Let’s celebrate the DAYS…

• March 1^st is Plan A Solo Vacation Day. Here’s $10,000.  Where are you going; what are you doing; how long are you going to be gone? Details please!
• March 3^rd is I Want You To Be Happy Day!   Write about several things that make you really happy and why.  Or… Write about who you want to make happy and how you go about doing that.
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• March 4^th is Courageous Follower Day.  They say that one should have the courage to die for the things they believe in.  Do you have strong convictions about something that you are willing to die for?  What are they?  Or… do you have a hero that you think is really courageous; a person that you look up to?  Why?
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• USA Memory Day is March 5^th.  What’s your favorite childhood memory?  You’re in a Time Machine and I’ve just warped you back to that year.  Tell me about it.
• Daughters’ and Sons’ Day is March 7^th.  Pretend you are a parent.  If you are a girl, you have a daughter.  If you are a boy, you have a son.  What have you named your child?  What do they look like?  Will you raise them like your parents are raising you or will you do things differently?  Why or why not?
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• It’s Mardi Gras the 8^th.  Check out the famous one in New Orleans, then picture this scenario: I’ve just given you $5,000.  You can fly there with 3 friends.  Who are you taking?  How long will you stay?  Where will you go? What will you do?  Where will you stay?  Details please-start to finish. Or… you have $2,000 and can have a Mardi Gras party here.  Tell me all about it from the invites to the decorations; from your guests to the food and entertainment and where it will be held.
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• It’s Get Over It Day! on the 9^th. Who would you like to “Get Over” What? It can be yourself, friends, parents or people in general.  Why so you want them to "Get over it"?
• March 9^th is also Panic Day! What types of things throw you in an utter panic?  What can you do to settle yourself down?  Who is best at calming you?
• It’s International Day of Awesomeness on March 10^th.  What would make a truly awesome day for you? Or…who is the most awesome person you know and why are they so awesome?
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• Donald Duck Day is March 13^th.  Out of all the cartoon characters past or present, which one are you most like and why?
• Daylight Saving Time begins on March 13^th.  Do you like Daylight Saving Time?  Why or why not? What do you plan to do with the extra hours of daylight?
• March 14^th is International Ask A Question Day.  You can ask anyone living or dead one question and they will give you a correct answer! Who and what will you ask and why?
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• It’s Brutus Day the 15^th. Have you ever been bullied?  Tell me about it.  Or… here’s the scenario:  You see 2 young children being bullied on the playground at recess.  Both of them are crying.  What do you do?
• Absolutely Incredible Kid Day is March 17^th. You’re in charge of giving this award away.  Who do you give it to and why?  Or… Incredible Kid is a super hero and it’s you!  What kinds of powers do you have and how do you make your school, family and the world a better place?
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• Happy St. Patrick’s Day March 17^th.  You catch a leprechaun and he has to grant you 3 wishes.  What are they and why are you wishing them? Or… you’ve followed the leprechaun to the end of the rainbow and he must give you his pot of gold.  How much is in it and what do you spend it on and why?
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• It’s Awkward Moments Day the 18^th.  What’s the most awkward moment you’ve ever had? If you could do it over what would you do differently?
• Forgive Mom and Dad Day is the 18^th. Do you have to forgive your mom and dad for anything? Why is forgiveness important?  Why is it hard sometimes?  Is there anyone in your life right now that you need to forgive? How do you go about doing that?
• March 22^nd is As Young As You Feel Day.  If you could go back to being a certain age again would you?  Why or why not.  If yes, what age would you like to be again and why?
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• It’s International Goof – Off Day the 22^nd.  Your teachers have said you can goof off all day at school!  Sounds fun, but this could be sort of boring.  All day is a long time, because you can’t leave school.  So what are your plans?
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• National Puppy Day is March 23^rd.  You can have any puppy you like.  What does he/she look like?  What do you name him/her?
• March 23^rd is Kick Butts Day. Have you ever been tempted to smoke a cigarette? Would you like to try it? Why or why not?  Do your parents/grandparents smoke?  How do you feel about this?  Or… Is your state a smoke free state?  How do you feel about that?
• Make Up Your Own Holiday Day is March 26^th.  Go for it! What’s the name of your holiday and what are you celebrating and why?

• March 31^st is Mule Day. Are you stubborn?  Do you think it’s important to be stubborn about some things? Why or why not?

That’s it for the DAYS…

Now for the WEEKLY celebrations…

• It’s National Write A Letter of Appreciation Week the 1-7^th. Who do you appreciate? Well what are you waiting for?  Write them a letter telling them how much you appreciate what they do!
• The 6-12^th is Celebrate Your Name Week.  Do a little research then write about it.  Ask your parents why they named you what they did.  Do you like your name?  Why or why not?  What does your name mean? What are a few famous people that have your name?  How popular is you’re name? Google names and you’ll find all sorts of cool sites and info.
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• National Words Matter Week is also the 6^th-12^th.  What are some words that really matter to you?  Do they need to be said to someone special?  How ‘bout saying them and writing down how that felt.  OR…writing them down and delivering an anonymous message.
• This is a busy week as it’s also Read an E-Book Week.  Read a short one and then compare that to a paper one you’ve read.  Write a 2-paragraph compare and contrast paper of which media you like better.  Or… do you think our society will ever become paperless?  Why or why not?  Share pro’s/con’s to that as well as your feelings.
• Moving on to the 7^th-13^th leads us to National Procrastination Week!  Are you a procrastinator? Would you like to change?
• It’s Wildlife Week the 13-20.  If you could be any animal in the wild what animal would you like to be and why? Or… out of all the animals running wild which one are you most like and why?
• Sherlock Holmes Weekend is the 18^th-20^th.  Snuggle up with your buds and rent a classic as well as read a short story about this great detective then compare the two.  Write about which you liked better.  Or… You’re the detective.  Someone’s been kidnapped from your school!  How do you go about solving the crime?

Celebrating all MONTH long:

• It’s Adopt a Rescued Guinea Pig Month.  You HAVE to carry this little critter with you at ALL times.  What’s his name?  What does he look like?  How do you explain him to your family, teachers, and friends?  You write the story.
• It’s Deaf History Month. To experience how this might feel plug your ears with cotton or ear plugs.  Meditate for a while how awful it would be to have this disability and then write about it.  Or… if you had to give up one of your senses which one would it be and why did you choose that one.  Or… how can you as one person be kinder to the handicapped? Or… go online to one of the ASL sites and learn how to say at least 2 things in sign language and then write about which ones you chose and why.  Then communicate in sign with a friend.

