Dances and TONS of Valentine Ideas

Yesterday was a crazy, busy day!  I started off the day leaving my badge at home.  It sounds funny, but anytime I forget my badge I feel like I'm missing a piece of my clothing.  It is always there!  It is there to the point that even when it's not on, when I lean over, I put my hand up to pull it back from falling into my food or whatever crafty thing I'm doing.  Fortunately, I seem to forget it on days where my fantabulous hubby is off.  That means that not only does my badge get delivered to school, but I also end up with lunch from somewhere :)  Yesterday it was Honey Baked Ham.  Hmm... maybe I should leave it next week and convince him to grab me Panera (big grin).

After my badge mishap, we discover that the fire marshal was visiting our school to check and make sure we are following all of the rules.  Even though I had changed things, checked my room over and over, something about him visiting makes me feel frantic.  It's that feeling of having a cop behind you when you are driving.  Even though you aren't breaking a law, you immediately feel guilty.  By lunch all of us were speculating and discussing what we thought we may have to adjust.  The visit also meant that the cafeteria couldn't be cleaned until it was checked which meant Valentine decorations couldn't go up - uh, oh!  We ended up around an hour and a half behind which was unnerving me a little, but by 4:30, we were good.  We even ended up throwing together a quick banner.  I posted a couple of pictures of some of the things we came up with.  Everything turned out great!  By the way, the photo of the kids that look like they are allergic to each other was approved by their mothers :)

Anyway, so needless to say, today I crashed, caught a bad cold, and decided to hibernate.  I also realized that I never did a blog about some cool stuff for February, so that is what I'm blogging about tonight.  Below are ten things that I have found on Pinterest and TPT that are fun products, freebies, or projects for the month of February.  If you like any of the ideas, items, etc. you can click on the pictures and it will take you to the place where it originated - either the person's blog or the person's TPT page.  Hopefully, this will make it a little easier for everyone!

#1 Puppy Love

I absolutely love this little craft.  You make a dog using lots of hearts.  We will definitely be doing this activity next week.  I'm probably going to make it a creativity.  Once the kids make their dogs, we will then write about them.  To make it go a little quicker, I'm going to draw the hearts onto card stock and then use the copier to put the pictures on different colored construction paper.  This way, I don't have to draw tons of hearts.  The kids have done great with these little projects and they always seem to learn more.

#2 Valentine Roll & Color

I have some fun math centers planned for Valentine's Day, but this one will definitely be added to my list.  I found it on the Granny Goes to School blog.  Basically, you give the kids two dice.  They roll the two dice and add the two numbers together.  Whatever they roll is the number they color for that row.  They do this until they get to the last row.  It's a cute little game and it will definitely get them more practice with addition math facts.  Oh, and to top it off it is a freebie :)

#3 February Valentine ABC Order

This is a freebie by Teacher Gone Digital.  What I like about it is it is simple, but it's cute.  It isn't overloaded with lots and lots of words.  It is definitely the perfect freebie and since I haven't created any ABC sheets for Valentine's Day, then I'm definitely going to be using this on Thursday.  To make it even more fun, I think I'm going to run it on pink or red paper :)  That will save colored ink, but for some reason when things are in color or on colored paper, it never seems like work.  

#4 Candy Heart Fun

I know this is my creation, but I have literally never been so excited for Valentine's Day.  I cannot wait to do these activities with my kids.  Last week, I went ahead and ran off the recording sheets on pink paper and stapled them together.  My plan is to make 4 sets of task cards (in color).  I'm going to split my kids up into four groups and then let them work in pairs.  This will be my math for Thursday, so I can't wait!  Plus, it will be a great review of things we've already covered and a good opportunity to introduce one or two new skills.  The two I'm looking forward to most are measurement and estimation.  With measurement, I'm going to make sure I have the items already pulled and put into baskets.  That way I don't have to scrounge around for them on Thursday.  

#5 Donut Holes

Oh, my sweet T.A. is going to get me for this one, but this is SOOO cute and SOOO easy!  I love doing creative snacks for my kids, so I'm thinking this will be happening on Valentine's Day.  If not, I may save it for Fun Friday, so the sugar rush will happen right as they are heading home.  Either way, Love this!  It's quick, simple, and reasonably cheap.  I may even pair it with another snack (stay tuned!)

#6 Heart Bookmarks

Every time I see these I really, really want them.  They are adorable and I know I could pay next to nothing for them.  I may not have time to make this one happen, but it is definitely high on my list of wants.  If I don't make them for Valentine's Day, then I will definitely be making them to give my kids for the summer.  How cute would it be to get yellow ones, punch them with a regular hole punch and run ribbon through the holes.  I think if you used blue, it may look wavy.  Oops!  Forgot for a second this was a February post.  Basically, I heart homemade bookmarks!  This is definitely a must do gift!

#7 Heart Crayons

Last year, I saw this post and decided to make some square crayons for my kids.  I peeled a bunch of crayons, popped them into the pan, and went for it.  They turned out very cute!  However, I learned one thing.  It is tough to color with a square crayon.  One of my teammates loved the idea, so I told her what I learned, she found a heart-shaped pan, and made crayons for the ENTIRE grade level.  They turned out great and were a favorite of all the kids.  She's doing it again this year, so I thought I'd show you guys where I originally saw the idea.  The picture comes from Teaching My Friends, but I linked the picture to a post from the person that created the little circles for the hearts.  I promise, the hardest thing is peeling the crayons.  I suggest getting some new boxes and don't even attempt peeling a crayon that has been in the sun.  Those are impossible :)

#8 Eraser Heart Art

Alright, so this is one of those times that a picture is worth one thousand words.  I found this on Pinterest and it is great!  I want to do this Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon with my kids as gifts from them for their parents.  I'm going to have each of them write 10 Reasons they LOVE their parents and put it on the back of the heart.  Anyway, great activity, the picture is linked up, but just know when you click the link, you will immediately understand why I said the picture is worth so much :)  I can't wait to break out the paint this week!

#9 I "CEREALsly" Love You

I found this on Pinterest and it doesn't link up to a site.  If you figure out where I need to link up, feel free to let me know.  I definitely don't like claiming ideas as my own if I found it somewhere else.  Since the donut holes may be a little too much, I may do this instead.  Yes, I know that cereal is still full of sugar, but I like to think the "Whole grains" balance it out.  If I do this, I will probably get red cups and pink spoons.  I can take a silver Sharpie and draw hearts on the outside of the cup.  This way, the kids can pour the cereal into the cup to eat it.  I'm not sure why, but I do this at least once a year and it's usually a pretty big hit.

#10 Roll and Bump Valentine Addition Game

This is one of my freebie creations.  I made one for Groundhog Day and my kids loved it so much I promised to make them another one.  It comes in color or black and white.  Last time, I printed it in color, but this time I want to use black and white so that my kids can color it themselves.  They love make it and take it type games.  Plus, this is the perfect game to play with a partner.

Whew!  All of that writing made me want a snack!  Hope it wasn't too much and that it saves all of you guys a little time and research.  Have a great night and I will definitely be back tomorrow with a freebie.