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."

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These 100 Day puzzles are a quick, easy and fun way to help students count and sequence numbers 1-10, count backwards from 10 to 1, as well as skip count by 10s to 100. 

 1-2-3 Come Play Some Educational 100 Day Games With Me

If you're like me, then you enjoy using games to reinforce and practice a variety of standards.  The "Dots 'n Boxes" game is perfect for 100 Day, as it's simple, quick and fun for your students, and when completed, will reveal 100 boxes! 

Children choose a partner and take turns connecting two dots with a line.  The object of the game is to complete a box by drawing the last line, which will enclose the box. 

Students then put their initial inside. Once all 100 boxes are made, the child with the most boxes is the winner.  Click on the link for the Dots 'n Boxes 100 Day game.

Another 100 Day game reinforces digital and analog.  Students take turns rolling one dice to get numbers 1-6 for those times, and then roll 2 dice, adding them together, to get numbers 7-12.  

Whatever number they roll they trace that digital time, and write in that number in the appropriate section of their analog clock.  The first one to complete their "It's Time To Celebrate" paper, is the winner.  A certificate of praise is also included.

Puzzle Games:  Help students learn to count backwards from 10 to 0,  forwards from 1-10, or skip count by 10s to 100 with these 9 sweet 100 Day number puzzles.

You can laminate and use them as an independent 100-Day center, or run off copies for each child to take one home for more practice. 

The packet includes 3 picture-less templates to help younger children put the pieces in the correct order. 

The 100s chart also offers a variety of game options.  Children can find the mystery picture hidden in the 100s chart by coloring in the appropriate numbers to reveal the number 100. 

There's also a mystery picture, which reveals a heart.

You can find this 100s chart in my Celebrating 100 Days With an Ant Theme packet.  (Particularly perfect, if you read 100 Hungry Ants on your 100th Day of school, or your 100th day falls close to Valentine's Day. ) 

For more 100 chart fun, there are seven 100 charts in my 100 chart packet, which includes a blank 100 chart for students to fill in, a 100 chart, where the "skip count by 5s numbers" are in red, a 100 chart, where the "skip count by 10s numbers" are in blue, a traceable 100 chart for little ones, a "What's Missing?" fill-in-the-even numbers 100 chart, as well as a "What's Missing?" fill-in-the-odd-numbers 100 chart.  For more fill-in-the-blank 100 chart templates, click on the link for my monthly packet.

The filled-in 100 chart is perfect for making puzzles, or designing your own "mystery" pictures.  To easily make 100 chart puzzles, simply print off the 100 chart on a variety of colors of construction paper; laminate and then trim each color into a different puzzle. I keep each one in a Zip Lock Baggie.

To help younger students, who are just learning to count to 100, print off a class set of the 100 chart on white card stock and laminate, so that students can tehn place their puzzle pieces on the grid. 

Another 100 Day game that you can play with the filled-in 100 chart, is "Race to 100".  Students pick a partner and take turns rolling the dice.  They add the numbers together, then color in that many boxes on their worksheet.  The first one to fill in the entire chart, is the winner. If you're pressed for time, have students use only one, 100 chart-worksheet. Each child uses their own color crayon to fill in their boxes. When the grid is complete, each child counts their boxes; the student with the most, is the winner.

Finally, besides all of those math activities, add some 100 Day Word fun to your celebration.  Using the letters in the words one hundred, challenge your students to list as many words as they can think of, before 100 seconds is up and the timer rings.  Who thought of the most words?  Who had the longest word? 

I've included my list of 105 words that I thought of.   After students share their lists, share yours and have students look up any words that they don't know. 

I also did a bit of research about the longest recorded words, and included my discoveries.  I even found a word with 100 letters in it! Why not give students some computer time to see what they come up with, or assign this as a homework assignment to be shared on your 100th Day of school.

Thanks for visiting. I hope you found some useful 100 Day ideas that will help get your kiddos excited about this special day of learning.  To see the other blog articles I posted this week with more 100 Day activities, simply scroll down.

I'm watching my grandchildren today, so I've hit the floor running. There's nothing quite like reliving your childhood by playing games, reading stories, and making crafty memories with your children's children.   Wishing you a magical, love-filled day.

"Every morning you have two choices: continue to sleep with your dreams, or wake up and chase after them!"    

1-2-3 Come Do Some 100 Day Craftivities With Me

There is only so much one can accomplish in a day, and so many super-fun 100 Day ideas, that I decided long ago to do 100-Day activities over several days, culminating with an extra-special celebration on our 100th day of school.

