Valentine candy hearts cookie recipe, math lesson, craft, preschool counting games

Looking for ways to use up leftover valentine candy hearts? Here's a cute Valentine craft and snack that teaches math using Valentine's Day Necco Sweetheart conversation hearts. They're an edible flashcards to help children practice counting and other mathematics skills.

Counting Hearts Cookies

You'll need 55 candy hearts per child and a roll of sugar cookie dough (enough for 10 cookies per child). Let children slice their dough logs into circles. This provides fine motor practice and eye-hand coordination. Talk about shapes as they cut; discuss geometry, circles, cylinders. Have children think of other round and tube-shaped objects. Make a list. Children can write it down in math journals or illustrate later.

Next have children divide candies per circle. Place 1-10 candy hearts per cookie, so each cookie has a different number of hearts. Count as you go. You might have to spread the 10-heart cookie thinner to get them all on.
When baked, use cookies as flashcards. Play counting and adding games. Say "show me three hearts." Or how many is "two hearts plus five hearts?" Let kids eat number cookies on the hour. Eat the 1 cookie at 1 pm, 2 at 2 pm. You can use these Valentine counting heart cookies in any number of ways.

For more free educational activities visit my blog Free Lesson Plans 4U. For specifically preschool lesson plans visit Preschool Child Activities. For more leftover use-up recipes, visit Great Food 4U.

Free printable Day of the Dead activities for Halloween

Looking for Halloween or Day of the Dead printables to use as lesson plans? Count down the days to Trick or Treat with dozens of free printable Halloween activities, coloring pages and crafts from Making Friends.com. Print free craft projects for all sorts themes. Making Friends has a really holiday activities, coloring pages, cut and paste, paper dolls, Trick or treat wrappers, worksheets, Halloween puzzles and mazes. Print word searches, crossword puzzles and word games, perfect for Halloween language arts lessons. Print Halloween card games, flash cards, dioramas, masks and pumpkin carving patterns and stencils.

Here free printable Halloween lesson plans, worksheets, games, coloring pages, activities and puzzles. Use for Trick or Treat themed math, reading, writing, literature, science, language, social studies and crafts. All Free Printables has free Halloween crafts, greeting cards, party invitations, decorations, cut-outs, coloring pages, masks, party invitations, name tags, treat bags, pumpkin cut-outs, book marks, picture frames and lots more. Puzzlemaker lets you create templates for printable Halloween worksheets, puzzles, mazes, jigsaws, dot to dot, Soduku, crosswords and activities galore.

Print Activities is another mega site for all your school and family activity printing needs. Look for units, printable worksheets and lessons focused around Halloween and trick-or-treat. Disney Family offers a plethora of free printable Halloween Disney activities, crafts and coloring pages. Coolest Holiday Parties has free printable Halloween party supplies. You'll find cards, invitations, treat and punch bowl printables, banners, place cards, name tags, wall hangings for a ghoulish party.

