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Will You Be Mine?
Games and Projects Using Candy Conversation Hearts
By Alex Powell
They're a Valentine's Day tradition – conversation hearts. According to the National Confectioners Association, the heart-shaped candies with clever sayings were invented in 1900, and are now produced in quantities of around eight billion hearts per year.
So what can you do with the ones that end up at your house? Turn the sugary little messengers into fun activities to do with your preschooler!
The preschool years are a time when children learn to distinguish between objects. Sorting is a great way to work on this important skill, and conversation hearts are perfect for sorting and counting games.
Pour a bag of the candies onto a table and jump right in! Beginners can sort by color or practice counting with your help. Try counting out hearts while singing about it to the tune of "Ten little Indians" ("One little, two little, three little candy hearts").
Older children may be able to sort by color and count out a number of hearts as well. ("Can you pick out five purple hearts?") If your child is a beginning reader, she can even pick out words or phrases.
It's the time of year when we like to show our love – and what better way than with something handmade and unique?
"The first craft that comes to mind is making a picture frame," says Michelle Kemper Brownlow, an artist and former art teacher based in southeastern Pennsylvania.