Class Valentines

I love a good class valentine. As soon as the Valentines' Day goodies replace the Christmas items on store shelves, I begin my search for the kids' class valentines.

As much as I love a good cartoon character card, I am partial to the homemade valentine.  However, with all of the work demands, I may not always be as creative as I would like to be.  That sends me to Pinterest for ideas.

For my three-year-old son, we decided to do dinosaur valentines this year.  I found a delightful free printable here.  I got the plastic dino figures and the cellophane bags from the Target dollar bins.  I also chose to add a couple of Dove Heart candies.  I think they turned out very cute.

For my five-year-old daughter, I had more input.  She was very open to whatever we put together but required the outcome be cute.  While buying dinos at Target, we ran across these adorable little 20-page note pads.  I created the following printable and used double stick tape to affix each note pad to its card.  Since they work on their names in Kindergarten, she had the honor of writing her name on all 48 cards.  Lucky kid.

We can't wait to distribute these simple yet cute cards to their classes on February 13th!

Valentine Brownie Pops

In an effort to provide a Valentine my daughter could help make, while still being unique, I thought cake pops would be a fun addition to the class haul. 

I also wanted to use a cake pop pan as opposed to the rolling method because there is less "junk" added.  Having never made cake pops before, I charged ahead... confident in my baking skills.

WHAT WAS I THINKING?!!  

I really hated this entire process and plan to never do it again... at least that is my feeling at this point in time.

Here is the whole nightmare-ish process.

First, I made cake pops.  Actually, I made brownie pops because I purchased a Nordic Ware Cake Pop pan and found they recommended using the recipe on the packaging.  Well, I didn't have any chocolate chips (Thank you, Hubs for eating them all.) so I thought homemade brownies would work just as well since dense cakes work better when using the cake pop pans.

The recipe I used...

1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 325F.  In a large bowl, mix the butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs well.  In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.  Stir the dry ingredients into the wet, blending well but not over mixing.

Spray both sides of the cake pop pan very well with cooking spray.  Fill each divet (on the side with no holes) with 1 tablespoon of batter.  Secure the top lid and place into the oven for 15 minutes.  Brownie balls are ready when an inserted toothpick comes out fairly clean.  A few crumbs is fine.

Place pan on a wire rack to cool for 2 to 3 minutes.  Then, remove the top pan and turn the brownie balls out onto a wire rack to cool completely.  Once cooled, remove the excess ring of brownie with a sharp knife or kitchen shears to smooth.  If still pliable, gently press the excess in to save time and hassle.

Before (Notice the ring around the center)

 After (No ring... or at least less of one)

If any of the brownie balls are cracked or broken, they will not hold up through the coating process.  So, enjoy!

If you have more to make, wash and dry the pan and begin again. 

The Pop-ification  process...

Ingredients:

• Almond Bark  (for 24 brownie pops, use only 1/2 of the package)
• Sprinkles
• 24 cake pop sticks
• Brownie balls (be sure they are not cracked)

Remove the Almond Bark from the package and place into a glass dish.  Melt in the microwave starting at 90 seconds, stir, then continue to melt at 10 second intervals... stirring each time.

Dip a stick into the melted candy and insert about 3/4 of the way into the brownie ball.  Continue until all have sticks.  Place the dish into the freezer for a few minutes to give the melted candy time to set.  This will make certain the stick is secure.

Begin dipping the brownie pops into the melted candy.  It is helpful to use a spoon or spatula to coat the pop rather than twisting it around in the candy.  This will prevent the brownie ball from coming off of the stick or breaking apart in the candy.  Allow any excess to drip off.

Immediately add sprinkles to the melted candy coating for a festive touch.  My daughter had a blast performing this step... at least for a little while.  Place the pop onto a plate or baking sheet lined with plastic wrap and place into the freezer for a few minutes to set.

 

Once set, remove from the freezer and package into pretty cellophane bags.  Keep away from heat!  These can be made a week in advance.

My issues...
While these pops were DELICIOUS, they took a lot of time to prepare.  I also became frustrated with the fact the sprinkles wanted to slide off of the pop after dipping.  To help with this, I made sure all of the excess had completely dripped away and once the sprinkles were added, they went into the freezer right away.  These tips helped a bit.  I would even recommend working with cold (but not frozen) brownie balls.  This way, the candy begins to set rather quickly.

Maybe some time away from this project will make me want to do it again... but I am not confident about that.  At least not yet.

Enjoy!

Valentine Necklaces

Since Valentine's Day falls on a Thursday this year, it did not dawn on me until Saturday night that I needed to have a goodie for the children in my daughter's Bible class Sunday morning.

What to do... what to do?!!

While rummaging through my craft box, I found sheets of felt, ribbon, and embroidery floss.  Valentine Necklaces were born!

Here is what I did...

1.  Gather the necessary supplies.

• Sheets of felt in red, pink, dark pink and white... Your choice!
• Embroidery floss in contrasting colors
• Thin ribbon in colors which match the floss
• Polyester fiberfill, batting or cotton balls
• Scissors
• Paper
• Embroidery needle

2.  Cut a heart pattern from the paper, in appropriately sized for the intended wearer.

3.  Using the pattern, cut two hearts from the felt.

4.  Place one heart on top of the other and begin to stitch the two together with the embroidery floss, starting at the bottom point.  Make sure the initial stitch begins between the hearts and moves to the outside so the "tail knot" is hidden.  Continue toward the top of one side of the heart.

5.  Cut a length of ribbon which can easily slip over the intended wearer's head and tie it into a knot.  Place the knotted end of the ribbon into the pocket of the heart and splay out the loop so each side of the loop can be stitched into one of the two sides of the heart.  Continue hand stitching the heart until a small hole is left.  Fill the pocket of the heart with a bit of the filling to create a puffy heart.

6.  Finish stitching the heart to close it.  Be certain the final stitch is tied off between the heart to hide it.

7.  Package in a cellophane bag and tie with a ribbon or staple closed with a personalized Valentine.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Imagine the Possibilities!

Image from tech.groups.yahoo.com

Upon arriving at the office today, I turned on the computer and immediately dove into my email. I found a great video from a student related to Bloom's Taxonomy. Well, that video sent me searching for other little gems on an educational technology blog. Although it took a couple of hours, my scavenging was not in vain. I turned up this great tool for gathering audience feedback in real time.

As a teacher, presenter, trainer, facilitator, consultant... one often likes to know what the audience is thinking and to be certain the points made are clear and well-received. TodaysMeet allows presenters to accomplish just that! It also helps presenters answer audience questions as they arise. Imagine what this could do for students too afraid to ask questions. TodaysMeet seems to provide a space for members of an audience to communicate with the facilitator while he or she is facilitating, without disrupting the presentation flow. It also allows the facilitator the opportunity to tailor the presentation as it is delivered, rather than waiting until the end to realize they have missed the mark. TodaysMeet lets audience members communicate with the presenter via Twitter on their smart phones and internet. What a powerful tool!

I would imagine some ground rules or norms would need to be set to ensure the audience frames their comments and questions in a positive manner. I would also imagine the use of such a tool is not for the faint at heart. However, set up is rather simple. Just create a room, identify how long the comments should be saved, create a Twitter hashmark (#) identifier, and start "talking". It is THAT easy!!

As teachers, lets embrace the backchannel (everything going on in the room other than that which is coming from the presenter) and make our classrooms or meeting rooms more effective. I intend to give this tool a try during the fall and I would encourage you all to do the same.

Risk boldly my friends!!!