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

Yesterday's "Let's Do Something With Those Valentines!"  Math & Literacy activities, were such a huge it, that I decided to make a few more worksheets where students use their valentines.  These have to do with measuring.     

Because my kiddos rip through their valentine cards and are done in about 5 minutes, when I really wanted that activity to last longer, I designed these quick, easy and fun worksheets to extend my sanity-time on party day.

There are 2 worksheets children complete using their valentine cards.  They are independent activities, as well as one where they partner up.

Choose just one worksheet, or print both back-to-back.

Children will enjoy playing with their valentines longer, as they practice a variety of non-standard units of measurement, while you grab a few stress-free moments to relax before the next activity.

Another "print & go" activity is the Valentines For Sale emergent reader, which practices a variety of standards.

Children read the simple sentences filled with 37 Dolch sight words, trace and write the color, number and coin words, color the valentine hearts the appropriate colors, then cut and glue the matching coins to the boxes.

This quick, easy and fun activity is perfect for party day. 

Today's featured FREEBIE is "Lovie".  She's a fish made from heart shapes.  This craft is a simple and fun way to show small-medium-large and explain symmetry.  

Use it as a valentine craft for party day and give children some Fishy crackers to "o-fish-cially" wish them a happy Valentine's Day. 

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

February is so packed full of special celebrations and themes that my mind's on hyper-drive.  Wishing you a happy-go-lucky day.

"If you can believe it, Hollywood wanted to change my birthdate. I was born after Valentine's Day, so they wanted to change it to February 14. A Latin lover should be born on Valentine's Day. I said no." - Cesar Romero

1-2-3 Come Do Some Valentine Craftivities With Me

I loved decorating the hallway outside my classroom.  I never had enough bulletin boards, so it was inevitable that I'd spill out into the hallway.  Nobody minded as they said it made things look educational and festive.

I think showcasing student work is a huge self-esteem builder.  It also let the parents, vistors and the rest of the school in on what my Y5's were doing.  

With that in mind, I wanted to design some writing activities that were a bit on the crafty side, for your students to have fun with.  

No matter what grade I taught, (PK, K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 12th and even college) my students really enjoyed incorporating a bit of art into other subject areas.

An easy way to do this is with writing prompts.  Instead of just writing on paper, have students write on their creations.  In the 3D heart dangler, students choose 3 different writing prompts: people, places, things, sports, subjects, books, movies, music etc. that they LOVE. 

You can use my templates, or the plain blank heart.  This can be 3 days worth of writing, or a take home assignment.

Three different color paper hearts are cut, folded and glued together to make a 3D hanging heart. 

The writing prompt heart in the photo is yellow, blue and orange. For that finishing touch, have students glue on their school picture to one of the hearts, and then "autograph" the bottom.

The other photo shows a 3D heart that is hot pink, light pink and purple. 

So that students can practice their keyboarding skills, have them write a rough draft for each of the 3 prompts that they chose, edit and then type them up and glue one on each of their hearts.

Punch a hole at the top and tie a yarn loop. They will look awesome swirling and twirling from the ceiling.

If you'd like a caption, you could have a large 2-sided heart that says: "Mrs./Mr. _____________'s Class LOVES Writing!"  Click on the link to view/download the 3D Writing Prompt Heart packet.

Yesterday I posted some holiday Venn diagrams.  While I was putzing with those, I thought it would be interesting to design a heart-shaped Venn diagram, and have students choose a partner to make a "Venn Friend" with. 

Each student writes their own "different" half of the diagram, and then works together on the "same" section with their partner.

Make sure you create one of your own to share as an example.  You can also have students choose primary colors that when combined make a seconday color.  I thought of this after I had made my sample, and should have used red and yellow hearts with an orange center.  Just a thought. Students could also choose their favorite colors as well. 

Have children share their Venn Friend with the class and then scatter them on a bulletin board, or hang back-to-back from the ceiling.  A caption could be:  We Are Different. We Are The Same. We Are Friends!  

These would also be a nice craftivity for Martin Luther King Day.  I've included two heart-shaped Venn diagrams for Valentine's Day, plus another, without the valentine caption, so you can use it for MLK Day or a back-to-school "meet my new friend" activity.   Click on the link to view/download the heart-shaped Valentine Venn Friend packet.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away. 

"Education is hanging around until you've caught on." -Robert Frost