Beary Special Valentines

Haven't done your Valentines yet!  Don't despair, Teddy Grahams are here!

What you need:

Teddy Grahams

'Beary' Special Printable (Click for Printable)

Stapler

Bags

FYI: Nut Free Treat

Ta-Daa!  Easy, quick Valentines!

Yarn Heart Valentines

Our classroom family Valentine was a messy art project!  We made yarn hearts with glue and yarn, and everyone finished a sticky mess.  All you need is yarn, glue, wax paper, and optional heart cookie cutter and glitter.

Have students dip the yarn all the way in the glue (tell them you want their fingers to be super sticky).  We used cookie cutters to help create the heart shape.  When they are done adding yarn, have them sprinkle it with glitter for extra pa-zaz!  

We then gave each child the poem below to go with their heart.  Click here for the free printable.

Toilet Paper Heart Stamps

A fun way to reuse toilet paper rolls, make heart stamps. All you need is toilet paper rolls, tape and paint.

Tape the toilet paper roll to form a heart on the ends.

Have students dip and create process art with these fun and free heart stamps.

Kids' Valentine Wreath

Here is a fun and easy Valentine Day wreath to make with your students:

Mix water and water color paint in a shallow dish (wide enough to fit coffee filters).  Have students dip the coffee filters into the mixture and quickly take out (this creates an ombre effect).

Paint the edges of the coffee filters with red paint. This is a great way to work on motor skills and motivation.

Cut out a heart shape from a cardboard box.  Older grade levels will be able to do this step, but I had to do it for my little learners. Use a hole puncher to put tissue in to create carnation flowers.

Chocolate Covered 'Strawberries'

One common Valentine's Day dessert is chocolate covered strawberries.  This year, I wanted to acknowledge this delicious dessert and at the same time put a twist on it.

Fade into the Chocolate Covered 'Strawberries'-

These wafer cookies are a perfect substitute for strawberries.  Whenever I eat a wafer cookie, it reminds me of my grandma's house because she always had a Tupperware container full of them, so it is a sweet reminder of her love.  

Make your own Chocolate Covered 'Strawberries'-

Strawberry Wafers

Almond Bark (Vanilla and Chocolate Flavored)

Valentine Sprinkles (I got this one at Target for $4.99)

Melt the chocolate and let stand for 1 minute to firm a little.  Dip the wafers into the chocolate and lay on parchment paper.  Immediately add sprinkles to the top of the chocolate.  Let cool and firm before storing.

And there you have it, Chocolate Covered 'Strawberries' perfect for kids and adults alike!

Paint Chip Valentine Decor

I have seen hundreds of crafts, games, and educational tools being made from paint chip samples.  Being Ms. DIY, I had to try my own craft with these fun & free paint chips; however, there should be a warning label with all these crafts:

Walking to the paint section in Home Depot, I felt confident and ready to claim this free, golden commodity. This confidence faded quickly when I an employee asked if I needed help finding a color.  My answer, "No thank you, I am just going to take all your pink and red samples, so you have to refill each one after I am gone" (Okay, that is not exactly what I said).

Here is my paint chip DIY:

Print off Valentine patterns (I love Valentine birds like the one above) on the paint chips, but remember to place the chips face up in the printer so it prints on the back.  

 Cut out the pattern and add to picture frames.

Then find a place to display your simply beautiful Valentine fun!

Valentine XOX

This weekend I got the Valentine bug!  I decorated the house from top to bottom, so this week will be my Valentine week.  

When I think of Valentine's Day, I always reminisce.  In elementary school, I made a big heart candy box that I treasured, and wrote out my Valentines carefully, so the best love one would go to my crush.  In middle school, friends bought suckers from the student council to be given secretly to their Valentine.  Then in high school, they would write the girls' names on a big chalk board who received flowers and gifts.  

Valentine's Day is always a warm day in the middle of a Wisconsin winter.  Here is one of my fun projects:

All you need is a 10" wreath and two wooden X's ($3 from Micheal's).

I sponge painted the wreath white.

Then I covered the wreath with berries.  These particular berries were from a Christmas berry string, so I just cut off the green ones.

Find a place to set or hang for a lovely Valentine design.