Print and fold on the dashed line. Keeping the paper folded, students cut on the black line and then unfold their paper to reveal a large heart.   My students are always amazed at this, adding to the fun of our lesson.

There are 4 options for the 10 frames: a blank set, a set with numbers, a set with hearts, and a set with numbers & hearts.

If you choose the blank set, children can make X’s & 0’s (hugs & kisses), use stickers, bingo daubers, or draw and color shapes to fill in the boxes.  For that finishing touch, I’ve also included gloved hands and shoe templates.  

You don’t have to have legs, but I think they add to the silliness of the “valenteens”, plus accordion-folding paper is a fun fine motor skill, that helps strengthen finger muscles.

I included links for the "My Funny Little Valentine" song, so you can play it while your kiddos work on their creations. 
There’s also a poster of the refrain, as well as an “Our Funny Little Valenteens”  poster to use in the center of your bulletin board display. 

Next up is the "Hh is for Hearts" alphabet wheel. I'm currently in the process of making one for each letter, and introduce them when the theme is appropriate.    

Dollar Deal Alphabet Wheels, are a quick, easy & fun way to practice letters, and build the vocabulary needed to give an example of a word, with that beginning sound.

They feature 6 nouns that begin with that letter, and come in black & white, as well as full-color, so that you can use a colorful one for an independent center and use the black & white pattern for a whole-group or individual word work activity, where kiddos make their own.

Finally, The “100 Chart, Heart Art” is a very versatile activity, as I’ve differentiated the directions for PK to 2nd grade. 

“Mystery Math”  hidden pictures, are a quick, easy & fun way to practice recognizing some of those big numbers that kiddos often trip over, when learning how to write and count numbers.

Using a 100s chart so students are seeing numbers in proper sequence, helps them wrap their head around a variety of math patterns, and is especially helpful to visual learners.

I’ve included a 100s chart worksheet without directions, so you can do this as a whole-group, “Listening & following directions” activity.  For younger kiddos, simply call out the numbers they need to color. 

I feel even young children can gain number sense by doing this as a “monkey see-monkey do” activity.

I’ve also included a set of spatial directions for you to read to older students: “Find the number 66. Color that box and the box that is UNDER it.”

There’s also a worksheet that includes the numbers to color, if you want to use this as a homework assignment, table-top activity, independent center, or something for early finishers.

To practice double digit addition and subtraction, there's a worksheet where students have to solve problems to find out what numbers they are supposed to color.

Completed projects make a cute February bulletin board.   Use the “We LOVE Mystery Math!” poster in the middle of your display.  

The featured FREEBIE today is a set of valentine 10-frames.  A nice "go along" to the Valenteen 10-frame craftivity mentioned above. 

Besides the 10-frame cards, the packet also includes heart-themed, counting tiles, plus math symbols and number cards, so that you can make equations and play a variety of games. 

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by.  Wishing you a blessed day filled with lots of "warm fuzzy" moments.

"Doubt thou the stars are fire; Doubt that the sun doth move.  Doubt truth to be a liar, But never doubt I love." -William Shakespeare

 1-2-3 Come Do Some Candy Heart Activities With Me

One of the things I do during February, is use NECCO's candy conversation hearts in all sorts of fun activities.  NECCO stands for the New England Confectionary Company. I really enjoy doing research to find out the background of things I use in the classroom, and while working on this blog article, I found some truly interesting information on a candy that's been around since Lincoln's time, when it was popular during the Civil War!

Back then, they were a crisp candy with a paper note tucked inside a cockle shell, much like a fortune cookie.  In 1866 the candy evolved into a heart shape when Daniel Chase, the brother of NECCO’s founder, Oliver Chase, invented the process of printing words on the candies.  They were written in red dye and were an instant success, (particularly as a wedding party favor) becoming known as  "Motto Hearts".

Until I started doing research, I was not aware that each year the company makes up new messages. However, some sentiments like "Kiss Me" and "Be Mine" added in 1902, continue to be favorites. To keep things current, they've invited the public to join an online survey to decide what they want these sweet little messages to say. Recent favorites: "Tweet Me", Text Me", "Love Bug" and "You + Me".

I also learned that they have themes such as food, resulting in "Recipe 4 Love", "Table 4 Two" and “Yum-Yum” messages.  In 2003 they had a “school” theme with the messages: “Teach me” “Let’s read.” “Write me.” and “Whiz Kid” . To see an archive of the sayings from past years click on the link. 

According to the National Confectioners Association, “About 8 billion hearts will be produced this year!” The company has to produce 100,000 pounds of hearts a day to meet that demand, as they sell that amount in 6 weeks during their peak Valentine’s Day season.  So how do I use them in the classroom?

