Love is in the air!

Valentine's Day is right around the corner. Here are a couple of activities we are working on in the upcoming week:

February Brain Boosters are popular with my kiddos. They enjoy working on these during free time and they are fun for morning work. I posted about them during Show and Tell Tuesday. If you have not downloaded them, click ♥here♥ to get your FREEBIE!


This is one of my favorite tried and true projects. I like to call it Family Hearts. Last week I gave my kids one red and one pink cut out heart (you can use any colors).  On one heart, the student writes what they love about their family and on the other heart their family writes what they love about the student. I ask the kids to think beyond "I love them because they buy me stuff".  I want them to really think about what makes their family special. They can decorate the hearts or glue them on doilies or construction. Add ribbons, stickers, or glitter or just leave them plain. The message is what counts. I hang them up with the title, "That's What I Love About You". I just ♥ reading these!
Here are some that came in today:

             

I am a huge fan of the movie Monsters, Inc. so that little one-eyed Valentine makes me smile. It is simply foam hearts (BIG for the body and small/medium for the hands and feet), red chenille yarn, and BIG googly eyes. (Thread the yarn through the hole for the hand down to the hole for the foot and knot on the foam heart.) We brainstorm Valentine messages that emphasize the word "I"  like "EYE have my EYE on you" or "EYE Love you, Valentine".  The kids come up with some great ones. They can write their message on the back with a Sharpie.

Valentine card collector from paper plates is super simple! Fold 2 paper plates in half. Tuck one into the other and staple on the bottom. Round the corners to look more like a heart. (Be sure to tell kids not to trim TOO much!) Hole punch through both sides and tie a ribbon or yarn as shown. DECORATE!

I ♥ picture books on Valentine's Day. Here are some faves:

Hope your week is filled with love, hugs, kisses, and chocolates!!