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Cut a paper plate in half and decorate it. Use the template below to make the head, legs and tail.

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Here are some printable colouring pages

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How to draw a dinosaur - dinosaur starts with our new sound!

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How to draw a dinosaur - dinosaur starts with our new sound!

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10 Little Dinosaurs 2 | Kids Songs | Super Simple Songs

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The Post Office Aistear Complete the Pattern Activity Sheet

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The Post Office Aistear Cutting Skills Activity Sheet

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The Post Office Aistear Dot to Dot Activity Sheet

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The Post Office Aistear Pencil Control Activity Sheets

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You will need a die/dice for this activity. Print out the page if you have a printer, or you could draw out something similar.

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The Post Office Aistear Roll and Colour Activity Sheet

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Listen to and sing along with Postman Pat's song

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You can print this template or use your own piece of paper. No need to write anything!

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The Jolly Postman or Other People's Letters

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Look at the picture with your child and talk about the post office. Ask them some of the questions. Maybe you could post a letter or card this week.

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If you can access a printer you could print out this board game. If you don't, maybe you could help your child to make a game board like this one. You will need a die and some counters to play.

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Please select 1 and 2 and deselect 3, 4 and 5 before you play.

This game is designed for a child to play with a family member. The child and adult sit together and start the game. You will see a pirate ship lowering a sail that shows a letter.

The child says the sound that the letter represents. If the child is correct, the adult clicks on the tick. If the child is wrong, the adult clicks on the 'x'.

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Flash Cards (Phase 2) - Online Phonics Game

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A game for an adult and child to play together. The child says the sound on the pirate ship flag and the adult marks their answer.

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Listen to the song for the new sound 'd'. Why not go back and listen to the songs for s a t i p n c/k e h r and m?

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Animated songs for both revising and teaching letter-sounds. Catchy and easily adaptable, children will want to sing along and invent their own.

Hear it and say it

In this version, the letters are not shown on screen, and it is designed so that children can tune into the sounds before they see the letter. Perfect for introducing letter-sounds for the first time.

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Monster Treasure Hunt 'd' song: hear it and say it

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Animated songs for both revising and teaching letter-sounds. Catchy and easily adaptable, children will want to sing along and invent their own. In this version, the letters are not shown on screen, and it is designed so that children can tune into the sounds before they see the letter.

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Print out or look at it on your computer or device. Find the things that start with the 'd' sound.

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Print this page. Colour in the things that start with the 'd' sound.

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Rhyme with 'd' sound: Diddle Diddle Dumpling

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Rhyme with 'd' sound: Diddle Diddle Dumpling

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Diddle diddle dumpling my son John. An animated version of the popular children's nursery rhyme 'Diddle diddle dumpling my son John' with lyrics.

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An animated version of the popular children's nursery rhyme 'Dinosaurs'.

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Alphablocks - Volume 1 Episode 4 - Din (Letter D)

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I wonder what Geraldine will find as she hunts for things beginning with the d sound.

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Geraldine the Giraffe learns the /d/ sound

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Valentine's Marshmallow Pops

Here's a Valentine's treat that is super easy, and perfect to send along with your little sweeties to share with their friends. My daughter's love to help make these. I've made them several times (and for different holidays by simply changing the sprinkles) after seeing the idea several years ago on Grace Violet.

All you need...

One bag of Strawberry Marshmallows

Chocolate

Sprinkles

Lollipop sticks

Small cellophane bags (if you want to wrap them up)

~ Directions ~

1. Push a lollipop stick into each marshmallow.

2. Melt some chocolate (chocolate chips are not recommended) I usually use Ghirardelli chocolate (found in the baking aisle). You will probably need 4-8 oz. of chocolate, depending on how many marshmallows you dip.