• It’s International Ideas Month.  You’ve just received the green light for your patent.  What’s your idea and how will it help mankind?
• You’re in charge of Music in Our Schools Month.  Besides being allowed to play 10 minutes worth of music at the end of the day what else have you planned for students in your school and what music do you plan to play each day?
• National Athletic Training Month is going on.  You’ve been invited to join the team of your dreams! Which one is it and why is that the sport for you?
• It’s National Color Therapy Month. So if colors improve a person’s mood what color have you decided to wear all month and paint your room?  You’ve been given $2,000 for this makeover! Tell me about it!
• March is National Eye Donor Month.  Here’s the scenario.  You’ve been in an awful car accident where you lost your sight.  A young person was killed in the other vehicle and donated their eyes and they are now yours.  Tell me about this wonderful gift of sight and how you feel.
• It’s National Kite Month and you’re at the annual Kite Festival in Japan.  What does your kite look like.  Who’s with you and do you win?
• March is On-Hold Month.  Being put on-hold drives me crazy! What kinds of things really bug you and what can you do to keep them from driving you bananas?
• March is National Women’s History Month.  Pick a woman in history, do some research and write a 2-paragraph summary about them.
• It’s Optimism Month.  Do you see the glass as half full or half empty?  What are the advantages of being an optimist?
• It’s Poison Prevention Awareness Month. National Inhalant and Poisons Awareness Week is the 20-26^th.  Here’s the scenario:  You go over to your friend’s home and they are ill from sniffing glue.  What do you do?  Why is this wrong and a dangerous thing to do?  How can you help and advise your friend?
• The Ocean Festival Season begins March 5^th and runs through June 13^th.  If you could be any creature mythical or real under the sea what would you be and why?  Or… you’re the captain of a treasure hunting crew. You seek out sunken vessels.  You’ve just found one! Tell me about your adventure from start to exciting finish.

I hope some of these national day, week and month-long celebrations get your students enthused about writing.  I truly believe that if students are excited about a topic they will WANT to write.  The more they write the better they'll get.  The better they write, the more they'll want to write.  It's like the  proverbial snowball rolling down the hill. 

Since it's almost springtime, let's use the analogy of a pebble thrown into a thawing pond where the ripples continue to reverberate!  So, as always, by all means....

WRITE ON!

A fun idea we do for March is Reading Month is have a Cat in the Hat Day!  Most everyone comes dressed in black, red and white which is pretty easy for our school because those are our school colors. 

A lot of our teachers take 10 minutes out of the day and have their students make an alternating red and white ABAB patterned Cat Hat to wear, but the big finale is we all assemble outside where our principal somehow manages to climb on the roof of our school and reads a page out of the book! 

You may not have a principal as wonderful, wild and willing as ours, but nevertheless planning a day around Seuss's famous cat is a rather easy and fun theme day to spark marvelous memories for a child and motivate students to read.

Here are a few things that I do:

Get parents involved:

I want my parents on board and I find that if I have some sort of contest going on that often helps.  I send home a letter letting them know that March is Reading month and that I'd really like them to make some quality time to read with their child. Just a few moments right before bedtime is a rewarding experience for both of them. 

I read a study while I was in college where they surveyed all of the inmates on Death Row in the early 80's and discovered that one of the things they all had in common was that none of them had ever been read to as a child! Hmmmm something to definitely think about. 

The challenge for them is to read as many books as they can, write the name of the book on their Cat in the Hat-hat and see how tall they can make it!  At the end of the month we'll display the hats and give a 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize for the tallest hats. (Most books read!)  Click on the link to view/print the letter and hat stack. 

I dress up:

You don't have to, but my students always enjoy my costumes.  They are really easy to make.  Here I just drew the cat on a piece of white felt with a black marker and then outlined it with lots of black puffy paint around the edges.  

I glued it on my black jumper with "no sew" fabric glue.  I did the same thing with the red felt bow and his hat stripes and red puffy paint.  I wrote Cat in the Hat with white puffy paint around the hem of my jumper and then wore a blouse.  I scrunched up a piece of red felt and knotted it with red ribbon to make my bow tie. I hot glued 4 red poker chips together, wrote the letters R-E-A-D on each one with black puffy paint and added white puffy paint details to make my pin. 

My Cat in the Hat necklace is a Christmas ornament hung with black 1/8th ribbon, and my hat is from Oriental Trading. You can't see them, but I have red and white striped socks on, and  black-red- and white comfy oxford-looking slippers. Tah Dah! I'm all set.  If you can't draw, trace the cat from a book, enlarge it and use tracing paper to apply it to your felt.

 Theme your lessons:

Everything I do that day is themed around cats and hats. Because of Seuss licensing and copyrights I can't share.  I simply scan my book and buy coloring books and stickers to make my lessons.  We review the at family and make a hat slider.  Click on the link to view/print the templates and directions.  Cat in the Hat Skill Sheets + Dr. Seuss Cat in the Hat -at family slider  

Educational Games:

I designed 2 games that we play in the afternoon in lieu of Free Play Center Time.  Again because of licensing I can't give you the template for the spinner.  I made Stack The Hat from stickers, which you can do; Or make a copy of the cat and Thing 1 and 2 from your book.

Use my photo as a guide.  I've included the cat, which I drew as well as his stacked-hat playing piece.  Students roll the dice and try to get the red stripes to complete his hat, but watch out for those naughty things.  If you land on them, you'll have to put one or two of your stripes back in the Baggie!

The other game is called On A Roll With The Cat in the Hat!  Students partner up like Thing 1 and 2 and work in pairs.  If a child rolls a 1,2,4, or 6 they can move their playing piece forward because they are behaving like the fish and 2 good children in the book, but if they roll a 3 which spells the 3 letters in C-A-T they must move their playing piece backwards 3 spaces because people who are naughty in life generally are not successful and don't move forward. 

Likewise with a roll of 5, which spells T-H-I-N-G, you'll find yourself losing a turn, for children who don't make wise choices need a time out.  The first student to hop through all of their hats and reach the cat is the winner. Click on the link to view/print these Cat in the Hat games and directions.

If you do decide to do a Cat in the Hat Day I hope it's simply Purrrrr-fect!

1-2-3 Come Celebrate Wacky Wednesday With Me!

As you continue March is Reading Month, Why not plan on having a Wacky Wednesday next week. It' one of my favorite days.  See if you can get your entire school involved to make it even more fun.  It’s one of my students’ favorite Seuss books.

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Here’s how to go about being wacky.

 Dress Wacky:

Send a letter home to parents explaining the day, and asking them to help their child dress as wacky as possible.  Give them a few suggestions.

Our entire school is involved in March is Reading Month so we have a panel of teachers that get together to think up ideas for the whole school to take part in all month long.   Wacky Wednesday is one of them.  Your wacky day doesn’t have to fall on the 2^nd.  It can be any Wednesday in March.

Students come to school dressed wacky.  One pant leg is up, one is down, T-shirts are backwards or inside out, plaids are put together with stripes.  Hair is spray painted several colors or perhaps teased.  Girls may have one braid and one pigtail, or perhaps their ponytail sticks out of the side of their head.

Underwear or boxer shorts are worn on the outside of your pants, buttons are buttoned wrong, and neckties are knotted or tied around your forehead.  A person can wear two different colored socks, or a sneaker and a boot.  Orange can be worn with pink and purple and stripes look marvelous with polka dots; the wackier the better. Each teacher sends their wackiest students down to the atrium to get their picture taken for the school newsletter.

Wack out your room:

Besides dressing wacky, rearrange a few things in your room.  I take all of my chairs away and put them in a line in the hallway.  My students have to sit on the floor UNDER the tables of course. All of my posters are upside down, and just like in the story I've used poster putty to have a shoe walking up the wall.  My clock is upside down, their calendar says October, our alphabet starts with ZYX and ends with ABC.  Use your imagination and have fun! I challenge my students to find all the things that are wacky in our room. 

 Plan some wacky activities:

On their desks are new desk name cards.  Their names are spelled backwards and I’m no longer Mrs. Henderson, but Mrs. Nosredneh.  It takes a bit of time, but soon they find their new wacky name card.