In praise of Peanuts--culture cues and life lessons from Charlie Brown

 65 years after Peanuts cartoons appeared, "The Peanuts Movie" came out. It opened November, 2015 and eight months later, its popularity continues to escalate. Multiple theater and Broadway versions of Peanuts-based stories have been done and reprised in the comic's long and illustrious career. One of the most famous is "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown." The off-Broadway production opened in 1967 and had many revivals. The most recent is the York Theatre Company 2016 revival, nearly 50 years later.
What is it that has drawn fans to the Peanuts gang for seven decades? Peanuts has a kryptonite appeal for adults and children alike. '60s and '70s kids were surely powerless over the addiction. They read Peanuts comics in the paper, bought paperbacks of Snoopy comics, rushed home to watch Charlie Brown specials on TV (back when they came on once a year and if you missed them, sucks to you.)
Back in the day, all kids knew of culture came from Charlie Brown and Looney Tunes. If it weren't for them, baby boomers would have been a bunch of ignorami. Who knew, for example, what "psychiatric help" was till Lucy VanPelt opened her booth and charged five cents for it? (Don't judge, a nickel was a lot of money back then!) Who'd ever heard of VanGogh till Snoopy decorated his doghouse in it? Snoopy also taught history-deprived kids about WWI flying aces, Sopwith Camels and the Red Baron.
Kids knew the name Pavlov thanks to dog-dish-wielding Snoopy, if they didn't get the reference. From Schroeder, kids got music appreciation of Beethoven and Rachmaninoff--though how he got "Prelude in C-sharp minor" out of that toy piano, no one ever figured out.  And blanket-toting Linus's philosophical lectures were head and shoulders above most adults let alone kids.
Kids learned life lessons from and with the Peanuts gang. Raise your hand if you yelled "no, Charlie Brown, don't do it!" when P.I.T.A Lucy tries to lure him into kicking that blasted football, again? A generation learned how to avoid kite-eating trees, thanks to Peanuts comics. And who didn't feel just a little bit better about limited athletic skills compared to Charlie Brown? Having said that, this author can't be the only one annoyed that pitcher Charlie Brown took all the flak when the whole team screwed up. Even Snoopy--his own pet--was a bit of a douche-dog to Charlie Brown. Snoopy definitely had better friends and a cooler social life.
But Charlie Brown took it with Zen. As Lucy so aptly put it, "of all the Charlie Browns, Charlie Brown, you're the Charlie Browniest." Why does Peanuts continue to resonate? Je ne sais quoi--but it probably has to do with that wonderful Tao plus chutzpah of Charlie Brown!  

Free Printable Spider-Man Coloring Pages for Math and Reading Flashcards

Here's a lesson plan to use Spider-Man or any superhero to teach reading. Choose your favorite superhero or cartoon favorite (you can print DC or Marvel superheroes, Barbie, Disney, PBS, Looney Tunes and more). Print small 2x3 versions of coloring pages. Have children color the images and make this activity do double duty as a craft project. Attach to index cards and label. 

Write lists of associated words on the back For Spider-Man, you might use: spider, arachnid, insect, bug, super, hero, fly, web, city, save, science, villain, spin, swing, octopus, mask, sky, night. Use these flashcards to help children learn to read in fun, hands-on ways. Children might write stories of Spiderman's adventures using these words. Here are free printable superhero coloring pages and activities. 

For Marvel comics printables from Captain America Civil War including Iron Man, Avengers, check out Pic Gifs.  I've linked to Spider-Man but search the bar for any free printable Marvel or DC superhero coloring pages. Coloring-Book.info has more free printable Spider-Man coloring pages. Use the search bar for to find any free superhero printables for Superman, Flash, Thor, Captain America and more. Disney Family has free printable Avengers Captain America Civil War crafts. 

KidZone has free printable spider lesson plans. Learn about spiders with these games, crafts, puzzles. math activities, songs and stories, writing prompts, science worksheets and diagrams and reading lesson plans too. 

No Roses for Harry Recycled Yarn Craft, Book based Snacks, Printables

Are your kids going winter stir-crazy? You need a craft afternoon. I learned as a teacher/homeschool mom to make lesson plans hands-on. My craft parties include an interactive story and snack and lots of free printable book-based activities. 

One of my husband's favorite children's literature characters is Harry the Dirty Dog, created by Gene Zion and drawn by Margaret Bloy Graham. There are several books featuring Harry the Dog. My mom described a yarn bush she made for the birds and it reminded me of Harry. Here are activities based on "No Roses for Harry."

 

Story Party Book Activity: Read "No Roses for Harry" in ebook online at Open Library. You can hear an audio reading on Youtube. Pause the story at various points and encourage children predict what will happen next. Let children color these free printable Harry the Dirty Dog coloring pages, make a booklet and retell the story. Here's are printable No Roses for Harry coloring pages. 

Story Party Science Activity: Make a yarn bush. Gather up recycled bits of string and yarn. Place them in trees and bushes for the birds to use in nest building, like the bird did in "No Roses for Harry." Look for your yarn in bird's nests. My mother says her yarn has been disappearing, so she knows the birds are nesting. You might get a bird guide and ID the birds you see in the yard. 

Story Party Recycle Bin Craft: Teach kids divide by 2 by braiding yarn. Wind yarn braid into a concentric circle Sew a few stitches to hold it together and you have a recycled craft pot holder. These are great for preschool crafts. If you are crafty like Grama in "No Roses for Harry" teach children simple finger knitting or use large blunt needles. Let them knit a washcloth. 