3. Dip one marshmallow at a time into the chocolate.

4. Allow excess chocolate to drip off, then sprinkle your choice of sprinkles onto the chocolate.

5. Set the marshmallow pop (stick down) in a mug to allow the chocolate to set (you can put the mug of pops in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes)

6. Once the chocolate is set, if desired, wrap each pop in a small cellophane bag.

7. Share with friends =)

If you're feeling domestic this weekend, here are a few other Valentine's treats to try...
Chocolate Rolled Cookies Chocolate Cupcakes Cranberry White Chocolate Bars Decorated Valentine's Cookies Easy Chocolate Mousse (from a mix)

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Here's a Valentine's treat that is super easy, and perfect to send along with your little sweeties to share with their friends. My daughter's love to help make these. I've made them several times (and for different holidays by simply changing the sprinkles) after seeing the idea several years ago on Grace Violet.

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Chocolate covered strawberry hearts are such a cute idea for a Valentine's Day treat! They are easy to make and since they are chocolate covered strawberries they are delicious too! Isn't it crazy how fast time is flying? Valentine's Day is right around the corner! Surprise your sweetheart this Valentine's Day with this adorable treat.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Hearts

All you need are strawberries and some kind of chocolate that you can melt, such as chocolate chips. I also spread some Nutella on the bottom of the strawberries, but it was pretty subtle, so that part is completely optional.

Wash your strawberries and cut off the stem:

Slice the strawberry in half:

If you plan on filling the strawberry with Nutella, or some other yummy filling, slice out a small triangle of the strawberry insides:

Cut off a small portion of strawberry to help with the heart shape:

Take a toothpick and poke it through both strawberry halves to get the shape:

Here are all of my strawberry hearts lined up on the tray, getting ready for chocolate. Take a paper towel, and dry the strawberries on both sides. The chocolate will have a hard time sticking if the strawberries are too wet.

Like I said this is completely optional, but for a yummy extra, add some Nutella to the bottom of the strawberries:

I'm not convinced the effort it took to do this made them that much better, but it's Nutella - you really can't go wrong with Nutella, right?

Melt your chocolate and spread a layer onto the strawberries. This is where I should recommend a thin layer. My layer was MUCH too thick. Not that you can ever have too much chocolate, but the bottoms certainly didn't look all that pretty. After this photo, I realized that I needed to make the chocolate runnier by stirring a few teaspoons of oil in, just like when I made the chocolate dipped pretzel pumpkins back in October.

The tops turned out with a much smoother result.

To dress them up, drizzle on some melted red chocolate. Or, you can use a tube of Wilton Sparkle Gel

, like this one below that I used on my strawberry hearts.

I just have to warn you that the gel doesn't harden very quickly. This is fine if you don't have to take them very far, but if you are going to transport them anywhere there is a very good chance the gel will smudge along the way.

Aren't these adorable! You are sure to put a smile on someone's face. Chocolate and strawberries... it has to be one of the absolute best combinations! If you'd like to see how other versions of these turned out, you can check out 1 Fine Cookie and Pink When for their inspiration and tips.

I love the idea of Valentine's Day Heart Toast for breakfast, but I'm pretty sure I love these chocolate covered strawberry hearts even more! They'd make a cute pair with candy cane hearts too!

These take about half an hour to an hour to put together. It's a bit of a labour of love, but hey, for Valentine's Day, it's all about the extra effort, right?

Surprise your sweetie with a bottle of bubbly, and some chocolate covered strawberry hearts - doesn't that sound like the perfect way to start (or finish...) a romantic Valentine's Day evening?

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Chocolate covered strawberry hearts are such a cute idea for a Valentine's Day treat! They are easy to make and since they are chocolate covered strawberries they are delicious too! Isn't it crazy how fast time is flying? Valentine's Day is right around the corner! Surprise your sweetheart this Valentine's Day with this adorable treat.

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Here is an idea for a Maths game. Use jars, or yogurt cartons or any tubs you have at home for this game.

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Here's a really simple idea which is fun to put together and fun to play with. You can play with the jars in many different ways, making is suitable for a wide age range too. Perhaps older kids could make the game for younger siblings?
Age: 3+
Collect 10 safe plastic jars or containers. You could use small plastic food storage tubs or small snack tubs. We bought a set of 10 plastic jars from a craft supply shop for very little money.

Use different colours of craft foam to cut out the numbers 1-10 and stick to the top of the jars. You could also cut the numbers from sandpaper. The idea of the raised and textural numbers is that your child can feel and trace over the number with their fingers, which can help them to learn more quickly. You could of course also just use a large number sticker or write the number on each container with a permanent marker.

Now fill each container with the appropriate number of small objects. We used die, beads, "knucklebones", marbles, buttons, miniature toy people left over from another game, pebbles, and tiny toy cars.

Vary the objects according to the age of the child. For example, a child who is just starting to learn their numbers could have 10 identical large red buttons in the "number 10" container. For an older child you could make up the number 10 with a mixture of different buttons of all sizes and colours.

Here are some ways in which you can use the game:
Learning each number
Take the jar which corresponds to the number which you are learning. Trace the number with your child's fingers (in the way in which you would write it) and say the number out loud. Ask your child to tip out the contents of the jar. Now count the contents back into the jar, saying each number out loud as you do so.

Tip the contents out again and make patterns with them on the table. Show your child that, however you arrange the objects, there are always the same number when you count them back into the jar.
Easy sorting
Tip the contents of 2 or more jars out onto the table and ask your child to sort them into piles - perhaps by colour, and then by shape, and finally by type of object. Now count them back into the correct jars.
Learning more than one number
Take 2 or 3 jars - more as your child progresses - and ask your child to tip all the contents onto the table and muddle them up. Now see if they can put the objects back into the jars correctly.

NB: Please take care if you are using the games with younger children that objects aren't put into mouths!

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Here's a really simple idea which is fun to put together and fun to play with. You can play with the jars in many different ways, making is suitable for a wide age range too. Perhaps older kids could make the game for younger siblings?

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Print this out or alternatively, your child could draw out the hearts. Count the hearts and match them to the correct number.

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Print out this page. Cut out the numbers and put them in the right order. Alternatively, if you cannot print, your child could create their own Valentine’s number cards and order them.

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Printable. Print out this page and cut out the ladders. Can you order them from longest to shortest? Alternatively, if you can’t print, you could draw some ladders of different lengths, cut them out and order them.

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Have a look through this information together with your child.

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Print this page. Colour in the things that start with the ‘m’ sound.

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Do you know the Muffin Man, the Muffin Man, the Muffin Man
Do you know the Muffin Man, who lives on Drury Lane?

Yes, we know the Muffin Man, the Muffin Man, the Muffin Man
Yes, we know the Muffin Man, who lives on Drury Lane.

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Nursery Songs and Rhymes. The Muffin Man. Join in and sing along with this video for EYFS, children aged up to 5, of the rhyme 'Do you know the Muffin Man?' Includes the lyrics on screen and as a download. BBC School Radio. BBC Teach.

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I wonder what Geraldine will find as she hunts for things beginning with the m sound.

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Jolly Phonics m action

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5 Little Hearts Song - The Kiboomers Valentine's Day Songs for Preschoolers

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Here is a funny song for Pancake Tuesday

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Pinkfong Baby Shark - Kids' Songs & Stories

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Valentine's Day Sharks❤️ | Baby Shark Valentine | Best Kids Songs | Pinkfong Songs for Children

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Here is a fun song for you to sing along with and dance to. Join in with the actions!

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TheLearningStation - Kids Songs and Nursery Rhymes

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Boom Chicka Boom ❤ Valentine’s Day Songs for Kids ❤ Kids Dance Song ❤ by The Learning Station

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Here is a lovely song you can listen to and maybe try to learn some of the words.

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Pete The Cat - Valentine's Day Is Cool!: Valentine's Day Story For Kids

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Heart symmetry painting

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Updated January 2021
Hello, my friends. Surely you've tried some version of symmetrical painting with your kids, right?
You may also know it as blotto painting, smush painting (with or without string), or squish painting. No matter what you call it, though, it's a super fun art activity.
Symmetry painting is when you add a few drops of paint to one side of a piece of paper, fold the second side over the paint, and press the paint sandwich together with your hands. Then, when you open up the folded paper?

Voila! You have a unique and symmetrical design of squished paint.

This is a huge hit with toddlers and preschoolers but I have to tell you that old kids (and, ahem, so-called adults) love it, too.
There are lots of fun variations, including mirror-image string prints, using the symmetry paintings as drawing prompts (we've used them in the past for fun faces and animals), using them for butterflies or monsters, but we recently made heart symmetry paintings since Valentine's Day is around the corner. They're so pretty!
Be sure to check out our Youtube video all about symmetry painting!
Heart Symmetry Painting
MATERIALS

Sturdy paper

Tempera paint in 2 or more colors

Paint brush or spoon for each paint color

We made ours big-one to two hearts per 12×18″ sheet of paper-but you could make yours as small as you like. A bunch of little ones would work well for class Valentines, for example. And I'm pretty sure your child would happily make 20 or so of these.

More Symmetry Painting Activities
Pin It for Later

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Heart Symmetry Painting with Kids - Easy & Fun for Valentine's Day!

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Updated January 2021 Hello, my friends. Surely you've tried some version of symmetrical painting with your kids, right? You may also know it as blotto painting, smush painting (with or without string), or squish painting. No matter what you call it, though, it's a super fun art activity.

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Jungle and rainforest animal crafts, coloring and other activities for preschool, kindergarten and elementary school children.

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This adorable zebra craft uses a printable template and a paper plate to make a project suitable for a jungle animals, mammals, or letter Z theme or just for fun.

If you cut out holes instead of using the template eyes, you can convert your zebra craft to a zebra mask. Attach a paint stir stick or tongue depressor to allow your child to hold it up to their face.

Materials:

paper plate,

something to color with (or color printer),

scissors,

glue,

paper,

printer,

Optional: You can substitute large wiggly eyes for the template eyes.

Optional FOR MASK: Paint Stir Stick, thin strip of wood orTongue Depressor.

Instructions:

Paint the bottom of the paper plate white (if it isn't already).

Print out the craft template of choice.

Color (if using the black and white version of the craft) and cut out the template pieces. Most of the pieces are simple enough shapes for young children to cut out, but if needed, an adult can help with some of the harder pieces (the ears and the hair).

Glue the pieces to the plate to make a zebra face:

Glue two stripes on each side of the face.

Glue the muzzle onto the bottom of the face.

Glue the ears onto either side of the head, sticking up quite straight.

Glue the hair onto the center top of the head.

Glue the eyes onto the face above the muzzle and under the hair (or cut out holes for eyes in a mask).

Glue the eyebrows above the eyes.

Optional: If making a mask, use masking tape or duct tape to attach a thin strip of wood, aTongue Depressor or aPaint Stir Stick (often free at paint supply and home repair stores -- no more than $1 -- we get dad to pick one up now and then when he's at home depot admiring the tools *grin*)

Print friendly version of these instructions

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This adorable zebra craft uses a printable template and a paper plate to make a project suitable for a jungle animals, mammals, or letter Z theme or just for fun. If you cut out holes instead of using the template eyes, you can convert your zebra craft to a zebra mask.

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Put some fruit in a basket at home. Can you try to paint a picture of the fruit or draw it with your crayons?

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Cut and stick this train made from a variety of 2D Shapes!

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What shapes can you see?

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The Number Jacks have quite a number of 2-D shape-based episodes including Round and Round, Square Dancing and Very Shapely.

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Shape Monsters: an ideal introduction to 2-D shapes for  children. Children need to feed the monsters with the correct shapes. The monsters then say the name of the shape they've eaten.

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Shape Monsters - 2D Shapes Matching Game

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An interactive, maths 2D shapes game for young children who are learning the names of basic shapes. Children identify shapes by comparison and the Shape Monsters tell them the names of the shapes.