With that in mind, I designed a variety of quick, easy and fun activities for you to choose from. They make terrific whole group activities, as well as independent centers.  Today I'm featuring a few of our most downloaded 100-Day craftivities.  I hope you like them.   

After my students complete their "table top" worksheets, they can visit the 100 Day "centers".  I set these up on wooden TV trays, where students can collect the materials they need and return to their desks to complete them. 

Run these "I'm 100 Days Smarter, and That's Something to Smile About!"  100-Day smilie-face bookmarks off, on a variety of pastel-colored construction paper.  Each child chooses one, then counts by 1s to 100, as they fill them in. When everyone is done, count the rows by 5s to also reach 100.  The master template has 5 bookmarks on a page for quick printing.

If you're looking for some 100 Day certificates to pass out to your kiddos, click on the link for 18.  They are in black & white and full color. 

Again, I give my students a choice of which one they want to color, and use the full color ones as awards for some of our games.

 My Y5's loved making and wearing crowns, so our day wouldn't have been complete without some for our 100th day of school celebration.

These three 100 Day crowns, helped reinforce counting and were set up as a center. 

Look closely at the pictures and you will see how students made 20 groups of 5 on the 100 Day Rocks crown, as well as 10 groups of 10 on the heart crown. 

The crown with the circle "jewels" on it, has 104 circles and includes a guess-timation activity.

Another crown option, reviews shapes,colors and graphing, while making a "shapely" crown for 100 Day.

There is a black and white set, as well as a color set for teachers. 

I've also included a blank 100, if you want your students to draw, dot or sticker 10 different items (10 times each) inside the numbers, to make their own creative crown.

Another of their favorite activities, was our "Oldies Banner".  Challenge your students to think about how they might look if they live to be 100, then have them draw a self-portrait or use an aging app to create a photograph. 

Suggestions and links for apps are included, as well as templates for an "Oldie 100-Day Pennant Banner."

You can also "reinforce" the number 100 with this 100 Day banner craftivity.  Reinforcement hole stickers are inexpensive and come in packs of a 1,000 for less than $2. 

You can get plain white ones or ones in bright or neon colors.  Simply run the banner template off on  a variety of colors of construction paper.  Add school photographs for that finishing touch.  Have students trim and then hang your banner from the ceiling against a wall.

Each month I also did a "rip & tear" craftivity. For February, it was the number 100 for our 100th Day of school celebration.

Ripping & tearing is a great fine motor skill.  Simply cut construction paper strips, in a variety of colors. 

I made mine an inch wide.  Students can choose two colors if you want them to do an ABAB pattern, or lots of colors as this child did in the pictured sample. 

I had my Y5's rip up piles of each color, and then using a glue stick, they rubbed the numbers and stuck the torn pieces of paper to them. Completed projects make a wonderful 100 Day bulletin board.

Finally, since the full color 100 Day puzzles were such a huge hit, I thought I'd make some 100 Day number puzzles in black and white, so that your students can choose one and color their own. 

There are 15 puzzles, which help students practice counting from 1-10, count backwards from 10 to 1, as well as skip count by 10s to 100. 

Treat them as an independent puzzle-center activity, or do as a whole group activity.  For an interesting 100 Day bulletin board, have students glue their puzzle pieces onto a sheet of construction paper.  For an awesome mosaic effect, have children leave a little space in-between each piece.  

For more 100 Day ideas and activities, scroll down to take a look at all of the other 100 Day FREEBIES featured in last week's blog articles.  You can also click on the link to pop over to the 100 Day Celebration section of TeachWithMe to see all of the activities I have for 100 Day.  In case you're new here, everything on my site is free.

For even more 100 Day ideas and FREEBIES, check out my Pinterest postings.  I have a board specifically for 100 Day activities.

Thanks for visiting today.  Even though my mind is buzzing with crafty things I still want to make, it's the weekend, so it's time for a break to chill and take a much-needed rest from work that's mostly play for me.  Wishing you a relaxing day. 

 "A journey of [100] miles begins with a single step."

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Here's a quick, easy and fun 100 Day "print & go" activity that your kiddos are sure to enjoy. Children can do this independently during your 100 Day celebration, or as a whole group, read the simple sentences, students then take a moment to complete the task. You can also send this home a few days prior, to be completed and then returned on 100 Day.

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Practice a variety of standards with this quick, easy and fun February emergent reader flip booklet.  There are 4 pages on one template for quick printing. 