Story Party Math Craft. Use this free printable rose pattern to make paper roses. Teach about spiral patterns. 

Story Party Snack: Make "roses" by spreading cream cheese on a scallion, pickle spear, carrot or celery stick. Wrap a slice of ham or other lunchmeat around it. Cut radish or tomato roses. Make open face jam sandwiches cut in flower shapes. Make flower shaped pancakes. 

Story Party Math Craft Snack: Make flower cookies. Roll sugar cookie dough in little balls. Arrange four in a square or five in a circle. Bake and frost. Decorate with candy sprinkles and an M&M in the center. Decorating cookies is a great preschool craft snack!  

Warm up after snow day play with cocoa cookies and more Harry stories! Or cool down after summer play with lemonade and Harry the Dirty Dog, Harry and the Lady Next Door or Harry By the Sea. 

Recycle Bin Crafts for Bored Kids: Homemade Hats for Learning Centers

So this Covid 19 quarantine is getting long, huh? A lot of you parents got thrust into the role of teacher unexpectedly. If you're homeschooling children, maybe you need my teacher mama first aid kit, with quick, easy CHEAP ideas to perk up the school day. 

Just in time for earth Earth Day on April 22, how about recycle bin trash craft? Homeschoolers and teachers, your recycle bin in your best craft supply resource. Let kids repurpose, recycle and reuse household stuff in science projects and eco-friendly crafts.  

Today's recycled trash crafts feature homemade hats for kids! The prototype was developed by our oldest daughter at 20 months old. We kept her toys sorted in recycled 5 pound peanut butter pails. One day, Little Miss emptied one, plopped it on her head, tucked handle under chin and voila—an instant helmet. Then she proceeded to saddle up and ride baby brother like her noble steed! I removed the bucket handle for her safety and her from brother for his. 

But I realized what really cool homemade hats for kids can be made with a little repurpose and reuse. Let kids sort through your recycle bin for plastic ice cream buckets, butter tubs and coffee canisters. Organize by size.  This is a great way to teach preschool sorting, measurement math and Earth Day environmental science. 

Make helmets for hands-on social studies crafts. Repurpose and reuse recycle bin milk jugs as knight's helmets. Remove handle, cut a flap to use as a helmet visor. Cut a piece of plastic and attach with brads to make a visor flap. Wrap in aluminum foil for an armored helmet. Explore the history of helmets and armor with these free printable coat of arms activities from Pinterest. 

Teach STEM lesson plans making homemade hats for robots, soldiers, aliens, animals, astronauts. Make homemade crowns for kings and queens and princesses (cut both ends out to make cylinder shape and decorate. Here are free printable paper crown patterns too. 

Make cone-shaped medieval lady hats for kids by rolling a square of paper in a funnel shape. Trim edge even. Staple recycled crepe paper streamers to hat. Cut decorations from recycle bin stuff. Repurpose and reuse old headgear in cute homemade hats for kids costumes. Repurpose and reuse silk flowers, fabric scraps, ribbons, yarn, buttons, appliques, and faux gems as decorations for your recycled trash crafts. 

Earth Day recycled trash crafts: Cross-curricular Cellphone Cases

Looking for jazzy recycled trash craft projects for Earth Day? How about homemade cellphone cases? You can pick up cheap cases for iPhone or Android and decorate them. Empty the recycle bin and let students create mosaic or patterned cellphone cases from recycled trash. Make cross-curricular crafts. 

Math crafts: Make tesseracts, mosaics, 3D images, spirals (to teach Fibonacci numbers) and other mathematical patterns. 

History and social studies crafts: make cellphone cases with timelines, statues of famous people, Egyptian scarabs or jeweled reliquaries. 

Geography crafts: Draw maps on cellphone cases. Create your own treasure map! 

Literature crafts for lesson plans: Make a cellphone case that resembles a book, or index from card catalog. Choose a favorite book and make cellphone cases on that theme. This could be an extension for hands-on book reports. 

These Earth Day recycle bin trash crafts are perfect for interactive art lesson plans too.