Valentine's Day : Educational

The big V-day is coming up and my daycare kids are counting down! Oh how we love a party around here!  The house is decorated in pink and red galore, and we are ready to go!
Typically, on The Big Day, we have a little shindig in the morning. This consists of: valentine art, valentine snack, valentine gift bags, handing out valentines, playing a valentine game or two, watching  Winnie the Pooh Valetine movie while munching on popcorn.  Now to figure out ow to make pink popcorn...hmmm..
Anyway, even though it is all fun and games, I have managed to squeak in an educational activity or two.
Here is what I have dug up:
The Broken Heart Game

This can be played numerous ways.  * this is a small set, you can make many more sets of numbers and vary it by putting a number on one side and the same number of hearts on the other half.
Gross Motor:
Divide your group in half, on either sides of the room or playground.  Give one set of broken hearts to one group and the other matching set to the other group. Yell "GO" and have them race toward each other and find their match.  Once found they must run to the designated spot and sit. First group in wins, last group in loses, or if you have to make it fair for 'everyone' the game is just plain old over when everyone sits down.
Gross Motor II:
Pass out one side of the hearts to the group and hide the other half in the yard, room.  Send them off to find their match.  when they have their match, return to the designated finish spot and sit.  Have only one child? Give them one half at a time, race out to find the matching half, return to make a match on the floor, pick up a new half and head out again.
Memory:
Turn all cards over and flip two at a time until all matches are found. This is a good one to have the numeral written on one half and the same number of hearts on the other half.
Memory for little ones:
Simply put all cards face up and see if they can match them, saying the numbers as they go.

Colorful Hearts

Sorting by color  easy enough
A Tisket A Tasket:
Put a basket in the center of the group (or in front of your child).
Make sure each child has one of each color in their 'pile'.
Sing:
"A tisket a tasket put the (color) heart in the basket."
Continue until they are all gone.

5 Yummy Candy Hearts
(pick five colors before you begin, these can change as many times as you like)
Five yummy candy hearts waiting at the store.

(Name) ate the blue one and then there were four.  (have child pick up that colored heart)
Four yummy candy hearts staring straight at me,
{Name} ate the red one and then there were three.
Three yummy candy hearts read "I love you."
(Name) ate the yellow one and then there were two.
Two yummy candy hearts, this was so much fun
(Name) ate the green one and then there was one.
One yummy candy heart sitting on the shelf.
I felt so sorry for it, I ate the orange one myself!

Gross Motor:
Put a basket in the middle of the room, have the child toss the hearts.  Want to add math to it? Graph how many each child successfully lands in the basket. Who had the most? Least? Same?

That's all for today!
Erin