Scratch V-Day Cards

Drum roll....  Our 2011 V-day card. I love the scratch stickers.  Have you seen them?  They are just like the lotto scratch ones.  All you do is place the sticker on something.  Then scratch to reveal!  I have used these when I present as door prizes, I use them at showers for the game; Guess who the bride will see at the altar.  (more on that in June)... 

You can buy them on amazon.  500 Round Scratch Off Labels Stickers with Scratch Here  They are cheap and come in lots.  This year, I used them on the kids V-day cards.  They are heart shaped!  My son and daughter are thrilled. 

First up is the princess Valentine card with Princess Fruit snacks attached and under that scratch heart is a picture of my daughter.  It says, "Scratch to see who thinks you are special!"

Second up is the Mario Valentine.  Mario is throwing a Valentine Treat at you!  Scratch to see who it is from! 

Creative Valentines Catch my Eye...

O, how I love creative Valentine's.  Throw away those boxes people and get creative with your kids.  This year we are going with fruit snacks as the treat with a Princess and Mario Theme.  They will also include a scratch to see who thinks you are special spot...  Hope to post before V-day!  Till then, below are some that have caught my eye on other sites!

First up is from a personal friend!  Rebecca made this icandy with her kids.  My son and daughter both got one.  My daughter had hers eaten before we even made it home from my friends house.  My son has been hanging on to his and pretending it is a real ipod.  Today he broke down and ate a Hershey Kiss Earphone and then continued to pretend with it saying, "It still works, I only ate one earphone!"  LOL!

Here's a V-day Treat For the Hubs shared at Love Actually!  Click here to learn more!

Here is a cute one from Chalk Talk!

First Grade Teaching Combines Dental Health with Valentine's Day

How about giving fruit this year.  You can even download cute stickers to stick on your fruit!!!  Click here to visit Twig and Thistle.

My Digital Creations shares a tag to attach to the dollar spot socks.  I love me themed socks and I may steal this free printable!!!

Below is a candy bar wrapper from the Teaching Heart V-day packet found here.  http://teachingheart.net/vdaypack.html

Click Here, you may have missed these goodies posted in the past!

Now, if you aren't ready to throw out those boring boxes of v-days, I give up...  go ahead be boring!!!  ;) 

 

Vday Printables Shared on Teaching Heart Mailring!!!

http://

One of the Teaching Heart Yahoo Groups has been sharing some great printables.  A big thank you to the Teachers on the mailring with the "Teaching Hearts"!  Below you can download some of the items shared to use at school or at home.  If you do use an item make sure to leave a little Thank you in the comments to the sharing teachers!

You too can share files and ideas on our yahoo group.  Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/teachingisaworkofheart/ to learn more.  Over 7,500 teachers and learning and sharing there! 

Kristie Turner Shared this Power Point File for Beginning Sounds on the Teaching Heart Mailring. You may download the file by clicking here.

Debi Goodman Shared a great link and a few printables on the Teaching Heart Ring -

http://www.cryptogram.com/hearts/ - Check this site out.  You can make candy heart graphics say anything you want.  Very cool!

Debi also shared this activity. Click here to download.

murphyp01 shared a word file for making sentences. Click here to download

deboraha.burns shares a rhyming hearts game. Click here to download.

teachdreams1 shares a pocket chart activity. Click here to download.  She also kindly shares a cute love bug pocket chart activity. Click here to download!

These printables and more can be found at:
http://www.teachingheart.net/valentineactivities.html

Thanks again to the teachers who shared these great files! 

Creative DIY Valentine's that I LUV!

I have never been a fan of the boxed Valentine's Day cards.  I love all the ideas shared on blogs and websites about creative Valentine's Day Cards.  In 2009, I shared some here.  Here are our 2010 cards for the Princess and Batman fan.  You can print them for your child by clicking here. 

They print four per page.  If you buy postcard paper to print them on, they will print on those and you will not have to cut them. 

The Princess one you need to attach an edible wand to it with scotch shape.  I purchased the wands in packs of ten at Walmart.  I wrote the little poem on the card to match the treat. 

The Batman one, you will need to attach a heart lollipop to it.  Your kiddos can sign the card on the line and you are done!