They also don their new nametag so that I can remember what to call them through out our wacky day.

Instead of greeting them “Good morning!”  and saying “Hello!” to them.  I say “Good evening!” and “Good-bye!”

Instead of walking forward they must walk backward.  They really LOVE this one and it’s a great gross motor movement that’s not as easy as it looks.

I also give them an FYI that when I say “No.” I mean “Yes” only for the 1^st hour of class.  Their Table Top lessons are numbered from 10 to 1, and we do all of our counting that day in reverse.

We also say our alphabet in reverse.  I read our morning message backwards.

Story Time:

For story time we read Dr. Seuss’s Wacky Wednesday of course, but I also have several other books that I read that my students really enjoy: Gerald McBoing Boing, Seuss; Topsy-Turvy Day, James; and Silly Sally, by Wood. I laminate the various characters in Silly Sally, pass them out to my students and we sequence them.

As I’m reading Wacky Wednesday, I hold up the book so that my students can find the things.  I enjoy this book because of the “can you find?” aspect of it.  It’s a great skill for students to practice and this one really sharpens their observation skills.  It’s also a counting book.  “… if you can find the last 20 wacky things you can go back to bed.”

I make an overhead of the last 2 pages and we circle the wacky things as my students find them. We keep a tally sheet so we know we have found all 20.  I toss a plush Cat in the Hat at the end of the day and the child holding the cat gets to share what their favorite thing was that they did on Wacky Day.

As they file out of the door on the way to their bus, I wish them a “Good morning!” and wave “Hello!”

An Old Favorite:
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The Gist and…Why I LOVE it:

A cookie-cutter like gingerbread character shares his moods and feelings via colors.  "Some days are yellow. Some are blue. On different days I'm different too. You'd be surprised how many ways I change on Different Colored Days." He takes you through all of the colors of the rainbow + pink, brown, black and even gray.  It's a great book for helping students realize that they have a variety of moods and emotions and that these feelings are all normal and OK.  It gives children vocabulary to help express themselves, and gives parents an opportunity to explain that they too feel this way as well.  "Mommy's having a brown day today." May be all that is needed to explain an exhausted feeling after a hard day at work.

Dr. Seuss has not forgot to rhyme.  Here he does it in couplet form.  I love the simpleness of reading just a few sentences.  The differing font sizes and types, add to the picture of the words and help me tell the story.  For example the words "...Then I feel slow and low, low down..." for the brown bear are at the bottom of the page.  They are typed in white on a black back ground and sink lower and lower 'til the word down is at the very bottom, way down low.  Similar things are done for the purple color where the words sad and groan seem to droop, and the sentence "I walk alone." is small and off all by itself, almost lost on a huge page, typed just underneath the dinosaur. 

The illustrators, Johnson and Fancher, are a husband and wife team. Seuss wanted someone else to do the artwork for this book, he was looking for something different than his usual whimsy and they seem to capture the very essence of what he wanted.  The colors and textures of the pictures are captivating and I feel they really encompass the moods and emotions of the colors.  I like that they take up two entire pages, so the illustrations are "in your face" and draw you into the book so that you want to touch the pages. 

Story Telling Tips:

I pause when I come to a color word and have my students fill in the blank as I point to the object on the page. If the colors are happy, I make my voice light and cheerful; if the colors are sad, I read them with a deeper slower voice. I sound "sad" if the color is "sad".  I sound "angry" if the color is "angry".  I say the word LOUD very loud.  I  HOWL and GROWL after I read those words and then ask my students to do the same.  They usually do it rather softly, so I'll say: "I can't hear you!" Then they are very loud! For the last page I also spread my arms and then point to myself.  I have my students do the same. After I'm done reading the story I ask my students if they feel the same way.  Which colors do they agree with?  Which don't they?  We graph our favorite and least favorite "mood color." Click on the link for color graphs.

Magic Trick:

We've been studying secondary colors so I put a red and yellow scarf in my change bag and ask them what color scarf will come out? An orange one does. Then I put a blue and yellow scarf in and ask what color scarf will come out? A green one does.  Finally I put a blue and red scarf in and ask them what color scarf will come out?  A purple one does.  I have 3 change bags so all of mine are loaded ahead of time.  If you only have one, simply distract them with some talk, or turn your back to them and write something on the board while you load the new color scarf into the change bag. If you have a double-load change bag you only have to do this once.

Art Project:

Run off the template of the gingerbread person on light brown construction paper.  Students CUT it out and glue their school photo to the center of the face.  Students then glue their gingerbread character to a sheet of white construction paper. 

Put a dollop of each color paint featured in the story on a paper plate with a Q-tip for each color resting on the paint blob. Set a paper plate-paint pallet in the center of each one of your student tables. 

Children WRITE their name on their gingerbread person.   Using the Q-tip, students put a dollop of each color around their gingerbread person.  Set aside to dry. If you don't want to mess with paint, use my heart master and have students color the hearts with crayons.  (This is a sample.)  Your bulletin board caption can read: ______________________'s students have many colored days! Click on the link to view/print the My Many Colored Days templates.

Writing Extension:

Each student can make their own color booklet or you can assign a color to several students and make a class book. Students TRACE then WRITE the entire sentence or just the color word.  Students then think of how that color makes them feel and WRITE that descriptive word down.  I have my class brainstorm before hand, and we write many words on the board for them to choose from. 

Children draw a picture of their mood.  It can be an animal, the gingerbread person, something else that represents that feeling/emotion or merely scribbles if they want.  Click on the link to view/print the My Many Colored Days Booklets

Books for Comparison & Contrast:  

These are other books in my "Moods/Emotions/Feelings" collection of books that my students really enjoy.  They are great for further discussion and comparison-contrast Venn Diagrams. I've listed them according to my all-time favorites.  They are all great.

Today I Feel Silly & Other Moods, By Jamie Lee Curtis; Sometimes I'm Bombaloo, Rachel Vail; Feelings To Share From A-Z, Todd Snow; and The Way I Feel by Janan Cain. 

Whatever books you're reading this month I hope they color you HAPPY!

Bibliography For March

Bibliography For Dr. Seuss Books

Happy March!

St. Patrick's Day Card:

I like to do a St. Patrick's Day card as a center activity.  It's a quick project and involves cutting for a great fine motor skill as well as writing.  My students enjoy it and I get positive feedback from parents that it's a nice keepsake.

Because my students keep their shamrock folded I have the opportunity to assess listening and following directions as a whole group as well as review the concept of symmetry with them.  Folding a strip of paper back and forth to make their leprechaun "boing" about, is fun for them and great exercise for their fingers. 

You can have your students trace the message or copy it from the paper and write it inside their card.  You don't have to add the step of gluing their photo to the face of the leprechaun, but I think that's why parents love it all the more. 

I know you'll enjoy making this "paper love" as you practice report card standards at the same time.  Click on the link to view/print the St. Patrick's Day Card.     I've also made a "Happy St. Patrick's Day!" note from your teacher that you can print if you'd like.  Keep it as a leprechaun, or glue your school photo in the face just as your students' did on their cards.  Enjoy!

Triple Shamrock Stamp Art:

This is also a very easy center for students and makes a nice display for a hallway wall or bulletin board.  It's also a great review of small, medium and large as well as groups/sets and counting. 

