Estimating and Measuring with Candy Hearts

Candy hearts are a fun and familiar part of Valentine’s Day celebrations, but did you know that they can also be used as a teaching tool for math? This printable math activity from Buggy and Buddy is a great example of how conversation hearts can be used to teach math concepts in a fun and engaging way.

Grab the printable and details from Buggy and Buddy.

In this activity, kids are asked to estimate and measure the number of candy hearts for each flower. They can then use this information to practice math skills such as counting, measuring, and estimating. This activity is a good one for reinforcing these concepts, and it is also a great way to get kids excited about math.

If you are looking for other ways to use candy hearts to teach math, here are a few suggestions:

Sort the candy hearts by color and have kids practice counting and graphing the results.
Use the candy hearts to practice skip counting and other arithmetic skills.
Create a math scavenger hunt using the candy hearts as clues.
Use the candy hearts to practice measurement concepts such as size, weight, and volume.

Overall, candy hearts are a fun and versatile tool for teaching math to kids. Whether you use them in a structured activity or as a casual learning tool, they are sure to be a hit with kids of all ages. So, this printable math activity from Buggy and Buddy is a good one for estimating and measuring and it uses candy hearts.

The picture includes heart flowers of different heights. Kids can estimate how many hearts tall each one is, then use hearts to see how close their estimate was.

This is a great reminder to kids that you don’t have to always measure with a ruler. You can even extend the activity to measure items in the house or classroom, as long as you have enough candy.

[Photo: Buggy and Buddy.]

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Valentine's Day Themed Math Activities

The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

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