Valentine's Party Fun

HAPPY BELATED VALENTINES!

Good afternoon Company Girls! Sorry there is nothing yummy to eat today because I'm all chocolate out!

It has been so nice getting back into a routine now that we have dug out of the snow and school is open again. There is something about structure and set times that helps me get so much more done.

Last Sunday night we hosted a Valentine's Parents' Night Out and although most families had to cancel last minute because of various illnesses, one little boy came and my boys were thrilled.

On the agenda for the evening was a Guessing Game which entailed guessing how many little dinosaurs were hidden in bags filled with red tinsel. If they guessed right they could keep them.

My daughter didn't want the red stuff contained so she dumped it out on her blanket.

Then we had a treasure hunt looking for red chocolate hearts. The kids are listening to instructions before the hunt begins.

The kids gave one another Valentine's and then they each made a Valentine card for Mom and Dad. We found the idea for Treat Transmitters in the Family Fun magazine. Although, after making 26 for my son's class, I realized this was way more time consuming than I anticipated! My son agreed so he created his own- Walking Stick Valentine!

After dinner they had a go at a heart pinata I made. This was our girl's first time hitting a pinata and she did not hold back at all! Thankfully my oldest was able to break it!

Overall the evening was a blast and a great way to spend Valentine's. I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day and know that each and every day we are "loved with an everlasting love!". Jer. 31:3

If you would like to catch up on what other gals did this week head over to Company Girl Coffee.

Edible Counting

I picked up this idea from one of my favorite blogs Chasing Cheerios. Although I didn't have marbles, I did have Skittles, so I improvised. I managed to do 5 different number exercises with my little guy all in one sitting.

1. I numbered small pieces of paper 1-8 (I only had 8 Skittles) and placed them in the tray.

2. I had Eager to Help put the Skittles in ascending order and then return them to the bowl.

3. I then added a 1 in front of the numbers explaining that the numbers now change. I wrote 11-18 on a piece a paper distinguishing 11 and 12 from the remaining teen numbers. I put the numbers in the tray all mixed up. He had to put the Skittles in ascending order naming each number.

4. Now was the fun part. He could pick one Skittle at a time to eat if he said the right number underneath it.

5. After he finished eating, we dumped the numbers out and then he placed them on the number line.

We had fun with this activity and it was very simple to do. It combined numbers that were both easy (1-8) and challenging (11-18) for my little guy and kept him thinking. Of course, it didn't hurt that there was a yummy treat he could enjoy!