All you need is some white construction paper, 3 different sizes of caps, 3 shades of green paint, Q-tips or brushes, some gold glitter glue and 3 paper plates, then you're all set.  It's amazing the different spatial direction patterns your students will come up with! Click on the link to view/print the directions for the Triple Shamrock Stamp Art.

Newsprint Art:

Combine letter recognition and counting with this simple and fun art center.  I like to do a recycling project each month and this is the one I do for March. 

I save up a bunch of old newspapers and then have a room helper go through and find the pages that have mostly printed articles with hardly any pictures on them. 

She tears them out and puts them in a pile.  She also traces and cuts 6 tag board templates of a shamrock and a Seuss hat for me.  I choose one of these as a center activity for Shamrock or Seuss Day. 

My students trace the template on their sheet of newspaper, circle all the letter S's that they can find, counting as they circle them.  Then write a grand total somewhere in a space on the newsprint.  They highlight the entire shape with a green highlighter if they've traced a shamrock, or color alternating red stripes if they've done a Seuss hat. 

When they are done, they cut out their shape and glue it to a piece of black construction paper.  For a great math extension, we graph our results and add up the total number of S's everyone found.  These make sharp looking boarders for a b. board.  Click on the link to view/print the directions and shamrock/Seuss hat templates.

Rainbow Kite Squishing:

March wouldn't be complete without a kite activity.  My students enjoy the mystery of making a kite squisher.  Simply add blobs of rainbow-colored paint to one side of a folded diamond.  Have students rub their hands over the folded paper and then gently open their kite to see a rainbow of smeared and "squished" colors! 

Each one is as unique as the child who made it. Mine are thrilled with the results.  They look wonderful suspended from the ceiling, gently floating to and fro as people pass by.  Click on the link to view/print directions and kite template.

I hope you got some ideas for your "wee ones" to have a bit o' fun during your March center time. 

As always if you have an idea to share, I'd enjoy hearing from you. diane@teachwithme.com

Do you have picky eaters, but would like to try the traditional “Corned Beef & Cabbage” St. Patty’s Day meal? 

Make it a Pizza! Here’s how:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of shredded green cabbage
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 purchased pizza crust
• 1/4 pound thinly sliced corned beef
• 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese I also sprinkle on some parmesan.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
3. In a large skillet, sauté the cabbage in the olive oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and remove from heat.
5. Place the pizza crust on the baking sheet.
6. Spoon the sautéed cabbage onto the crust and spread it out evenly within half an inch of the edge.
7. Arrange the corned beef slices over the cabbage.
8. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the corned beef.
9. Bake the pizza for 10 to 15 minutes, until the cheese is thoroughly melted and the pizza is nice and hot.
10. Cut into wedges and serve immediately. Serves 4-6

Something fun to do with your entire class!

Leprechaun Pudding Pouches:

Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon instant green pudding
• 1/2 Cup Milk
• Ziploc Baggie
• Plastic spoons.

Directions:

• Write students’ names on Baggies.
• Put a tablespoon of pudding mix and 1/2 cup of milk into a Ziploc Baggie.
• Close the Baggies.
• Have students gently squeeze and shake their Baggie ‘til pudding is nice and thick.
• Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Open Baggie and eat.

A sweet and easy treat for St. Patty’s Day!

Pot O’ Gold Jell-O Cups:

Ingredients:

• Lemon Jell-O
• Green Dixie Cups
• Plastic Spoons

Directions:

• Follow the directions on the box.
• Slice the Jell-O into square nuggets and put some in each of the green Dixie Cups.
• Students eat with their spoon.

St. Patty’s Day Potato Candy:

Ingredients

• 1 large potato
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 to 5 cups confectioners' sugar
• 5 cups sweetened coconut flakes

Directions:

• Peel the potato and boil it in water until soft.
• In a mixing bowl, mash the cooked potato with the salt and butter.
• Let it cool completely, or else it will melt the sugar when you add it.
• Mix in the vanilla extract and 4 cups of sugar.
• At this point, the mixture should be stiff. If it isn't, add more sugar.
• Sprinkle half of the coconut onto a waxed-paper-covered surface and turn the potato mixture onto it.
• Roll the batter until all of the coconut has been mixed in.
• Shape teaspoonfuls into small balls.
• Roll the balls individually in the remaining coconut.
• Chill the finished candies until you're ready to serve them.
• Makes about 4-dozen.

Click on the links below to check out these other two fun recipes!

Rainbow Cup Cakes

Clover Cookies:

Leprechaun Lessons As A Behavior Management Idea

As a fun writing-geography extension for March write a class letter to the leprechauns in Ireland.  The last few days of February as I’m tearing a paper chain off our calendar chain, I ask my Y5’s if anyone knows what a leprechaun is? 

Sometimes one or two do and I let them explain to the class about this mischievous creature and then show them a map of Ireland, their flag, a picture a house in Ireland and of course what a leprechaun might look like. Click on the link to view/print these things.

We discuss “real and pretend” and I ask them if they’d like to write a class letter and send it to the leprechauns, inviting a few of them to our state. We tell them a little bit about our state and ask them if they'd like to come visit our classroom and stay to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with us. 

It’s always a unanimous yes.   Click on the link to read my letter and activity sheet to see if you’d like to follow that format, or guide your students and compose your own.

If you’re a subscription member and would like to follow up with a cut and glue activity sheet like this, e-mail me what state you’re from, and I’ll send you the clipart rectangles for your state so your students can do this too.  Because I’m from Michigan, this is already done.

The Leprechauns Write Back!

I let a day or 2 pass by and then I announce to the children that we’ve received a letter from the leprechauns! Click to view/print.  My students all know that we are just playing a game, but it’s amazing how excited and involved they get with the imaginative play!

On the 1^st day of March, or their first day of school in March, (This year it falls on a Tuesday) my students arrive to find each of their chairs tipped over!  Could this be the work of those mischievous leprechauns?  Hmmm we look around the room and someone spies a little pile of gold glitter and a leprechaun card.

Buy a large jar of gold glitter to add to the fun.  I use this like Tinker Bell’s pixie dust and sprinkle a little bit where the leprechaun’s have left a mess, sort of as a signature of them being here.  I also leave their “calling card” like visitors did during the Victorian times.  My students think this is great fun.  Click on the link to view/print some leprechaun calling cards. I laminate these so that I can use them every year. You can write whatever message you'd like on them.

There is no leprechaun on the first day, but on the second day there is a challenge note on the board or you could put this in your morning message, daring the children to find him. I use the leprechaun much like the Elf On The Shelf for Christmas.  He’s in a different hiding place each day, or moving around during the day, if you want to fuss with it more often; keeping an eye on your students to see that they’re behaving.

Where's The Leprechaun?

We have 12 days of school this year, before St. Patrick’s Day on the 17^th, so I write: Leprechaun’s G (12 letters) on the board after I read the leprechaun’s challenge note to us. This is the "secret message" that he's talking about.  (The G stands for gold. If I have more days than 12 I'll spell out gold.) He challenges us to work as a team to earn the letters. Decide with your class how this can be accomplished. i.e. great behavior, completing work, lining up quietly, etc. 

If your class can earn all of the letters above, he will share his pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!  We of course accept his challenge. You can have your students sign a contract, write back, or answer his challenge in their own letter.  Click on the link for samples.

