Color Your Heart Out

...with these tender lovin' treasures. 

Students from our reading and enrichment groups have been having so much fun getting ready for Valentine's Day. This week, we read books like Diane de-Groat's Roses are Pink Your Feet Really Stink and created these awesome "Color your Heart Out" &  "Color My World" Crayon Valentines. 

Shaped like hearts, these Valentines are not only fun to make, they're easy, too!  I'm not sure who enjoyed making them more...me or the students?  In fact, I liked this so much, I made them again at home with my son.  Preston loved them, too!

I first saw this idea in a magazine years ago and have revisited it from time to time.  It never gets old! 

Steps:

1. Made with melted Crayola Crayons, we started our project by gathering together lots of old crayons.

2. Next, we peeled off all the paper.  By the time I did this with my last student, I decided it might be more motivating if we raced to see who could peel their paper the fastest.  This sped things up quite nicely!

3. Then, we broke the crayons into pieces and separated them into color families.  This also made a nice discussion on grouping and patterns.

4. Finally, we used a heart shaped silicon baking mold to melt our crayons in.  We placed them in a preheated oven at 250 degrees and baked them for 20 minutes.  We let them cool for about 25 minutes and then gently removed them from the mold.

We packaged our crayons in pink tinted bags with some other treats, but there are all kinds of creative ways to package these Tender Lovin' Treasures.

Here is a link to a Martha Stewart video where she packages Crazy Crayons.



Also, there are zillions of ideas on Pinterest.  Check out and be sure to follow our Valentine Boards.  Lori's totally cool Be MY Valentine Pinterest Board!

Another resource for terrific Valentine Ideas and photos is: The Nerd's Wife.

Crayons made by one of our awesome students, Scott B.

~Step into the shoes of your inner child and dance with the Moon! 

                                                                                                       Happy Valentine's Day!
                                                                                                         XOXO Lori & Ted

Mr. Arachnid's Library:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/roses-are-pink-your-feet-really-stink-diane-de-groat/1101116157?ean=9780688152208

The Perfect Pumpkin Pie

Editorial Review:

 "Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkin Pie! I must have one before I die. It must be round and brown as toast, or I'll haunt this house a hungry ghost"... are the words i look forward to chanting each Halloween.  Who do I read this wonderfully spooky picture book to?  Everyone!   From mid-September to the end of October,  I could be caught carrying, "The Perfect Pumpkin Pie" with me just about anywhere.

Written and illustrated by Denys Cazet, The Perfect Pumpkin Pie" is the "perfect" Halloween read- aloud for children (and adults) of all ages.  With laugh-out-loud funny illustrations such as the one on the cover showing an extremely picky and ever so grouchy Mr.  Wilkerson, the words in the story have a contagious and irresistible way of flowing off the tongue.  Those that listen will have no choice but to chant along!