So we can do a variety of math activities, I give each student 10 hearts.  We count them forwards and backwards; sort them by color, do some patterning with them, and measure how many hearts tall and long different things are.  We also practice addition and subtraction skills.  I call out various equations, writing them on the board and have my kiddos make the "equations" on their desk, using the hearts as manipulatives.

We also graph their favorite color and flavor as a whole group. These graphs are in my first candy heart packet, which I made before I had all of the graphic programs I now use. I wish I had the time to revamp a few of these older packets.

It's 32-pages long and includes reading, writing and math activities, plus some candy heart puzzles.

More Fun With Candy Hearts is another older packet, which includes a variety of skip counting by 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s activities.  There's patterning practice as well as "guess-timation" activities. 

This 33-page packet also includes 44 candy heart CVC word squares that you can use to play games or create sentences with.  

I designed these using the Acme Heart Maker site where you can type in 4-letter words on a candy heart template.  Even tho' they look exactly like real candy hearts, being a teacher, I'd rather have had them printed in lowercase letters.

A year later, I found a new site: cryptogram.com where you can type in up to 11 upper or lowercase letters! Woo hoo!  I had so much fun thinking of things to make. 

 Oh the possibilities! Type in your students' names to make them a bookmark or magnet; or set this up as an independent computer-center activity and allow them time to make a few of their own.  I even made one for my husband and tucked it in his lunch.

Some school's 100 Day lands on or close to Valentine's Day, so I made up a Happy 100 Day candy heart note for your kiddos.  To make this an extra special gift, attach a box of the conversation hearts. 

The Dollar sells them 4 in a pack.  There's also smaller candy heart cards in the packet.  Use them for Memory Match or "I Have; Who Has?" color games.  Click on the link to view/download the 100 Day With Candy Hearts activities.

Of course my brain was working over time trying to think of the zillion ways I could use this. I got out my Dolch word list and made a complete set of conversational hearts from all of the lists Pre-Primer through 3^rd grade.

You can do several things with these.  Simply use them as anchor charts, or print them off, laminate, and then cut them apart to make Memory Match games.

You can also put the posters up on your word wall for February; have students put the hearts in alphabetical order, or cut them up to make mini puzzles. Students can also choose several hearts and make sentences using those words.

Play a whole-group game and put the laminated hearts in a box, have students take one out identify the word(s). If they cannot they are out of the game.   Click on the link to view/print the Dolch Word Candy Hearts.  

Since we were also working on colors, I designed a set of candy heart color cards.  Print; laminate and trim the cards to make Memory Match or "I Have; Who Has" games.  I've also included a cover, if you want your students to make an Itty Bitty Candy Heart Color booklet. 

Finally, Contraction activities are often requested, so I thought I'd make a set of those, using 61 contractions.

Students match the word cards to their contraction cards.  You could also have children choose several cards and write sentences.  Click on the link to view/download the Conversation Heart Contraction Cards. 

Whew!  That's a lot of candy heart themed activities.  I hope you found a few to help round out your Valentine's Day activities, or use for the rest of February. 

Thanks for visiting.  It's a cold and overcast day here in Michigan' perfect for snuggling up with a cup of hot cocoa and make some valentines for those near and dear to my heart.  Wishing you a warm and cozy day.

"I believe we must give more than we get; and leave more than we take." - Foster G. McGaw

1-2-3 Come Do Some Valentine-Themed Activities With Me

Oh my!  Can February get any more jam packed?  There's so many special activities going on this month.  It seems like we just finished our Groundhog Day activities (which were postponed because of a well-deserved snow day) and now Valentine's Day, 100 Day, and President's Day are all piling up. Anyone else going a bit crazy pulling it all together? 

This article will feature some quick, easy and fun Valentine activities that have been popular downloads and favorites of my kiddos.  I hope you find something you can use to make your life easier and a bit less stressful.

My simple heart paper chain, has been pinned almost 3,000 times!  (Click on the link to check out my valentine board on Pinterest.) To make these especially cool links, just cut strips of pink, white and red construction paper (1 inch wide).  I used 3 colors so we could practice an ABC-ABC color pattern. 

Students fold each strip in half, then bring the ends around to make a heart-shaped link. I used a stapler, but kiddos can glue the ends.

To turn this into a writing prompt, have students write something that they love on each strip. They could also write spelling or word wall words, or February vocabulary words on the links. 

Teachers can make one for the classroom and suspend it from the ceiling, as a great way to countdown to your valentine party day, or do 28 links and countdown the days in February. 

