Don’t Eat Pete – Most-Requested Kid Game in My Classroom!

This game has been a classic in my classroom, so it’s worth talking about again.  I have used Don’t Eat Pete for holiday parties for years.  I change the “game board” to fit the holiday with stickers or cutouts.  It takes about 5 minutes to make.  Get a colored piece of paper.  Mentally divide the paper in 9 squares – 3 rows and 3 columns.  Put a sticker or cutout in each “square”.  Number the stickers or cutouts 1 to 9.  Laminate it if you want it to last, or put it in a sheet protector.  Now you are ready to play.  3 – 10 kids sit around the game board.  The adult or moderator puts an M & M, chocolate chip, Cheerio, or whatever on each sticker. the “guesser” leaves the area.  Another person points to a number.  That number is “Pete”.  The “guesser” comes back and starts taking the M & M’s (or Cheerios, or whatever) off the board and gets to eat them.  When the guesser touches “Pete”, everyone yells, “Don’t Eat Pete” and the guesser’s turn is over.  The guesser eats the last one he got called out on to keep it sanitary!  My kids request this activity every party! My own kids at home have loved this too!
Here’s a photo of the Valentine’s Day one I have. As you can see, it doesn’t have to be crazy fancy or “Pinterest worthy” to be super fun.
Maybe I’ll try and make you some printable Don’t Eat Pete boards…

Paper Plate Heart Wreath Written Directions for Centers

The “paper plate wreath” as an art project has been around for decades. I found these directions in my mom’s teaching files from when she taught second grade thirty years ago (even before the internet and Pinterest!)  These easy to follow directions can be posted at a center when kids are done with work as incentive. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Click here to download the PDF:  Paper Plate Heart Wreath – written directions for centers

Is it a Sentence? Valentine Freebie

Is it a Sentence - Valentine STICKERUnderstanding what a sentence is can be difficult for young children to grasp. They speak in sentences, but it takes lots of practice to be able to recognize them in writing. Here’s a super simple, Valentine’s Day themed worksheet to help your kindergartners learn to identify complete sentences. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Click here for the free PDF: Is it a Sentence – Valentine

Valentine’s Day Pattern Art Project

Heart pattern project STICKER

I recently blogged about a DIY Zentangle (patterns) art project I ran into and loved. So I made my own version using snowflake shapes. It was so fun, that I had to make another one… with hearts for Valentine’s Day!

Click here for the free printable PDF: Pattern Party- Hearts

Pattern hearts

If you have an older grade class and you’re looking for a more complex project, you could use your school’s die-cut machine to cut our a bunch of card-stock hearts of varying sizes. Then let your students create their own version of the printable I made. Just warn them not to create too many sections or too small of sections. This will help ensure that ti doesn’t take them FOREVER to complete it!

Valentine Fraction-Percent Equivalents

Valentines Frac-Perc Equiv STICKERWhen I taught 6th grade, my kids really struggled with finding equivalent fractions, percents and decimals. This is a topic we had to continue reviewing and working on all year long. Here’s a Valentine treat for you: a FREEBIE! (I know, I know… everything I post is free! And that’s because I’m a BROKE teacher, so I assume other teachers are broke like me and can’t always afford to buy materials!)

Click here for the FREE printable PDF: Valentines Fraction-Percent Equivalents

Friendship Notes

friendship notes 2 STICKERI’m a firm believer in teaching kids to thank others and give compliments. This printable is intended to give kids a space to write a short friendship note to 3 classmates. You can do this activity for Valentine’s Day, the end of the year, or whenever your class needs some bonding. I recommend printing one page for each kid so they can write 3. You may even consider assigning one or all of the recipients to ensure everyone gets one. In addition, It may be a good idea to read them before they’re distributed just in case…

Click here for the free printable: Friend notes printable

Printable Kids Valentines

Valentines STICKERI know it’s not even close to Valentine’s Day, but I just found this and I’m excited about it! Here’s another gem I found in the new Microsoft Word 2013: printable Valentines for kids!

Click here to download: Valentines for Kids

Valentine Words Activity Page

Valentine word activity page copy

Here’s a fun “fast finisher” to give your students if they’re done with an assignment early. They’re asked to alphabetize, sort and draw a few basic Valentine words. Happy Heart Day!

Click here for the free printable PDF: Valentine word activity page