Each day the leprechaun is sitting somewhere new. My students are excited to look for him.  They must quietly tip toe into the room so they do not scare him away and sit and look for him as they sit on our Circle of Friends carpet and wait for the announcements.

The first one to see the crafty little man gets a shamrock sticker, and tells us, using spatial direction words, if he’s above, behind, on, inside, beside etc. something.  They also look around the room to see what mischief the leprechaun has gotten into.   Sometimes this is obvious, sometimes less so; they really have to use their spying skills to figure out the nonsense.

Mischievous Leprechaun Ideas:

In case you need some ideas here’s a list of some of the things I have done in the past:

• The computer is covered with a green pillowcase
• All of the books on the shelf are piled in a huge tower.
• Several posters are upside down.
• I have a piece of clipart that I put in the center of my clock each month.  For March it is a shamrock.  One day the leprechaun takes the shamrock, replaces it with a leprechaun and puts a ridiculous time on the clock, like 5 O’clock!
• He left us a message in green crayon on the bathroom mirror and took away the toilet paper.
• He took all of the green crayons out of the crayon tubs on the desks and sprinkled them on the windowsill.
• He took all of the dry erase markers and erasers out of the chalk sill, put them in a basket and left them on the reading rocker.
•  
• He took our laundry basket that holds our lunches and put it on our lunch table in the cafeteria.
• He took our library book basket to the library on library day. (He was trying to be helpful!)
• He left us a morning message in green marker.
• He put a shamrock sticker on everyone’s name cards on their desks.
• He left everyone a green M&M or Skittle on their desk.
• He put all of their locker name tags upside down.
• I have a shamrock number line that I put up on a thin rope with mini clothespins.  He has the numbers all mixed up each day.  I use it as a learning moment to have the children tell me using spatial direction words before and after, as well as ordinal numbers, first-second-third etc. to fix it.
• He often steals a letter from our ABC border.
•  
• He took all the nametags out of the basket and replaced them with new shamrock nametags. (Not everything he does is naughty.)
• One day I pretended that I couldn’t get the lights to go on.  I pretended to flip the switch.  I asked the children to please ask the leprechaun to behave himself and the lights went on.
• One morning all of the garbage cans were upside down.
• When the children came back from lunch we had green tissue paper covering the light squares on the ceiling.  This made for a cool lighting effect and nice decoration.
• The children came in from recess when we have calendar time, and all of the numbers were upside down.
• Their kitchen play area was moved to the opposite side of the room.
• My rocker was behind my desk, and my desk chair was in the place of my rocker.
• I have a lot of fun with this each night before I go home, or when my students are at exploratory, recess or lunch. I simply look around the room and think like a leprechaun!

St. Patrick’s Day:

On St. Patrick’s Day nothing is out of order.  There is a green envelope taped to our white board with a shamrock sticker sealing it shut.  Inside is a note from the leprechaun congratulating us for our great behavior. Congratulations note. He lets us know that he’ll be leaving a rainbow trail that will lead us to his pot of gold.

While my students are at lunch-recess I attach one end of my variegated rainbow colored yarn to the entrance door that my students will walk in, and then unwind my big ball of yarn down the hall to my classroom. The other end is attached to the pot of gold that I place in the cafeteria.

My students tip toe behind me as we follow the rainbow yarn trail. I wind the yarn back onto my ball.  We by pass our room; go to our lockers and take off our coats and then follow the yarn to the cafeteria where we find two leprechauns sitting by their pot of gold.   Each student receives a gold coin.  Sometimes this is a plastic gold coin, sometimes it’s a bubble gum or chocolate gold coin.

I take it a step farther for a bit more fun.  There is a St. Patrick's Day card by the pot that we open.  A note inside explains that since they’ve been such good students they can continue to follow the trail to the end and collect some golden nuggets!  I pass out a large Styrofoam cup to the children and tell them that they must wait ‘til each child is in our classroom before they fill their cup with stones.   

Follow the Rainbow Trail to find golden nuggets:

In my classroom I sprinkle small rocks that you can buy at a Dollar, pet, craft or hobby store.  I sprinkle these on either side of the yarn.  I have spray painted 2 bags of pebbles gold and 2 bags I’ve left as regular stones.

To spray paint your rocks, put them in the lid of a large box and spray with gold spray paint.  Let dry in the sun and then flip them over to spray the opposite side.  Do this outside, as the fumes are toxic.  I also put the lid on some newspapers because the spray sometimes shoots past the box lid, especially if it’s a windy day.

I buy the 14K gold leaf spray paint as it covers well and really makes the rocks look like gold nuggets.  One can lasts a long time.  I use it for other projects as well.

Once everyone is assembled I say: “Ready-set-gold!” and the students go fill their cups.  Once they have filled their cup I have them sit on the carpet and sort their stones into two piles; one pile has golden nuggets in it, the other has plain stones.  Once they have done that, I let them choose 10 stones that they want to keep.  I give them a Snack Baggie to put them in and they write their name on the Baggie.

They help dump the stones into my Ziploc Baggies, we check to see that the room is cleaned up and they help me pack up the leprechaun, pot and the rest of the Rainbow Day Hunt materials.  As a counting review we count our 10 stones in English, Spanish, by 10’s to 100, and then backwards from 10-0 blasting off to take them to our backpacks in our lockers.  When they come back we discuss what their favorite thing about this activity was.

Miscellaneous:

I bought the caldron pot 75% off after Halloween. The coins can be purchased at a party store and usually go on sale after Mardi Gras.  The green shred and leprechauns I bought after St. Patrick’s Day. You can also substitute Easter grass.  Oriental Trading also sells a lot of these items.

Even if you don’t choose to do all of the above, you may want to spray paint some rocks and use them for math extensions and games.  It’s one of my students’ favorite “memories” of the year. They often talk about this day.  The gold nuggets are a big hit with them and worth the extra effort.  It’s also a very inexpensive manipulative to make to have at hand for sorting and counting.

Whatever you do to add a bit o’ fun to your March activities

may Irish eyes be smiling!

One of the questions I'm asked quite a bit is: "How do you get your students to follow directions when they can't read?"  It's also a huge complaint of teachers who are tired of repeating directions as soon as they've just sat their students in front of a white board for a few minutes, modeled what they want their class to do, shown them an example, posted that on the board and done the activity step-by-step. 

A young child no sooner gets to their desk and their hand shoots up: "What do I do now?" The patient teacher again explains the directions to that child, a few minutes later they are repeating the same thing to a dozen more who weren't paying attention the first time around.  Does this sound familiar? 

Who can really blame the young student though.  Some experts believe that for every year a child is, you have one minute of undivided attention.  If that's true, I basically have 4 minutes to explain my morning's- worth of table top activities.  I had to think of something, or lose my voice and sanity,  so I developed picture icons. They have been extremely successful!  Here's how they work:

• Print off several sets of the icons.
  
• Laminate them.
  
• Cut them out and put magnate strip on the back. 
  
• I attach my skill sheets with magnet clips that I buy from The Dollar Store and put a "direction icon" under that skill sheet.
  
• I model and do each skill sheet with my students.
• When they get back to their desks if they forget what they are to do for that skill sheet, they simply look at the board, locate the skill sheet and the icon that is above it.  
• My students also have the option to raise their hands and ask me, but I'm trying to teach them to be independent so I tell them to LAF first. 
  