There are several more heart craftivities in this packet, as well as an owl valentine, which holds a pencil that you can give to your students.

Since my "Venn Friends" craftivities have been so popular, I decided to make one for February, featuring a heart-shaped Venn diagram.  Children choose a partner and then make a Valentine Venn Friend with them. 

Venn diagrams are a great way to practice the comparison-contrast form of writing.  Making a Venn Friend is also a wonderful way for students to learn more about their classmates. 

Add a school photo for that finishing touch.  Completed projects make a sweet February bulletin board too. 

Another writing prompt "craftivity" is this 3D valentine card, which features 3 different writing prompts. 

The packet includes a pattern, plus 15 writing prompts to choose from. 

Dangle from the ceiling, or have students make this 3D heart for a valentine card. 

Speaking of special valentine cards, "I wouldn't miss, the chance to blow you a kiss!" is a sweet hand print valentine that's sure to become a keepsake. 

Older students can complete a writing prompt on the back, of why they love and appreciate their family.

If you'd like to give a little something to your students, these 10 valentine bookmarks are a sweet surprise tucked in a desk, valentine card or backpack.  You can also use them as prizes for party day. 

These 20 valentine-themed number puzzles are a fun independent center or whole-group activity, which helps students practice sequencing numbers 1-10, counting backwards from 10 to 1, or skip counting by 10s to 100.  

You can laminate and use them each year, or use as prizes for your valentine games. 

For a special valentine, put one in a Ziplock Baggie for each of your students to put together then take home.  

I've also included 3 black and white puzzles that your students can color, cut, mix up and then put together. 

If they glue their completed puzzle on a sheet of construction paper, leaving a small gap in-between the pieces, they create an interesting mosaic picture that makes a nice February bulletin board.

For a valentine activity that practices a variety of standards, use my valentine-themed grammar cards packet, which includes 30 pocket chart cards. 

Print; laminate and trim, then use them in your pocket chart as a whole group activity.  Read the sentence together, then choose a student, who uses a dry erase marker to fix a card.  They circle the letters that should be capitalized and add end punctuation.

I've included quite a few contractions so you can have even more teachable moments. For more practice, have students correctly rewrite 5 of the sentences on a sheet of paper.  I've included a sheet of 60 mini grammar cards that you can pass out to children for this activity.

No Valentine's Day would be complete without reading several special valentine-themed stories. Click on the link for a list of 100 of my all-time favorites. 

Well that's it for today.  Sorry this got a bit long, but I had so much to share, and time's running out to get everything organized. 

Valentine's Day was my favorite school celebration.  I hope you found a few things here, to make yours extra special.  Wishing you a memorable and love-filled day. 

 "Roses are red; violets are blue. My life is blessed because of you."

1-2-3 Come Make Some Valentines With Me

Since Valentine's Day is Friday, this will be my last blog post with heart-themed "stuff" 'til next year.  It's time to move on to President's Day. 

Before I do though, I wanted to whip together a few special valentine things for you. 

I always sent a Valentine's Day Party information note home, as well as a list of their child's classmates, followed up by a thank you note to anyone who helped with the party, or donated something. 

I thought perhapes you could use a time-saving template for those things.  Simply print and then fill in your own info.  Click on the link to view/download the Valentine Note Packet.

Since the mustache craze continues, and so many teachers have that as a theme in their classrooms,  I thought I'd make a mustache valentine. 

Before I design anything new, I surf the net to see if anyone has done what I'm thinking about; no sense reinventing the wheel. 

Erin had done just that, as I found a simply adorable mustache valentine FREEBIE over at:  I Love Naptime! 

Aren't they cute?  I love how she inserted the sucker so that it looks like a nose.  Your kiddos can trim off the writing and wear their mustache while they slurp away, which makes for a sweet photo op.  Click on the link above to grab her FREEBIE. 

The Internet provided all sorts of examples of old-fashoned, vintage, and handmade valentines.  A few hours quickly slipped away, as I flitted from one site to the next.

One of my favorite finds was made by Kristen over at Yellow Bliss Road. She overlayed the word love on top of one of my favorite Bible verses.  Click on the link to get this lovely FREEBIE, suitable for framing.

If you're looking for vintage valentines, you definitely need to click on the link that will take you to Lisa Thorarinson's Pinterest board. She has over 600 exquisite examples!  Many are in the public domain.

Another great site that's less overwhelming, has 70 vintage valentine FREEBIES  and can be found at Sweetly Scrapped. 

I really enjoyed taking a trip down memory lane, as my grandmother collected all sorts of valentine postcards from the early 1900's.  I fondly remember paging through her scrapbooks. 

