I found these pop-tart bite pouches for Valentine's Day that were perfect for valentine class parties.  They are frosted sweet swirl cupcake flavored and the box includes 28 packs of pop-tart bites.  I made a pop-tart themed tag that can be attached to the pouch.  Kids just sign their name and they are ready to pass out to their friends!  I've found that having kids just sign their name on the valentine can make it MUCH easier to pass out (especially for the younger kids).

I found these pop-tart pouches at Target.  They do have a spot that kids could write who it is to and then who it is from, but I love adding a fun tag to something like this.  

Just print the tags on cardstock, cut out, and have your child sign their name.  Add a piece of tape to the tag and attach on the pouch and classmate valentines are complete!

To grab your FREE download, click the image below!  If you use these, be sure to tag me on social media.

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Recipe for Teaching

We have been working on the number word before and the number word after a given number.  I created these Heart Missing Number cards for my students to use during math centers or small groups to practice with this skill.  It's festive for February or really any time of year since hearts are always fun for kids.  Grab your free download (found below) and some numbers or a dry erase marker and your students are ready for some math fun!

I had some number mini erasers from the Target Dollar Spot that work well with this, but you could use number magnets OR have your students write the number with a dry erase marker.  I grabbed a container of the number erasers, a festive heart bucket for the cards, and we were ready to find the missing number.  

Students have to use their knowledge of number before and after to determine the missing number.  Once they determine the missing number, they put that number on the card.  

The cards in this set work with numbers 1-10.  This would be perfect to use in a small group or to have out as a math center.  

To grab your FREE download, just click the image below!

Be sure to tag me on Instagram if you use this with your students!

 

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Recipe for Teaching

Are your kids and students obsessed with poppers?!  They are so fun and even I like to pop them so I can see why kids love them!  I came up with a tag that you can use with these popper bracelets (or any popper toy).  

I found the popper bracelets on Amazon.  If you search Amazon for them, you will find a variety.  I've also heard that Dollar Tree has an assortment of popper toys.  I included the tag in color as well as a black and white option.  The black and white option looks really nice printed on a pink cardstock.   

I found those clear heart bags at Target in the seasonal section.  The bracelets fit well in them and then I just folded the bag.  The tag can be attached with tape or a staple.  You could also use a ribbon to tie the bag closed.  

Click the image below to grab your FREE tags!  These would be great gifts for your students or for you to use for your own kid's valentines.  Please tag me on Instagram if you use these! 

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Recipe for Teaching

We love Valentine's Day in Kindergarten!  I'm always looking for a fun way to have my students decorate their Valentine's Day bags, but also I also like integrating an academic piece into the decorating.  This year I put together something for my students to glue on their bags, count, and write about.  They LOVED it and their bags turned out so cute!  

To begin, students first were able to label their bag with their name.  I found the bags at Michaels. 

Then they cut out how many of each picture they wanted on their bag.  They glued the pictures on their bag and colored them.  

Students then used a chart with the images to help them write about how many of each picture they had on their bag.

They were able to use sight words to help them write how many of each picture they had on their bag.  I love integrating a math and writing activity together. 

My students really enjoyed this and it was an academic way to decorate Valentine bags!  You could also have students compare their pictures.  For example, they could say, "I have a greater number of hearts than cupcakes."  or "I have less roses than bears."  They could also compare their pictures with a friend's bag.  Lots of fun math ideas for these bags!

Ready to grab your FREE download?!  Just click the image below to download!

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Recipe for Teaching

I am always looking for fun ways to practice syllables with my students.  It is important for early readers to be able to hear the parts in words.  Your students will love practicing sorting picture cards by the number of syllables with this Heart Syllable Sort activity.  

This activity was super easy to prepare.  I just printed the heart picture cards on white cardstock.  Then I used my paper cutter to cut out each card.  There are cards for words with 1-4 syllables and there are 6 pictures cards that can be sorted in each group. 

I would recommend laminating the cards since little hands will be working with them.  I like to put the cards in a basket, but you could just as easily put all of the cards in a plastic baggie.  Then you are ready for some Heart Syllable sorting!

For this activity we started with the numbers 1-4 at the top.  I mixed up the pile of cards and students took turns picking a card.

When students picked a card, they turned the card over and said what the picture was on the card.  We then clapped the number of syllables in the word.  In this example, when we turned over the card with "sock" on it, we did one clap since that word has one syllable.

We put the sock picture card under the number 1.  

Students continued picking picture cards and sorting by the number of syllables until all pictures had been sorted.  

This activity is perfect for a small reading group activity or to put out at a literacy center for your students.  It would be a great addition to a pocket chart literacy center.  If students are independently manipulating the cards, a tip would be to put the number of syllables on the back of the card so students could self check their work. 

