Valentine's Day Made Simple!

Now that you've packed away all of your Christmas resources, it's time to bust out the hearts and candy covered Valentine's Day activities!  But don't forget that Easter is just around the corner - you'll need to be ready for that just after St. Patrick's Day! Doesn't it seem like there's always a holiday that we can theme our teaching to?  If you're anything like me, you really don't have time (or the money) to make sure your kidlets are completing tasks that link in with whatever celebration is coming up.  It is lots of fun, though, to throw in some crafts and games that tap into your student's excitement about the holidays - and aren't we always looking for our learners to be engaged?  Today I'm going to share some quick, easy and FUN Valentine's Day ideas for you to use during February.  I've also included some freebies to save you some cash to spend on your own roses and chocolates. :)

First up are some easy and super cute crafty ideas that make gorgeous classroom displays or parent gifts.  (The examples you'll see in the photos are ones I made with my girls at home, so you'll see photos of them with their dad.  In your classroom, including a photo would be optional!)  I've included a link to a free download with all the templates you'll need to make them!

Make this gorgeous 'I love you to pieces' picture by collaging pieces of coloured paper onto a heart shape.  Glue it on to the background when it's dry and you've trimmed the edges.  If you're only making a few of these, you can also use old jigsaw pieces instead of paper.

Have your kidlets either print their hands or feet inside a heart shape for this next idea.  At home we did  footprints, but obviously it's much easier to do hand prints when you're making a whole class worth!  Cut the heart out when the paint is dry and glue it on to the background.

Click here to download all the templates you'll need for these two cute projects!

If you're looking for some activities to include in your February maths and literacy small groups, you might like these!  Click on any of the images to check out the resources.

These number puzzles are FREE and are perfect as a 'Fast Finisher' task.  Just print, laminate and cut to play.

I love using 'Roll & Cover' games in maths groups!  Just add dice and you're good to go.  This resource includes roll & cover for number recognition, roll & add, and roll & subtract.  Just print the game board that best suits your learners.

Last of all is this easy rhyming memory match game.  This resource includes three super cute recording worksheets. :)

Hopefully you've found a few ideas that you can use in your classroom.  Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day Inspiration - with a freebie!

Looking for some easy peasy ways to celebrate all things Valentine's Day with your little learners? You've come to the right place!  Today I'm going to share a few simple ideas that I've made with my little ones this weekend, as well as some links to a few other great activities.  I've just uploaded a new freebie to my store too, so keep reading to the end to grab the link. :)
First up is a super cute footprint craft that I made with Little Miss Two today.  We painted her feet red and printed them onto some pink paper. I made up a template for her to glue the heart onto, but you could easily use this idea for Valentine's Day cards made by older children - and of course it doesn't have to be for Daddy. :)

Taking a little more time (and patience!) was this gorgeous collage craft.  It only took Miss Six about 10 minutes to glue the paper pieces down to the template.  I'd cut the paper for her, but this would also be great as a paper tearing activity.

I've also got plans to make these super cute and simple 'Love Bug' headbands on Valentine's Day.

Hopefully we'll also have time to make these cute Valentine's Day leis, made from wool, paper hearts and pieces of pink straw.

During the week we'll work on these gorgeous cupcakes - a freebie from Mel at From the Pond!  I love that these are so simple but really give kidlets a chance to share about things that are important to them.

This simple name puzzle would be perfect for kidlets who are still working on recognising the letters in their name and spelling it correctly.  I made mine with clipart, printed and laminated it, but for a whole class I'd just use a marker and pink paper before chopping the names up.

I love this counting activity that's perfect as a DIY! Just write numbers on paper hearts and provide kidlets with pom poms (or anything cheap'n'cheerful!) for them to count with.

Last (but not least!) is a number puzzle freebie that I've just uploaded to my TpT store.  Click on either of the images to download 'Broken Heart Number Match' - numerals and number words from 0-10. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!