• This is an acronym for: Look at the board, Ask a friend, or try and Figure it out on your own.  
• Click on the links for further explanations and to print and view the icons.  Icon explanations and directions, Icon pictures,  LAF explanation.

Happy President’s Day Week! 

Since Washington and Lincoln’s birthdays are celebrated in February I choose to really study coins during this month as well.  Identifying the coins is a report card standard and is sometimes difficult for some of My Young Fives.

I think one of the reasons they have a problem is we also discuss the value of the coins.  Children tend to reference things according to size, so my little ones think that because a dime is worth 10 cents it should be the larger coin (the nickel) instead of the other way around. 

This makes perfect “cents” because the quarter and fifty cent coins do get bigger, so why did they make the dime the smallest coin? Someone, way back when, should have made the smallest coin the penny right?  I do all sorts of fun activities that help my students learn to identify the coins and erase this confusion. Hopefully they will help your students too!

Baby Food Jar Magic:

I do my money activities as an extension of calendar time if I have the time, or right before story time in the afternoon if I run out of time in the morning.

At this age many of my students have younger siblings so it’s no problem finding a parent with a baby who can save 5-baby food jars for me.  Besides the 5 jars you’ll also need 5 pennies, 2 nickel’s, 10 dimes and a one-dollar bill.

I keep my jars on two stacked wooden boxes next to my rocking chair.  This is a “No Touch Zone.” The first jar is the penny jar, the second the nickel jar the 3^rd the dime jar.  Behind these three “daily jars” I keep the other two jars for storage of the “extra” coins.   I keep the nickels and pennies in one of the extra jars and the dimes in the other.

As we say what day it is I drop a penny in the 1^st jar.  We count the pennies.  If there are 5 pennies in the jar the students say: “Bing-bing-bing We get to do magic and change the penny into a different coin!  5 pennies makes a ______________. (nickel)” I take a nickel out of the “extra” jar and put it in the 2^nd jar. If there is already a nickel in that jar, from previous days of counting, the children get to again say: “Bing-bing-bing!” We get to do magic and change the nickels into a different coin. 2 nickels makes a ____________________. (dime).” I put the nickels in the “extra” jar, take out a dime and put it in the 3^rd jar.  We count the dimes by 10’s (which reinforces that report card standard.) When we get to 100 that =’s a dollar.

I have told my students that I will go to The Dollar store and buy a treat to celebrate 100 Day and anyone who can count to 100 by 10’s will get a certificate.  We’ll change the 10 dimes into a dollar on that day.  My students LOVE doing this coin-jar activity each day.  As they get the hang of it you can have students manipulate the coins instead of the teacher.

Show Me the Money!

This was a popular quote from a Tom Cruise movie Jerry McGuire. I made it into a game. I gather my students in a circle on our carpet and give them each a tiny manila envelope.  Inside is a  penny, nickel and dime. 

I have them spill out their envelope in front of them so that they can see their coins.  So that they get the coins into their heads we say penny-penny-penny and put our index finger on that coin. 

I have them do the same for the nickel and then the dime.  Now it’s time to “Show me the money!”  I say: “Don’t look at what your friends are doing, pick up the penny.” 

They pick up the penny, close it in their fist, put their outstretched arm in front of them with their fist palm-side up, waiting for me to say: “OK show me the money!” They then open their fist and I see who has a penny!

We correct who doesn’t and begin again using the nickel and dime. We play for about 2 to 3 minutes.  When we’re done I have everyone put their penny in the envelope, then their nickel, then the dime; this ensures that I have 3 correct coins in all of the envelopes for the next time I want to play the game.  I then collect the envelopes and put them in my little basket for another day.

See and Sing:

I bought a poster of the coins, cut out the individual pictures, laminated them and use them in this song that goes to the tune of Brother John. 

I hold up the picture in one hand and a real coin in the other when we sing it.  I use the contraction (here's) for the first part and put in the whole word (here IS) for the second part, so the tune fits better. Sub in nickel, dime and quarter for the rest of the verses.

Here’s a penny,  Here’s a penny

Worth one cent. Worth one cent

Here is a penny,  Here is a penny

Worth one cent. Worth one cent.

Magic:

By far and away their favorite coin review is the disappearing coin  magic trick. 

It’s very easy, a child can do it, you don’t need any practice and you can do it the first time you read the directions.  It’s one of my favorite tricks because I can review shapes as well as coins with it. 

My students never get tired of seeing it week after week.  Because I let them hold the various coins and ask them what coin they’d like to see disappear and reappear they get used to the names by saying the coin and putting it in the ring. 

For example, I ask them how much a dime is worth and they say 10 cents. Pretty soon they know how to identify the coins as well as how much they are worth.  The trick takes a minute and they are delighted.  Their attention is riveted and they beg to see it every day.  “Pick my penny! Pick my nickel!”  

I also do another easy coin magic trick called Nickles to Dimes.  This one is great because these two coins are the ones that they are always getting confused.  I can reinforce that it is the nickel that is the larger coin and that the smaller coin is the dime.  They are amazed that I can turn a nickel into a dime and want to see this trick over and over again.  Click on the link to watch the 2 minute Video.

Play Money:

I have “Tummy Tubby Time” that my students transition to after they have completed their Table Top lessons. One of the tubs they enjoy is the play money tub.  This is great for sorting the coins by color, size, and category. 

I also challenge them to make all sorts of patterns with them: ABAB, ABCABC etc.  Telling them that I want them to name the coins as they make the pattern penny-nickel-dime/penny-nickel-dime etc.

Also in the play money department I have a cash register in our Imagination Center.  During February I’ll put price tags on about 15 things that we keep in a laundry basket.  They will have a number on one side of the price tag (1 cent, 5 cents, 10 cents etc.) and a sticker of a picture of a real coin on the other. 

Students can purchase items out of the laundry basket and match up the coin amounts on the price tags with play money and then hand the play money to the cashier.  I have several purses, wallets and coin pouches in the dress up box that the children enjoy keeping the coins in.

Table Top  Lessons

Throughout the month of February I design my table top lessons using coins so that my students become familiar with how they look.  At one of my centers they bingo dot pages with coins on them. 

They stamp a group/set of things using coin stamps, and then they add their groups/sets of coin stamps to make equations; we play “I Spy” games using a penny, nickel and dime.  I have them connect the dots with coin pictures and do "Pinch and Pokes" with coins.  They also do cut and glue patterns and similarity and difference sheets with coins.   

They also enjoy making coin rubbings with crayons.  The coins become part of our word wall and they practice writing them.  Click on the link to print/view a copy of a writing skill sheet that you can cut into strips and add to your word wall.  I have my students TRACE the words with a highlighter and then write them. 

I also like them to practice making circles so I have them trace around the coins as well.  To get them familiar with the colors of the coins I have them color the penny copper and the rest of the coins silver.

I have a huge selection of the above skill sheets and center activities in my Money and President units   As a math extension, we keep a tally sheet of how many times we tossed a head or a tail when we do the "penny flip" and then total our sheets and graph how many times we did it as a class; we also graph our favorite coin.  Click on the link to view/print these graph sheets for your students. 

We do two coin-related art projects  in February.  One involves making a money mobile which looks great dangling from the ceiling and serves as a daily review each time we walk by them. We also make a Lincoln penny balancing man.  These fun projects can be found in my February Art & Activities Book.  You can click on the link to see a picture of them.  

