Valentine's Special!

I thought that I would post something different this time. I enjoy seeing other people's activities that they have planned and thought that I would do something similar. So this entire afternoon I've spent putting together our Valentine's trays for the MONTH! These will last us the entire month of February. Please understand that in no way is this only for one week! lol Likewise, it is not the only things that we will accomplish in the month of February. I did not take any pictures of our letter, Bible, math activities or other things that I have planned. Here are some of our wonderful Valentine's activities (I love, love!).

These first three trays can all be found at this wonderful blog: Musings of Me . I love her units that she has available (and looks like there are plenty more to come from her!).

How many Kisses does Valentine bear get? These numbers go from 1-15 (still working on those numbers she actually identified the number 10 the other day by saying TEN and not one and a zero). If I'm feeling especially nice I think that I'll do this activity with real Kisses instead of the laminated paper ones shown here in the picture. That should help motivate Annabelle to get through it!
Sorry for the sideways picture. I'm too lazy to change it right now. This is just a patterning activity. We haven't worked too much on patterns yet this year and it is something that Annabelle needs to work on a little more.
I'm really interested to see how Annabelle does with this activity. She will have to fill in the missing number. I guess I just want to see if she can start counting at the number 5 and know what comes next. This will be something that we will be focusing on this next few months.
I'm excited about this tray, and because I'm excited about it my kids probably won't be...that's how they seem to roll. I will probably mix up the flower colors before I put this out. Annabelle will use the tweezers to pick up the roses and put them on the corresponding color circle. Asa will most likely just use his fingers to do this. His fine motor skills in his hands aren't that advanced yet. These roses are actually soaps and smell lovely. I got them from the Dollar Tree.
I love this tray too! All these cute little boxes I got at the Dollar Tree. I already had the buttons. The kids will love sorting the buttons into these pretty little boxes. There are buttons that are shaped like each of the boxes.
Who doesn't love little pieces of foam sticker backing all over their floor. Well, I don't mind it as long as it keeps Asa busy while I'm working with Annabelle. lol
I've seen similar trays like this from two of my favorite blogs: Counting Coconuts and My Montessori Journey . I really love these blogs. They are stuffed full to the brim of fantastic ideas! These fun jewels came from my mom. I've been really wanting to use them and everyone should have some bling on Valentine's day. :) First the numbers need to laid in numerical order, then the jewels will be sorted by shape/color. Finally the jewels will be counted and placed by the corresponding number.
I put this activity together specifically for Silas. (This idea also came from the wonderful blogs I linked above). I found this cute ice cube tray at a thrift store, and the jewels are more from my mom. Silas has been working on one to one correspondence (one jewel for every heart). He has also been working on using a spoon at the table during meals. I thought that I would give him an activity that would help him work on his coordination so I added a spoon this time around. I'm sure Annabelle and Asa will also really enjoy playing with this.
This is a new one for my kiddos. Another idea that came to from the aforementioned blogs. This is a pouring activity. I will probably gear this more toward the older two. They will simply pour the jewels into the pretty (plastic) glasses.
I have seen this type of activity quite a bit too in the blog world. The cute little red hearts are cupcake toppers that I found thrifting. The others are from the Dollar Tree. Stick the picks into the Styrofoam. I'm not sure that there is any point to this activity other than the kids will enjoy it and it will make a festive decoration to put somewhere in the house.
Another arranging activity. Only this time with fake flowers and heart picks. I cannot believe this, but I have no vases! I won't invest in any until I know that the kids enjoy doing this kind of thing. Until then we'll use glasses. The object is the same as the above tray. Festive Fun! :)
Heart matching. Enough said.
Flower size sorting.

And I got these plastic bracelets from the Dollar Tree. I cannot for the life of me figure out what to do with them. :/ I know Annabelle would love to just wear them around the house (not to mention Asa and Silas too). I was thinking that they would really be great for introducing simple addition and subtraction, but I just don't know if Annabelle is ready for that yet. Stay tuned for what I figure out. Also if anyone has any suggestions I am more than open to hearing them!
Well, as I've said I have spent all afternoon making up these trays and writing this blog. My house is now thoroughly trashed, my husband gets home any minute, and we are leaving directly for a birthday party (that none of us is dressed for at the moment). So I have just about as much or more to get accomplished in the next 10min. than I did all afternoon. Happy blogging.
jess_hak

See what other people are doing this week/month at Preschool Corner: