Be My Valentine Card Exchange 2011

Well,
It's FINALLY here-

Valentine's Day!

I wanted to give you a peak into the kiddos'...

...Valentine's Day Mailboxes.

I have included traditional
candy, stickers, and other small treats,
as well as some special Valentines...

...like these piggy cups.

Filled with chocolate kisses,
the piggies will give the kiddos lots of...

..."hogs" and kisses!

(Idea from Katherine Marie Photography)

The kiddos are also going to receive...

...hearts that "glow"...

(Idea via Family Fun)

...and crayons with paint sample booklets...

...with pages all in a row!

(Inspired by Whimsy Love)

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Later today,
the kiddos and I will celebrate Valentine's Day-
"Monster Style"-
with a mini
"Valentine's Day Monster Mash Bash."

(HOPEFULLY we will get to make a
craft and have a fun snack,
but that all depends upon how Baby Girl and I
are doing after the Doctor's report-
we are both sick with snot and such...)

The highlight of our party will most definitely be...

...opening all our Monster Mailboxes...

...to reveal special Valentines...

...from our friends in the
"Be My Valentine" Card Exchange!

I will post pictures later
with the Valentines the kiddos received,
but in the mean time,
make sure you link up with YOUR special Valentines!

I would LOVE to see what everyone received
from the exchange...

(The Linky will be open all week, so feel free to post
whenever you get chance!)

Be My Valentine Card Exchange: Making Monsters

Today, a mob of monsters...

...like this one,
are on there way to various families
across the United States of America.

They just can't wait to greet the kiddos on our list
for the "Be My Valentine" card exchange...

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So, how did we make these crazy creations?
We used the following supplies:

Hair gel
Snack baggies
Foam hearts
Construction Paper hearts
Cardstock rectangles
Glue
Double-stick tape
Duct tape
Scissors
Googly eyes
Markers

First, the kiddos and I put the "bellies" of the monsters
together.

I squirted some of the hair gel into a snack baggie...

...and let the kiddos put some small foam hearts
into the gel.

Next, we squeezed as much of the air out of the baggie
and sealed it shut.

Finally, we put that baggie into another baggie,
to make sure that the gel was sealed tightly shut.

As I began to take the "tummies" and make them into
monster bodies...

...the kiddos got to work...
...decorating...
...the monster faces.

To complete the monster bodies,
I duct taped the "tummies"
onto the cardstock rectangles.

Then I trimmed the excess tape to created
a more curvy shaped monster body.

We completed the monsters by using double-stick
tape and glue to attach the head,
arms, hands, and feet to the body.

Here are all of the little monsters,
ready to go on their journey...

Oh, and what did the Valentine's say
to their recipients?

"Valentine,
You give this monster
butterflies in my tummy!"

Be My Valentine Card Exchange Reminder!!!

TODAY is postmark day...

I hope all your Valentines are safely off
in the mail...

If you had any issues with getting them done,
PLEASE let me know by emailing me at
hockmana3@gmail.com.

Thanks!

Be My Valentine Card Exchange 2011: Check Your Emails...

If you are participating in the...

...check the Inbox of your email.

HOPEFULLY you received a list of all
the kiddos you should be sending Valentines.

If you have NOT received an email
from me by the end of the day,
PLEASE let me know at
hockmana3@gmail.com.

Thanks!

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

I messed up with one of the groups,
so if you received two emails from me,
PLEASE read them carefully
and email back if you have any questions!

Be My Valentine Card Exchange: Homemade Valentine Ideas

I have seen all kinds of fun and cute ideas
for homemade Valentines all over the net,
so I thought I would share a few for inspiration
for your own
"Be My Valentine" Card Creations....

(You can click on all the pictures below
to go to the links for directions.)

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First, I wanted to show you a couple of Valentines
our family has done in the past...

(This "Valentine Man" could be easily reduced
and made into Valentines...)

Little Wild Man gave out frogs...

...and insects to his pals last year...

...while the girls gave out...

...office supplies.

Another year the kiddos and I made...

...heart shaped crayons like the ones found at
Frugal Family Fun.

The Valentines said,
"Valentine You Color My World."