Also, be sure to check out these fabulous heart themed activities from my blogging friends:

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: 

Heart Letter Puzzles // Pocket of Preschool

Valentine Hearts Ten Frame Clip Cards // Mrs. Jones Creation Station

Heart Digraph Puzzles // The Kindergarten Connection   Printable Valentine's Math Activities // Stay at Home Educator    Alphabet Hearts // Playdough to Plato    Valentine's Day Emergent Reader // Sweet Sounds of Kindergarten    Heart Syllable Sort // Recipe for Teaching    Candy Hearts Count and Clip Cards // Modern Preschool    Heartbreakers Sensory Activity // Sugar Spice and Glitter    CVC Hearts // The Primary Post    Valentine's Day Number Recognition Bingo Game // Schooling a Monkey    Valentine's Day Activities (Heart Craft & Cutting Practice) // Fairy Poppins    Heart Counting Cards // Powerful Mothering    Sorting Hearts Fine Motor Tray // Teach Me Mommy    Candy Heart Estimation Station // The STEM Laboratory    Contraction Conversation Hearts // The Simplified Classroom    Chocolate Heart Play Dough Mats // Fantastic Fun and Learning    Jar of Hearts: Editable Sight Words to Read and Write // Liz's Early Learning Spot    Hearts Make Ten Game // Sara J Creations    Heart Roll, Cover and Write Mats // Fun Learning for Kids    Heart Ice and Oil Density Experiment // Science Kiddo    Candy Heart Sentences // Pages of Grace    Heart Sight Word Match // The Letters of Literacy    Heart Name Crafts // Fun-A-Day

Ready for some Heart Syllable Sorting?!  Just click the image below to grab your FREE download!

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Recipe for Teaching

I love giving my family a little treat for the holidays!  Starbucks has had the CUTEST holiday shaped gift cards lately!  During Valentine's Day they had heart shaped gift cards that were so adorable.  When I went to grab some green teas a few weeks ago (my favorite!), I noticed they had Easter egg shaped gift cards!  I had the idea to make some gift tags to go along with the gift cards.

  These are the tags that I gave my family for Valentine's Day, however they could really be used any time of the year for the coffee lover in your life!  They would be perfect for a teacher gift and "Teacher Appreciation Week" is coming up in May (May 2 - May 6).

And these are the Easter gift card tags that I am giving my family. 

Aren't those Easter egg gift cards just the cutest?!?!  If you don't want to use Starbucks gift cards on the tags you could also use egg shaped candy and attach them on the basket.  I'm sure someone would love to get a Reese's peanut butter egg as a little treat - yum!

I have included both gift card tags in this FREE download!  Just click the image below to grab your FREE gift card tags!

  If you are looking for more gift tags, be sure to stop by my Teachers Pay Teachers Store!  I have End of the Year Gift Tags and Teacher Gift Tags that you might be interested in!

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Recipe for Teaching

I love holidays!  I think they are so fun and there are so many fun activities to do in the classroom that go along with different holidays.  I also love to give my team little treats throughout the year and especially on a holiday!

  Candy heart graphs are so much fun.  I am planning to have my students complete this Candy Heart Graph and then they are going to pick two candy heart colors to add together and write an addition number sentence.  I am going to have them do that on a sentence strip and then tape it on their graph.  Just click the image to grab your FREE Candy Heart Graph!

  I also have some Valentine's Day Gift Tags for your students.  They are in my Teachers Pay Teachers store for FREE.  I bought some bubbles from Target and I am going to attach them to the tag.  You could really attach any little gift to the tag or just give them the tag by itself!  Just click the image to head over to my TpT store and download your FREEBIE.

  I mentioned that I love to give my team holiday gifts.  I found the most adorable mason jars at Target for only $3 each!  I put some red paper shreds in the jar and then filled it with a Reese heart and some Dove chocolate hearts - YUM!  I attached a gift tag to it and TADA...a sweet Valentine's Day gift for my sweet teammates!  Just click the image below to grab your FREE Valentine's Day gift tags for your coworkers.

  This week I had my students use some adorable heart buttons from the Dollar Tree to represent the dots on a domino.  Then, they recorded the addition number sentence.  My students LOVED these heart buttons.  Those cute little heart tubs came from Walmart. You can grab that FREE domino recording sheet in my Domino Math blog post by clicking here.

  This Valentine Day Math Chat is part of my Valentine Math Pack in my TpT Store.  I have done many Math Chats with my students this school year so I decided to have them work in partners to write about the Math Chat.  I was so impressed with their work!

  You can check out my Valentine Math Pack by clicking the image below.

  Happy Valentine's Day!  

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Recipe for Teaching