Fun Booklets:

My students love making their own little booklets and then taking them home to share with their families.  It’s a great way for me to overlap reading, writing and even math skills.  It also enhances their fine motor and listening and following direction skills too.  I do this during my reading block, but they are a great fill-in after story time, or nice to send home as a home-school connection. 

Some of my students’ favorites that involve coins are: The Dollar Shapes Up,   There Was A Penny In My Pocket,   10 Little Pennies,   My Coin Counting Booklet.  These make wonderful keepsakes and super self-esteem builders as they are easy to read.  My favorite is The Dollar Shapes Up.   Click on the link to print/view an easy reader booklet entitled My Coin Booklet

Games:

Coin Corner: This game is like 4 Corners only I call it 4 Coins.  You put a large picture of a penny, nickel, dime and quarter in each one of your corners.  I bought two sets of a coin poster at a teacher's store, laminated them, glued them back-to-back and hung them from the ceiling. 

Choose a student to be "it"; have the rest of the students quickly and quietly walk to a coin corner while you cover the eyes of “it”.  “It” and I count backwards from 10-0 (one of our report card standards).

When we get to 0 we yell “Freeze!” anyone not in a corner or moving is out and must come sit on the carpet with me.  “It” calls out a coin-corner, anyone in that coin-corner is out, and comes sits on the carpet with me to help me count.  That first “it” joins the game and I choose a new "it". 

I encourage all of the children to look at the coin-corners as we identify them, to reinforce identification.  We play this game at the end of the day if we have time before they go home.

What’s Missing?

My students sit in a circle on the carpet.  I have 2 pennies, 2 nickels, 2 dimes, and 2 quarters.  I put the coins down in a circle and we repeat the pattern together penny-nickel-dime-quarter, penny-nickel-dime-quarter. Then I have them squeeze their eyes tightly shut, I cover the coins with a sheet of paper, reach under the paper and take a coin out, put it in my hand, put my hand, behind my back, take the sheet of paper away, and say: “OK, open your eyes. What’s missing?” 

My students figure out what coin is gone.  The first child to guess gets a sticker, or whatever I decide I’m doing that day.  If I’m giving out Skittles, Smarties or M&M’s, I give each child one for being a good sport after we have finished playing for the day.

 Banker Who Took Your Coin?

This is just like Doggy Who Took Your Bone? My students sit on the carpet in a circle.  One student sits on a chair in the middle of the circle.  I place a coin that is taped to a heart and labeled with its name, under the chair. 

The child in the chair closes their eyes.  I point to a child to take the coin-heart.  They put it behind their back.

Everyone puts their hands behind their back.  I tell the child in the chair:  “OK open your eyes.”  The children say: “Banker-banker who took your coin?”  The banker has 15 seconds to guess who took their coin.

 Coin Pick Up Sort

While my students are out at recess/lunch I sprinkle coin cards all over the floor.  I let them know when I pick my students up that there are cards all over the floor and that they must tip toe around them, until we are all seated on our carpet and I give them the signal to collect them.  

While they are picking them up I want them to say: “I found a penny card, dime card etc.” After all of the cards are found I have them sort them into the various kinds of cards and then count their total cards. 

I give a prize to the one who found the most penny cards, nickel cards, dime cards and total coin cards.

You can make your own cards by buying some coin stickers from a teacher's store.  Buy a pack of index cards from The Dollar Store and cut them into 1/4ths and put a coin sticker on each card.  You can also use these cards to make patterns, and for math equations.  Put numbers and +, - and = signs on some of the cards and have students put the cards on the floor.  i.e. a child places 5 picture cards on the floor and a + sign along with 2 picture cards and then an = sign and then the number card 7. 

You could also have them use the picture cards to make coin conversions. i.e. 5 penny cards ='s a nickel picture card, 2 nickel cards ='s a dime card, 10 penny cards ='s a dime card etc. 

 Mystery Coin:

I have a ? flap on my board during the month of February labeled Mystery Coin. I’ll choose a quiet child during calendar time to take a guess at what they think the coin might be.  Then I’ll have them lift the flap to see if they are correct.  Underneath I’ll have a picture of either a penny, nickel, dime or quarter. 

It’s just another fun way to get students to recognize a coin each day. Simply color the coins with crayons, cut them out and glue them to a piece of construction paper, print off the question mark page and glue it to a sheet of black construction paper. 

Fasten it to your white board with a piece of scotch tape so that it acts like a hinge and students can flip the flap up to reveal the coin.  I put a piece of magnet strip on the back of my coins after I laminate them.  I also put a real coin next to the colored coin using a glue dot.   Click on the link to make a mystery coin flip up. 

 Letter home to parents:

I get my parents on board by sending a letter home to them about our coin study so that they are working as a team with me reinforcing the lessons their child is learning at school.  Click on the link to print/view the coin letter.

 Certificate:

When my students can identify all of the coins I give them a certificate of accomplishment.  After I finish assessing them, and they pass, I fill out their certificate, present it to them, and announce to the class that they've passed.  Everyone claps for them. 

They really look forward to this moment.  Click on the link to view/print two different coin certificates.     

I hope you’ve found these ideas helpful and that your students have fun learning how to identify coins!

As always if you have a tip you’d like to share, I’d enjoy hearing from you diane@teachwithme.com

Valentine's Day Fun With Conversation Candy Hearts

I’d like to wish all of my readers a Happy soon-to-be Valentine's Day.  It’s my favorite holiday.  One of the things I do during February involves NECCO’s  (New England Confectionary Company’s) conversational candy hearts.  I did a little research and wanted to give you an FYI in case you're looking for some last-minute things to plug in for your Valentine's Day parties, although you could also use the candy hearts throughout this heart and friendship-themed month. 

History of the Hearts:

The 164 year old company isn't the only manufacturer of hearts printed with cute quips (Palmer and Brach’s) also sells a similar variety as does Jelly Belly; and why not, with such a tremendous demand for this sweet little treat. 

According to the National Confectioners Association, “About 8 billion hearts will be produced this year!” They say “…that’s enough hearts to stretch from Rome, Italy to Valentine, Arizona and back twenty times!”  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.

“Motto Hearts” as they were first called have been around since Abraham Lincoln’s presidency, and were popular during the Civil War as a crisp little candy with a paper note tucked inside a “Cockle” much like a fortune cookie.  They looked like a shell.  One could find a rather long note asking:  "Please send a lock of your hair by return mail.”

In 1866, 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, especially as wedding party favors.  More recently, the US post office even created a stamp featuring two of them.  For a full history of the company, click on the link. 

Activities:

I give my students each 10 hearts and have them count them, sort them by color, graph the results, and then we graph our color results as a whole group.  I also do addition and subtraction skills with them.  I call out various equations, write them on the board and have them arrange the equations with their hearts, raising their hands when they’ve figured out the answers.

Graphing Activities:

After they are done using their hearts for our activities, I let them sample one of each color to decide which is their favorite flavor. They also decide which one is their favorite color and we graph the results.  In 2010 NECCO introduced new flavors; strawberry, green apple, grape, orange, and blue raspberry as opposed to the traditional cherry, (pink) banana (yellow) and wintergreen (white).  Click on the link to view/print the candy heart graphing.  

In The Colors Of My Heart  students make a cute cut and glue candy heart booklet that reviews the colors as a great reading and writing extension.

For a different writing extension, have your students copy the sayings from several of their hearts onto a sheet of paper, make their own conversation heart, color it, and deliver it to a family member.  I also have my students do several writing activities involving the hearts including making a little booklet entitled: “Let’s Have A Conversation” and several skill sheets where they write and trace the sayings that are pictured on the hearts.   Click on the link to check it out.  Candy Heart Packet 32 pages filled with conversation heart activities including math.

I was not aware until I started doing research for this article that each Valentine’s Day NEECO makes up new messages on the candy hearts. Last year was the first time the American public was invited to join an online survey to decide on what they wanted the messages of love to be.  My favorites:  "Tweet Me", Text Me", "Love Bug" and "You + Me". The year before that had a theme of “food”. I liked: "Recipe 4 Love", "Table 4 Two" and “Yum-Yum”. Some sentiments have been in circulation since being made in a factory in 1902; like "Kiss Me", and "Be Mine".  In 2003 it was the “School” theme with “Teach me” “Let’s read.” “Write me.” and “Whiz Kid” To see an archive of the sayings from past years click on the link.  

Writing Extensions:

• A fun writing extension for your students would be to run off my template on a variety of the 6 NEECO colored pastel hearts using construction paper.  Fold the paper and remind students to keep it folded.  Children cut on the line, and then open their paper to reveal a heart.  My students always seem to be amazed at this “magical” concept of symmetry.  It’s a nice teachable moment to review that vocabulary word.  Heart template
• Brainstorm some things they could put on their hearts and then write them on the board for them to copy.  My students enjoy cutting out the hearts so much that they want to do several in a few different colors, so make sure you run off extra copies.  We also discuss fun places to leave their “secret” messages, perhaps on a pillow, on the car seat, in the glove box or a briefcase, in the silverware drawer. Someone is bound to say on the toilet seat and giggles will ensue so we have a lot of fun with this.  They seem to enjoy the activity so much more because of the excitement of making “paper love” for someone special in their life and having it be a secret surprise!
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• I don’t limit what my students say on their hearts, but space is an issue on the real ones because of their size. The two sizes are a standard ½" and the larger ¾". Somebody got rather creative fitting a few words from longer phrases such as "EZ 2 Love". The small hearts generally fit no more than two words with four letters each, while the large hearts may accommodate two words with six letters each.
• Another reading/writing extension would be for you to share past sentiments written on the hearts with your students, have them count the letters so they realize that the new messages that they dream up will have to be that short.  Give them a few minutes to brainstorm some ideas of sentiments they’d like to see on future hearts and write them on the board.  Perhaps you’d like to carry it a step further, compose a letter to NEECO, have all of your students sign it, and send it to the company.  Their headquarters is in Revere, Massachusetts.

 Create A Paper Conversational Heart!

While surfing, I found a rather fun site where you can make your own conversation heart and then print it off via the “copy and paste image” method.  Click on the link.

You can choose any of the 6 colors. I had fun making several for my husband including the one in the photo.  If your student’s names are short (Less than 4 letters.) you can make one for each of them, or make a generic saying and then add their names after you print them off, such as the URAQT one that I made up on the yellow heart. (You are a cutie!)  You could also type in some of your shorter word wall words.

This could also be a fun computer center for students to do independently.

 Custom Made Hearts:

If a piece of paper just doesn’t do it for you, and you need the real thing NECCO does let you buy a custom-made print run with your special message! This amounts to over a million hearts though, (1.7 million to be exact) but the company says their hearts have a shelf life for freshness of 5 years! That should be plenty of time to eat or share them.

Otherwise, simply buy a small box, file off the saying with an emery board and using a food pen, write your own messages.  Put them back in the box and tuck them under that special someone’s pillow, or put your students’ names on them, or you could make up a batch using your word wall words and set this up as a center so that students can use them to make simple sentences! While you’re at it, make a batch with numbers so that students can sequence too.

Conversational Heart Recipe:

I also found a site with a recipe for the conversation hearts.  In their photo they made some quite large so you could write just about anything on them.  It looked like a fun thing to do with “kids in the kitchen”.  Click on the link to check out the good time.

 Puzzle Fun:

• One of the things you could make with the pictures of the hearts that your students design is a puzzle.  Help them copy and paste their image, enlarge it to a specific size and then print it off. Demonstrate how to draw puzzle shapes on their heart, by making your own sample.  Students draw puzzle lines on their candy heart and cut it out.  Students trace their heart onto a sheet of paper making a template; students put their puzzles together.
• I do a puzzle game in my Candy Heart Packet that you could also make with these online pictures.  Make 6 different pictures. Divide the photo into 6 equal pieces and number each piece.  Laminate the pictures, cut them out.  Make a white-copy template that has the 6 sections on it.  6 students can play this game.  Each child picks a partner.  They roll the dice; whatever number they roll they put that puzzle piece on their template.  If they’ve already rolled that number they skip their turn.  The first one to complete their picture is the winner.

The other dice game that my students play with their conversational heart is they simply use it as a marker, roll the dice, and move their heart that many squares as they go around the game board.

Take time for a little fun...

Something else you may enjoy that I discovered while doing research, was a candy quiz.  I scored rather high (100%) so I’m not sure if it’s because I love candy, am good at taking quizzes or a trivia junky.  But it was fun, and you may learn something new.  Click on the link for a sweet trip.

Conversational Crafts:

• If you’re looking for something to do with the hearts you may want to try one of these projects:
• Ahead of time hot-glue 4 Popsicle sticks together to make a small frame that will hold a 4 x 6 photo.  The week before, take a picture of each student holding a pink heart that says “I love you.” written in red so that it looks like a conversation heart.
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• Glue the photo to the back of the frame.  Drizzle Elmer’s glue on each Popsicle stick and have students put 3-5 conversation hearts on each stick.  Set aside to dry.  I wait ‘til after Valentine’s Day and buy these at 75% off to use the following year.  Wrap the frames in red or pink tissue paper and have students take home as a Valentine gift for parents.
• Cut ribbon into 12-inch lengths.  Give each child a thick glue dot and 2 conversation hearts. Students put a glue dot on each end of the ribbon and firmly press their candy hearts on top of the dots.  This becomes a bookmark.  I buy my ribbon at 75% off after Christmas.
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• Another bookmark you can make is to have the children write something on a Popsicle stick and then have them glue a candy heart on one end.
• Give each student 3 hearts and 3 green Popsicle sticks.  Have them glue the hearts to the center of a pastel or red flower that has been punched from a paper punch.  Glue the flowers to the green Popsicle stick stems.  You can also glue leaves half way up.  Fill small terra cotta pots or Dixie Cups with dirt and insert flowers.  Give to moms for Valentines Day.  If you want to skip the dirt step, make slits in the bottom of the Dixie cups and insert the “flowers”.
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• I hot glue the candy hearts on flat thumbtacks and use them on my bulletin board for February.
• If your child has to make a Valentine “mailbox” for school, this is an inexpensive thing to glue on it after you’ve helped them wrap the box with some cool metallic hot pink wrapping paper.
• Conversation hearts make a nice “collection” for 100 Day too!

Whatever heart you’re trying to converse with this month, I hope it's beating with happiness!