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This Woodchuck Word Work packet, provides perfect worksheets for Groundhog Day, including some tongue twisting fun, perfect for Daily 5 or your language arts block.

 8 pages.

These 18 groundhog-themed cards are a fun way to review some groundhog information, as well as rules for appropriate grammar.   Read the cards together as a whole group.  Choose a student to come up and circle letters that should be capitalized and then add end punctuation. 

 1-2-3 Come Do Some More 100-Day Activities With Me

If you're like me, you've started looking for a few more quick, easy and fun ideas to add to your collection of 100-Day activities. One Hundred Day was one of my favorite celebrations, second only to Valentine's Day, which was my favorite.

Everything we did related to that number, from reading 100-Day stories, to making class books with writing prompts about 100 and of course lots of super-fun math activities, which my Y5's really enjoyed. 

Counting that high can be a bit tedious for a young five, so I tried to think of a variety of ways for them to practice.  Watching numbers flash on a screen to some catchy music, is a visually fun way to count.  I spent about an hour looking at short "count to 100" videos on YouTube. 

Here are a few of the best ones:  "We Can Count To 100" (1:52) simply flashes colorful numbers as they count in a sing-song way.  "The Big Numbers Song" also counts to 100.  I especially like this 3:11 minute video clip, because the voice is soft and soothing, and also shows the number words, which we were also working on.

Dr. Jean keeps students engaged with her (2:17 minute) Macarena Math Time counting to 100 song, by showing and repeating the Macarena dance movements, as she counts to 100.  She also breaks up the counting, by ending each segment of 10 with: "That makes ______ 10s."  i.e. ". . . 78. 79, 80! That makes 8 tens."

If you have a superhero theme going on in your classroom, your kiddos will enjoy the (2:27 minute) "Count To 100 Superhero"  clip.  It has a catchy beat that your students will enjoy.  Finally, click on the link for  a counting to 100s video with a jazzy beat.  With all of the bright colors, your little ones will find it visually appealing.

Besides counting by ones, my Y5s were also learning how to skip count by 10s to 100. With that in mind, I just finished designing some quilt block bookmarks yesterday. 

I've included a blank template, where students write in the numbers, as well as one with the skip counted numbers filled in, in both black line and full color.

Choose which one you want your students to have.  As a whole group, use them to practice skip counting by 10s.

For some fun, non-standard unit of measurement practice, have students use their bookmarks to fill in the measurement worksheet.

Making a 100-Day Pizza is also a non-boring way to count.  I haven't come upon a child that doesn't list pizza as one of their favorite foods, so I thought it would be fun to design a paper craftivity one. 

There are several templates to choose from.  If your kiddo's are learning to skip count by 10's to 100 then use that pizza pattern.  If they're also counting to 100 by 5's, you can give them a choice.

The packet reviews quite a few Common Core State Standards: RF.K1a, RF.K1c, RF.K3c, L.K.2a, L.K.2b, RF.1.1a, L.1.2b, K.G.2, K.CC.1, K.OA.1

Students read the simple sentences filled with quite a few Dolch sight words, circle the capital letters and add the end punctuation.

Besides skip counting by 5s and 10s, there are also opportunities in the booklet to skip count by 2s and 3s. 

The 100-Day pizza packet, also includes a paper pizza craftivity, 2 graphing extensions, a shape sorting mat, pizza patterning page and a count the pizza slices by 5's worksheet.

For simpler counting, students can arrange the toppings by 10 groups of 10, or 20 groups of 5, depending on how you want them to count to 100.

The 100-Day pizza, also reviews 2D-shapes as well as colors.  Completed projects make a terrific 100-Day bulletin board.

Click on the link to view/download the 100-Day Pizza Packet.

If you're looking for more 100-Day FREEBIES, check out my Pinterest Boards.  I have one especially for 100 Day.

That's it for today. Thanks for visiting.   However you plan to celebrate, I hope your day is filled with lots of fun "ed-ventures"!

My grandchildren are stopping by for a few hours, so it's time to put my Nana hat on.  I'm looking forward to some major snuggle time, as Kaitlyn is only 2-months-old, and Kaiden is two.  Wishing you a love-filled day.

"If you live to be 100, I hope I live to be 100 minus 1 day, so that I never have to live without you." -Winnie the Pooh (A. A. Milne)

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Practice skip counting by 10s with these quilt block bookmarks.  I've included a blank template, where students write in the numbers, as well as one with the skip counted numbers filled in, in both black line and full color.