The issue of Family Fun last year had some very cute and easy creative Valentine's too.  They have a ton of creative and inexpensive ideas here.  I love this one below, my son said, "No way mom!"

Below is a candy bar wrapper from the Teaching Heart V-day packet found here.  http://teachingheart.net/vdaypack.html

Chek out these cute hugs and kisses jars at Trey and Lucy

How about these chalkboard Valentine's from Out of the Crayon Box???

Need Some Valentine's Printables??

Check out our newest packet.  The Valentine's Day Packet is heart-full of learning fun that meet educational standards...

You can learn more here... http://teachingheart.net/vdaypack.html

Get it now and get an early start on your planning!!!!

Printable Creative Valentine's!

I have never been a fan of the boxed Valentine's Day cards.  I love all the ideas shared on blogs and websites about creative Valentine's Day Cards.  In 2009, I shared some here.  Here are our 2010 cards for the Princess and Batman fan.  You can print them for your child here. 

They print four per page.  If you buy postcard paper to print them on, they will print on those and you will not have to cut them. 

The Princess one you need to attach an edible wand to it with scotch shape.  I purchased the wands in packs of ten at Walmart.  I wrote the little poem on the card to match the treat. 

The Batman one, you will need to attach a heart lollipop to it.  Your kiddos can sign the card on the line and you are done!

The issue of Family Fun for this month had some very cute and easy creative Valentine's too.  They have a ton of creative and inexpensive ideas here.  I love this one below, my son said, "No way mom!"

Go over to Creative Homemaker for some VDAY ideas!

If you are a Teacher or Home-Schooler...  Hop here for some great classroom ideas!

Tip Junkie had VERY creative ideas.

Candy Hearts Math

Grab some hearts from your local candy store and you have many math lessons in a box of Yummies!  Below are two ideas; one for estimation and the other for graphing. 

Estimation:

Draw a large heart on a piece of paper. Give Each student a box of Hearts.

Have him Estimate the number of hearts that will fit in the heart. Then have him see how many really fit in the heart. 

Was your estimation close to the actual number?

The activity sheet shown above and below is from Teaching Heart CDROM #3 - Click to learn more.

Graph Them:

Give each student a box of candy hearts. Have the students color the graph to match the hearts they have. After they have the graph colored, have them trade with a friend. The friend can answer the questions on the back using the graph. The first graph is for grades k-1. Have your students lay the hearts on the graph. To make this more difficult 2-3, create a graph that allows your students to color the hearts and then answer questions about their graph.

The activity sheet shown above is from Teaching Heart CDROM #3

 

Teaching Heart Resources

Hello Teaching Heart Readers! Hope this finds you all well and happy in 2010!


Below are links to many updated pages on Teaching Heart… At each page you will find free printables, ideas, lessons, links and more for the given topics.


100th Ideas:
http://www.teachingheart.net/hundreddays.html


MLK Ideas:
http://www.teachingheart.net/happymlkbooks.html
Just updated with new printables and all the links are working…


Valentine's Day:
http://www.teachingheart.net/valentinesdaypage.html
Updates and will update through Jan., so keep checking!


Snowy Day:
http://www.teachingheart.net/snowyday.html  
Just updated! Check it out!

TEACHING HEART PRODUCTS:
http://teachingheart.net/primaryteachertimesaver.html
90% of the teachers who purchase one product come back to purchase
another product. 1000's of happy teachers using Teaching Heart CDROM's.
Make lesson planning easy! Plus NOW instant downloadable mini units!
Check them out with this direct link to our instant downloads! http://teachingheart.cerizmo.com/  

Mittens:
http://www.teachingheart.net/mitten.html


Pres. Day
http://www.teachingheart.net/presidents.html\
Updated too!!!


Clifford:
http://www.teachingheart.net/cliffordunit.html


Any Skill Board Games
http://www.teachingheart.net/anyskillgames.htm
Are you looking for a great center for your classroom that you can use to reinforce previously taught skills?
Do you teach in small groups? Are you a parent looking for a fun way to practice skills at home?  This is the CDROM for you. Check out the link and download the free games and decide if it is right for you!