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A video lesson from Matholia introducing common flat (2-D) shapes, including squares, circles, triangles and rectangles.

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Shapes songs collection: a collection of songs that teach children the names of common shapes.

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Busy Beavers - Kids Learn ABCs 123s & More

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"Shapes Songs Collection Vol. 1" - 35 Mins of Baby, Toddler, Kindergarten Kids Learning Videos

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The Number Jacks have quite a number of 3-D shape-based episodes including Sphere today, Gone tomorrow, a Circle at both ends (Cylinder) and Boxing Day.

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NUMBERJACKS | Sphere Today, Gone Tommorrow | S1E3

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Solid Shapes: A selection of games from ixl.com. You can do a number of free quizzes each day without having a subscription. Activity L1 - L7 are all about solid, 3-D objects.

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Welcome to IXL's junior-infants maths page. Practise maths online with unlimited questions in 72 junior-infants maths skills.

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Find the matching shape and sort the shapes (doesn't require the children to know the names of the shapes).

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A video lesson from Matholia introducing common solid (3D) shapes, including cubes, cuboids, cones, cylinders, spheres and pyramids.

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Introduces cone, cylinder, cube and sphere.

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The Singing Walrus - English Songs For Kids

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3D Shapes Song | Shapes for kids | The Singing Walrus

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“Find it”. You will need a die for this game along with crayons/counters. This can be a two-person game and provides lots of healthy competition!

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Go on a shape hunt around your house or garden. Draw pictures of the shapes that you find.

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Watch the video to learn a little bit about Africa and the animals you find there.

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Watch the video to learn a little bit about Africa and the animals you find there.

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Listen to the song and see if you can learn some of the words.

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Use this game to revise the first set of sounds.

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Print this page. Colour in the things that begin with the 'r' sound.

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Here is a printable game to revise the first set of sounds. You will need a dice and some crayons. Roll the dice and colour one of the sounds that goes with that number. Keep going until all of your sounds are coloured in. Maybe you could print 2 or 3 pages and play with an older sibling or parent.

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Row Row Row Your Boat | Bedtime Lullaby | Super Simple Songs

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Ring-a-ring-a-roses. An animated version of the popular children's nursery rhyme 'Ring-a-ring-a-roses' with lyrics.

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Learn letter "r" with the Alphablocks Magic Words | CBeebies

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I wonder what Geraldine will find as she hunts for things beginning with the r sound.

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This is a whole school challenge. Can you build a tower? Will it stay up if you shake the table? Send your entries to stpatrickssteam@gmail.com

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Plan detailing the logistics of reopening the school

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Sort beans or pasta shapes into subsets. This is also a great fine motor activity.

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Print out the cards or use similar objects from your house. Sort (or partition) the sets into subsets.

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IXL | Classify and sort by shape | Kindergarten math

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Improve your math knowledge with free questions in "Classify and sort by shape" and thousands of other math skills.

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Sid the Science Kid . Games . Sorting Box | PBS KIDS

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Horse starts with our 'h' sound. Can you follow the steps and learn how to draw a cartoon horse?

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Here is a rhyme to go with our 'h' sound.

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Hickety, Pickety my red hen. An animated version of the popular children's nursery rhyme 'Hickety Pickety my red hen' with lyrics.

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Colour the picture. Cut out the animals and stick them on to show where they hibernate. No need to label with the words.

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Hibernation | The Dr. Binocs Show | Learn Videos For Kids

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Baby Shark - Pinkfong Kids’ Songs & Stories

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Hibernation Song | Animal Songs | PINKFONG Songs for Children

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Story with 'h' sound- Don't Hog the Hedge

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Story with 'h' sound- Don't Hog the Hedge

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The Gruffalo's Child - Read by Alan Mandel

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I wonder what Geraldine will find as she hunts for things beginning with the h sound.

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Here is a picture and description of the action that goes with the h sound.