Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Solving the Valentine Exchange Dilemma!

Valentine's Day is nearly a week away!  Are you ready for an exchange?!
Each year my kids get SUPER excited about the idea of exchanging valentines...but OH MY...does it take FOREVER!  By the time they read all the names and everyone has their chance to pass them out, my 'LOVE' for it all is well-tested!

SO...this year I am trying something new!

I am sending home the usual 'we are having a Valentine exchange' note but with a twist!

Here's the actual note:
See the bold/arrow...instead of the kids writing their classmates names, I am going to have them practice number writing by having them label them 1 to 20 (I have 20 kiddos!).

We will make our Valentine exchange bags:
                    

And then on the morning of the exchange I will tape the child's bag to the table (basically taping the bear's 'tush' to the table! LOL!) by their seat...along with one of these cute number cards:


During morning work, I will have 5(ish) kids at a time pass out their valentines.  They will 'read' the number on their valentine and then find it next to one of the bags.  They will drop the valentine in that bag and move onto the next until they are all delivered!

Once all the Valentines have been delivered, I staple the tops of the bags, we put them in our cubbies and the kids take them home to open & read with their parents!

So now we are combining the fun of a Valentine exchange with some number writing, 'reading' and ID..and hopefully with a dash of less stress for me!


Leave me a blog post comment!  I will select a winner on Friday evening!

And so that EVERYONE wins, click on the cute number cards and download them for free!  Use them for this OR for a number ordering activity of your choice!  They are numbered 1 to 20 and then there are 4 blank ones if you need more!  Print 2 sets and play Valentine Memory or Go-Fish, place baggies or cups of Valentine candies around the room- students have to match the number cards to the cups/baggies that show that quantity!  The possibilities are as grand as you can imagine!

For more freebies check out this linky hosted by Teaching With Nancy!
Have fun...Happy Exchanging..and Until next post, 
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22 comments:

  1. Love it! Parties make me crazy.......I love how this can be fun and a learning experience too! I may be smiling at the end of the day! Pamela.Spangler@dmschools.org

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  2. Very cute idea!! I would love to win!

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  3. Such a GREAT idea!!!! Thank you for sharing this post, I'll have to pin it away for next year as I've already sent out our letter.

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  4. Love your idea. Thanj s for sharing

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  5. I LOVE this idea! I already have my Valentine idea in place for this year but would LOVE to do this next year! I LOVE how you incorporate all of the academic features into something SO FUN! Great idea! Would love to WIN this!

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  6. This is so adorable!!!! I was looking for a way to cutesy up our bags and this is perfect! Love it :)

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  7. Liked and shared on my FB page!!! This is SUPER DUPER cute, Jennifer!! I usually just have the kids glue a coloured doily heart to the side of a paper bag and have them decorate it....so, this is the PERFECT jazzed-up version! I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to be the lucky recipient <3. Thank you for considering me =). leafsgirl@rogers.com.

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    1. Kristi today is your lucky day! The number generator selected you! I will be emailing the pack to you! Enjoy!

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  8. Love, love, love it!!! Thanks so much for sharing!

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  9. This is "bear"y cute! :o)

    Cindy
    ccfirstteacher@gmail.com

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  10. Thank you so much, the animal cards are so cute and what a great way to make learning fun! Thank you for sharing and turning my kiddos into winners!!! lauriejmeyer@yahoo.com

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  11. great idea to number the cards!!! lorinademello@hotmail.com

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  12. I would love one of these valentines crafts.
    cynannwood@gmail.com

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  13. LOVE IT!!!! Thanks for sharing.
    I love when a simple idea turns out magical! Hope the number method works for you. The bag is so "beary" cute =)
    kathycampero@gmail.com

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  14. I love this! It is so cute!!! Such a great idea!!!
    missymatos@live.com

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  15. I LOVE the Bear Valentine holder! So cute! 😍
    lhuhne@optonline.net

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  16. Loving the bear valentine holder! I hope I win!
    Thanks for the suggestions on making Valentine's Day go smoother

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  17. Such a great idea! I wish I would have seen it sooner. I am definitely using this next year.

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  18. This is such a cute idea and something I hadnt thought of. I am definitely going to use it in my room this year.

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  19. Great idea! Passing out Valentines can be torturous, but I love this idea.

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  20. Love the idea, specially for my kids of prekindergarten!!! Happy Valentines Day ❤️

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