Will he see his shadow?
http://www.teachingheart.net/groundhogdaysite.html  
Many great Ground Hog Day Ideas


Teaching Heart Mom Blog
http://teachingheartmom.blogspot.com/
Follow this blog to find out what is new daily by following the blog.


Thanks and have a great day!

You Will Be Seeing Hearts...

You"ll Be Seeing Hearts...  before you know it!!!!  Yes, Valentine's Day is more than a month away, but let's get some idea sharing going now. 
Do you have a Valentine's Day post to share?  A great recipe, craft, lesson idea, or printable???  Use the Mr. Linky to link up to it.  I will feature your posts in another post soon.

Can't wait to see what Lovely posts you will share!

Read a Great Valentine's Book!

The Teddy Bears Picnic / Foreman, New Columbian Brass Band

- Play this CD while you complete the Activities in the book.
After Reading
After sharing the book with your class, ask students to list the food gifts Mr. and Mrs. Bear gave each other for Valentine's Day, such as chocolate-covered ants and Crispy Critters. Next ask your students to think of other food gifts that a bear may enjoy. Record all responses.
Purchase a bear or perhaps you have a stuffed bear laying around. Use the bear for different activities. Maybe Mrs. Bear will sit on a neat desk every AM when the children arrive. Also, you may encourage the children to read to the bear. See picture here of one class reading to their bear.

Mr. bear enjoyed many great surprises that Mrs. Bear made for him. Have student volunteers describe how they would surprise others. Who would they surprise? How might the recipients react? How would your students feel if someone surprised them?

Compare and Contrast how real bears vs. the pretend bears in the story might get ready for winter.

Find a graphic of a bear. Cut out the bear and make many copies of it on card stock. Two bears per student in your class. Also give each student two cutouts of red hearts. On one heart write the word yes and on another heart write the work no. Have them cut out the bears and glue one heart to each bear. Then give them two crafts sticks to glue each bear. Now they are ready to answer some yes and no questions about the story. They can all respond at the same time using their bear puppets!

In the story, Mrs. Bear made a sign and wrote a special Valentine thought, then hung it on the wall for Mr. Bear to see. Have your class do the same. To make a sign, provide each student with a large piece of construction paper or poster board. Have each student write or dictate his own special Valentine thought or message on the sign. Have each student decorate his sign with markers, glitter, and curling ribbon. Hang the signs for all to admirer!

Looking for more Valentine's Day Stories to read your child? Try here for great suggestions from a teacher!
http://www.teachingheart.net/valentinebooks.html

Creative Kids Valentine's Cards

The weekend before the school Valentine's Day parties is here. Thought I would share a few ideas for Valentine's Day cards and some other blogs with interesting Valentine's Day Card Ideas.

Two ideas from two friends:

My friend and neighbor Amy B. made these cute Flock of Valentines. Amy says, "I got that idea from Ranger Rick magazine. It is so cute. Those are the bigger pipe cleaners you can get at Michael's. Construction paper, eyes, you can use feathers for the tail too."

My friend Rebecca made these lollipop vday flower cards. They are cute and yummy!

Here's all the supplies. Construction paper, marker, Dum Dum, scissors and a pattern of a flower.

Cut a small slit in the center of the flower and slid the dum dum in for the stem. They can write their name around the edge.

Thanks Amy & Rebecca! :)

What my kids are giving out this year:

Here are the candy bar wrappers my son will hand out this year. He signs each wrapper. Then wraps it around a bar. Now the kids have a sweet treat - no gift bag needed!!!

I am into the scratch stickers (you can buy them on EBAY). Basically a gray round sticker sticker you stick over a picture or word and then scratch it off to reveal what is underneath...
This one has a picture of who the Valentine is from. Just like the scratch and win lottery tickets. I copied the graphic by doing an image search on google. I used the postcard template in publisher to create the file.

Want more??? Try these links

Check out Make and Takes VDay Card Ideas!

The Ramblings of a Crazy Women has many cute ideas!

Crafty Crow Shares Shrink Plastic Valentines!

Check out Zakka Life's Maze Valentine

Make paper hearts into creature Valentines

Look at all these on Tip Junkie

Teaching Heart is filled with VDay ideas... Come take a look!