To save you time, I used a  few free clips to make a vintage valentine packet.

I've laid them out so there are minis you can print for all of your kiddos, as well as a larger one with only one valentine on the page, to print and give to that special someone.  Click on the link for my Vintage Valentine packet.

I was pleasantly surprised at the popularity of ALL of the writing prompt valentines that I've been posting.   They have been the most downloaded items these past few days. 

TeachWithMe is mainly geared towards early elementary, but most of the writing prompts can be tweaked up, and some, I specifically designed for older students. 

With that in mind, I decided to make a folded heart envelope, which my crafty grandma Lydia, taught me a zillion years ago.  Give older students a writing prompt or have them record whatever they want inside. 

I've also included a few poem ideas they could use as well, or challenge them to write their own poetry. There's a heart pattern that includes one of my favorite "love" quotes, which I used for  "my special saying" that went under my senior yearbook picture. 

Run off the heart pattern on a variety of pastel colored construction paper, or for especially pretty "envelopes" print on patterned scrapbook paper that has a plain flip side. Click on the link to view/download the Folded Heart Envelope Valentine Writing Prompt.

Finally, since yesterday's keepsake "Blow a Kiss!" craftivity was such a big hit, I wanted to design a few more "keepers."

While surfing the net, I came across the idea of making thumbprints look like hearts; they were posted on a variety of bridal pin boards. I LOVED this idea, so I had my husband press his thumb on a bronze stamp pad and then I pressed mine next to his, so that it looked like a heart. 

I cut out my construction paper heart and glued it to a circle of textured scrapbook paper, which I glued to the back of a paperweight. 

I thought it turned out really cute.  I got the paperweight from Michael's Craft Store for only a dollar, but you could buy a bag of the clear glass, flat-backed stones to make this an inexpensive project.  Simple hot glue a magnet to the back. 

I also designed a sweet "thumb body" loves you valentine, for your kiddos to do the same thing on.  There's a color as well as a black and white pattern. Click on the link to view/download the Keepsake Thumbprint Valentine.

I hope you found a few things here that you can do personally, or with your students to make your Valentine's Day extra special. 

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away.

"Love wasn't put in your heart to stay; love's only love when you give it away." -Rogers and Hammerstein

1-2-3 Come Do Some More Valentine Activities With Me

I had a special request from Iesha, in Michigan, for some 10-frame cards with hearts on them.  Since this was also on my "to do" list, I got right to it.  

All of the new 10-frames packets include extra tiles, so that students can use them as manipulatives to make groups/sets to match the number on the cards, sort the tiles or pattern with them.  Click on the link to view/download the Valentine 10-Frames packet.

1-2-3 Count Valentines With Me compliments the cards, as this easy reader booklet is based on a 10-frame and covers all sorts of standards. 

Students read, trace and write the numbers and number words, circle the number in the sequence, dot that many spots on the 10-frame, then cut and glue the appropriate picture showing a group of that many. 

The new "Count With Me" booklets, also have students add end punctuation to the simple sentences.  Each packet also includes several worksheets. Click on the link to view/download the 1-2-3 Count Valentines With Me packet. 

When I'm diddling around designing, an idea sometimes happens because of the adorable graphics done by really creative artists, like Laura Strickland (mycutegraphics) and DJ Inkers. 

Why Do I Like You?  Let Me Count The Ways... was one of those ideas. D.J. Inkers clip art of a  little boy and girl holding a huge heart, simply begged to be filled with something. 

When I taught high school, my students enjoyed a variety of poetry that I shared with them.  How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count The Ways, by Elizabeth Barrett Browning,  was a personal favorite. 

I thought this would make an interesting writing prompt for students. Just incase you'd like to share the original poem, I've included it in the packet.

Instead of love, I substituted the word like.  Students can choose to complete the prompt for someone they are close to, or to promote friendship and build self-esteem within your class, have students choose a classmate.  Students write things they like about that person, or things that person does that they like etc. 

To jumpstart your students' creative minds, make one about your best friend, sister, brother, husband or wife to share as an example.  I've also included a bookmark in color, that teachers can fill out for each student.  Write the child's name on the heart and then list a few things of why you enjoy having them in your class.  Click on the link to view/download the How Do I Like Thee? Valentine Writing Prompt packet. 

I didn't have much time to design more valentine crafts this year, but I did want to make a few valentines that your kiddos could make and take home to their families. 

Moms especially LOVE the cute "paper love" keepsakes that their child makes at school.  With that in mind, I designed the "Blow A Kiss!" keepsake card. 

