Mrs. Johnson’s first graders have been very busy receiving
Valentines from all around the world! We
started with Mrs. Johnson putting out a request for Valentines from people
using social media. Our goal was to get
a valentine from all 50 states. Well, the
shares and requests from first grade families & friends, along with PRAES
staff and families made this project “burst with love!” We have received close to 400
Valentines! We have 49 of the states,
waiting on Delaware (I have heard it is in the mail). We have also received Valentines from other
countries: Canada, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Japan, England- just to name a
few.
Mrs. Johnson has a big map on the wall in the hallway to share
with entire school. As we received
Valentines, a heart sticker was put on the map.
The cards are all hung next to our map, overflowing into other
walls! We have kept track of how many
Valentines for each state and country using tally marks.
Some of the packages have been quite unique: a coconut
postcard from Hawaii, a HUGE card, Valentine treats & stickers, a cool card
from Washington DC, and several cards that play songs or sounds. It is also so cool when we read the Valentine
message and find out it is from a specific kiddo’s family member. We have
grandmas that are reaching out to their friends- absolutely amazing!
Word about this project spread and Valley News Live out of
Fargo came to school to do a story on our “Heart Around the World” project. First
grade is definitely feeling the love on this Valentine’s Day! Plus, we are definitely learning our 50
states and their locations on the map! It
really makes our learning fun! So,
thanks to the many individuals that helped make this project such a huge
success!