I have also used...
...Whimsy Love's sweet paint sample notebooks
as teacher Valentine gifts.

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The following sites offer some fun ideas
for Valentines...

So many to choose from-
what's a family to do? ;0)

Country LivingNo Biggie

Parents
Lavender and LimesUrban Comfort

Bookou CraftsRoots & Wings Co.

Mustard Seeds
Martha Stewart

30 Days

Family Fun

Family Fun

Family Fun

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I hope y'all have been inspired!

I can't wait to see what your families
craft up...

Be My Valentine Card Exchange: Sign-Up Reminder!!!

TOMORROW
(Thursday, January 27th)
is the LAST DAY to email me your info
if you wish to participate in the
"Be My Valentine"
Card Exchange 2011.

THERE IS STILL TIME TO SIGN UP,
so click HERE for the needed details...

Hope to hear from you soon!

Let the "Be My Valentine Card Exchange 2011" Begin!

Well, I think the response for the
1st Annual
"Be My Valentine"
Card Exchange
is enough to give it a go...

I am so excited!

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So, here is what I need from your family
to get this party started:

1. The names
(or nicknames, if you wish your children's identities to remain anonymous),
genders,
and ages of your children
who wish to participate
2. Your family's home address
3. You email address
4. Your Blog address (if you have one)

Please send all this information to the following
email address ASAP:

hockmana3@gmail.com

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I will give all the families who wish to participate until
Thursday, January 27th to shoot me
an email.

Then I will send each family an email
with the names of the kiddos you will need to send a
Valentine by the following Monday, January 31st.

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Other "rules" for the card exchange:

1. PLEASE make the Valentines homemade,
in some fashion.

(I will be creating a post soon that will list some ideas
for homemade, kid-friendly Valentines,
to give you some crafty inspiration.)

3. Plan on crafting up 8 to 10 Valentines,
if you want to get started early.

2. If you are sending cards to the same address
(like to my three kiddos, for example),
feel free to mail them together in the same envelope.

Just make sure there is a Valentine
for EACH kiddo participating in the exchange,
preferably labeled with his/her name.

3. Postmark your Valentines by
Monday, February 7th.

That should allow plenty of time
for the Valentines
to reach their destinations.

4. If you have a blog, please link back to my
Monday, February 14th
"Be My Valentine Card Exchange" post,
telling us all about your kiddos'
card exchange experiences.

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Optional participation:

On Thursday, February 3rd,
the kiddos and I will be showing off our
"Be My Valentine" Mailboxes
via The Fantastic Five.

If you would like, I will create a link
for your family to post your mailbox ideas.

The mailboxes are NOT mandatory,
but I remember having mailboxes at my
public school Valentine's Day parties
when I was a kiddo.

JDaniel4's Mom made this suggestion,
and I think adding our own
homeschooling Valentine's Day Mailboxes
will only increase the fun factor..

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Okey-dokey,
I think I have all the information out there folks!

If you have any questions, please shoot me an email
and I will be happy to help!

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Remember:

Send me an email by
Thursday, January 27th
if you want to participate.

Let you buddies know too-
the more families who sign up, the merrier!

Be My Valentine Card Exchange 2011

I LOVE Valentine's Day.

Yes, I know it has been commercialized out the wazoo,
but I still enjoy the holiday.

It's a time to creatively and sweetly express
the feelings you have for those you love.

As a kiddo,
I always enjoyed the classroom
Valentine's Day parties.

Now that I homeschool my kiddos,
I am a little sad that they miss out on these...

Sooooooooo,
I have decided to host a Valentine Card gift exchange.

I am hammering out the details in my mind right now,
but if ANY of you are interested in such an exchange,
PLEASE let me know by commenting below.

Depending upon how many people are interested,
each family would be required to send out
HOMEMADE Valentines to 8-12 other families,
with the Valentines being postmarked by February 7th.

Oh, and you DO NOT need to Homeschool to participate-
just grab your kiddos- or sombody else's kiddos-
and get creative!

I will post more info as I see what interest is out there,
so,
if you are interested,
grab the button on the side bar and spread the word...

The more the merrier!

Thanks y'all!