The original idea came from "Life Is Sweet."  She painted her baby's hand and pressed it on some paper for grandma and grampa.  Here's my version:

Run off my template on white construction paper, or for more pizzazz, print it on regular copy paper and then have students trim and glue their card to their favorite color.

Students pick a partner and take turns tracing each other's hand.  For PK kids, have a room helper do the tracing and cutting.

Draw a little tab at the base of the palm, so that the hand has a "hinge" and then cut out.  Glue the hinge to the back, of the bottom of the card, so that it flips down, to reveal the sentiment. 

I made a page of lip tiles (kisses), so that students can glue their "kiss" to the middle of their flopped over hand.  For that finishing touch, add a school photo and some glitter.  Click on the link to view/download the "Blow A Kiss" Keepsake Valentine Card.

Another quick valentine craft is a simple positive-negative reverse picture.  My Y5's were always amazed when they folded the half-heart template, cut on the solid line and then unfolded a whole heart!

Most of them didn't even realize that they were cutting a heart out, and I didn't spoil the "surprise."   I loved their excited exclamations over this scissor "magic."  

Turn this into an interesting writing prompt for older students:  "Half of me enjoys _______ and half of me enjoys ____________."  I had a lot of fun writing a sample for you that will help to explain the lesson. 

For more pizzazz, I cut my photo in half and arranged it on my "heartwork."

To get in some keyboard practice, have students write their rough draft, and then type up their final copy and mount it on construction paper.  Completed projects make an awesome February bulletin board. 

Click on the link to view/download the Folded Heart Writing Prompt Packet.

Thanks for visiting.  Feel free to PIN away.  I hope you have a simply spectacular Valentine's Day! 

"The educated differ from the uneducated, as much as the living from the dead." -Aristotle

 

I'm So Glad You Swim In My School!

Lovie, the heart fish, is a wonderful way to review the concept of small, medium and large. His goofy lips remind me of those wax ones I loved wearing when I was a kid!

I really enjoy my Y5’s exclamations of surprise, when they listen and follow directions, keeping their papers folded and cut on the lines. 

I don’t tell students that they are going to make a heart, I inform them that they will be making a special “February shape” then let it be a “surprise”.

They are amazed when they open their papers to see a heart, and can’t wait to cut the rest of their fish parts out. This is a great opportunity to review symmetry with your students too.

Show a finished sample to your students so they know how to glue Lovie together.

You can add a wiggle eye and even some glitter for that extra bit of pizzazz.

I ran mine through a crinkle press that my students fondly call Mr. Cruncher Muncher.

Turning the crank is a great fine motor skill for them. 

It’s one of my favorite “must have” classroom tools and sells for $18.  Buy it with a half-off coupon for any of the major craft stores.  It's perfect to add that finishing touch to any Ellison die-cut and adds pizzazz to patterning. 

Reading the original Rainbow Fish story, is a nice follow up activity. 

Because the Rainbow Fish stories are a fun favorite for Y5's, giving students a color choice for their Lovie heart fish, is nice and makes for a more dramatic and colorful bulletin board. 

Even though they are board books, the Rainbow Fish Colors, Counting, and ABC books, are a great review and popular with little ones too.

Captions:

“We LOVE swimming in our school!”

Include a student’s photo on each fish.

You could glue their pix on an aluminum foil heart or sparkly piece of scrapbook paper, in keeping with the Rainbow Fish's “scale” idea.

Only glue the pointy tip to the middle of the fish so that the fin pops out for a 3-D effect.

 OR… another caption could be:

We’re Fishing For Facts! Turn the fact b. board into a writing prompt.

Have the students write 3-5 facts about themselves, a topic you’re studying, or do some math equations.

Use a separate sheet of paper, or write on the backs of the fish and suspend them from fish line in front of the board.

Click on the link to view/download Lovie, the Valentine-Heart Fish

After your students complete Lovie, have them transition to a game and play: Fishing For Facts with Goldfish crackers!

Younger students roll one dice and cover numbers 1-6, older students write out equations and cover goldfish 2-12.  The child to cover all of their fish first, wins the game.  Combine snack and math for extra timesaving learning fun!

Click on the link to view/download the Fishing For Facts games, which include number and number word flashcards + several skill sheets.

Fitting right in with my valentine fish-theme are these cute Valentine treats. Click on the link to zoom over to Juliann's site for more creative ideas. 

 Do you have any ideas you’d like to share with us?  I’d enjoy hearing from you! diane@teachwithme.com or feel free to post a comment here.

They are very much appreciated, especially if you use an idea.  Thanks in advance.

Since Valentine's Day is coming up fast,  I wrote another article with a quick and easy valentine.  Scroll down for the "I'm Wild About You!"valentine.