Valentine’s Day in School
During February, school hallways are decorated in pink and red, and the air is filled with excitement. Valentine’s Day at school isn’t just about celebrating love, but a chance for fun. It’s not simply about heart-shaped candies or flowers, but about creating inclusion and helping each child feel loved.
Whether you are a teacher, or just a parent volunteering in the classroom, these classroom Valentine activities are a great way to show the students in your school some love. These fun Valentines Day School Activities can help you do just that.
Benefits of Celebrating Valentine’s Day at School
There are many wonderful benefits of celebrating Valentine’s Day at school. For some children, school might be the only place they celebrate Valentine’s Day. Other benefits include:
- Teaching kids to think about others. In most classrooms, teachers encourage kids to bring a Valentine for every child in the class. This helps children think about others.
- Teaching kids about love. Sure, it might sound corny, but what can be better than to teach kids about love and how best to love others.
- Helping all students be celebrated, even those who many not get that at home.
- Adding fun to the classroom! Learning and fun can exist together. Incorporating fun into learning is a great way to keep kids engaged in their learning at school.
Decorating the Classroom
Transform your classroom into a festive wonderland with Valentine’s-themed decorations that will set hearts fluttering. Engage your students in a cheerful DIY bonanza—some of the best classroom crafts can be created with a simple heart cut from paper. Each hand-crafted decoration adds creativity and celebration, inviting every child to add their touch of love to their classroom. Our kids have always loved doing crafts at school and displaying them in their school’s hallways.
The History of Valentine’s Day: A Lesson Plan
Teach students the history of Valentine’s Day. Guide them through the Roman festival of Lupercalia, the transition to St. Valentine’s feast day, and how it morphed into today’s exchange of heartfelt messages and tokens of affection. Encourage students to compare ancient and modern celebrations, uncovering how sentiments of love transcend time. Create a timeline on the classroom wall, illustrating key historical points, and invite students to add to it with their research findings. Discuss the global variations of love celebrations, fostering a deeper cultural appreciation.
Lesson Plan Innovation: Design interactive stations where groups unscramble facts about Valentine’s Day, solve history-based puzzles, and craft their own vintage valentines. Cap the lesson by having students pen reflections on how expressions of love and kindness have evolved yet remained a constant in human society, fostering a classroom culture rich in historical understanding and empathy.
This history lesson can be catered to younger and older audiences alike.
Sweet Treats and Healthy Snacks
Channel the creativity of your classroom into making heart-shaped fruit kebabs. Encourage your kids to explore the color palette of nature’s candies. Let’s not forget how easy and fun it can be to eat yogurt parfaits layered with granola, fruit, and yogurt. There are plenty of delicious and healthy Valentine’s Day snacks for the classroom. Of course you can also bring chocolates, candies, or even brownies for a sweet Valentine’s Day treat.
DIY Valentines: Craft Session Ideas
Gather your students and dive into a world where recycled treasures transform into heartfelt DIY valentines! Grab all of your colorful scraps of paper, ribbon ends, and fabric snippets, and fashion one-of-a-kind cards. Cut out recycled cardboard into heart shapes, envelop them with bits of old magazines for a patchwork effect, and you’ll be pouring old materials into new loves. Ribbon remnants? Perfect for adding a 3D twist! Loop and curl them for a pop-up surprise when the card opens. Don’t overlook those lone buttons – they make adorable centers of paper flowers or the eyes of a love-struck critter on your card. The sky is the limit when it comes to DIY Valentines crafts.
Need more Valentine ideas? Read: Free Printable Valentine’s Day Cards to Color
Crafting Love-filled Valentines
Imagine this: a sea of smiling faces, each student holding a unique Valentine crafted from the heart. This can be a classroom activity that sprinkles a little love on creativity and tradition. So, gather your construction paper, glitter, markers, and stickers, and embark on card-making fun. Why buy when you can DIY? Crafting Valentine’s cards together adds a personal touch.
Like Valentine’s crafts, your students can use a variety of materials to make Valentine’s. Use lace doilies for a vintage vibe, colorful ribbons for a touch of whimsy, and heart-shaped stencils to make every card beat with love. Gather supplies yourself, or pick up an easy-to-use kit like one of the ones below. You could even ask students to bring in supplies to share.
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Valentine’s Day Themed Games
No classroom Valentine’s Day is complete without a few fun games. Here are a few of my favorites!
Memory, a twist on the classic memory card game, gets kids searching for matching pairs of candy, honing their retention skills amidst giggles.
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Bingo. I’ve played Valentine’s Day bingo with a classroom full of first graders. It’s hilarious! Use conversation hearts for the markers and enjoy!
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Cupid’s Word Search – hidden within a grid of letters are words associated with love and friendship, challenging young minds to recognize patterns and vocabulary.
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Valentine’s Day Scavenger Hunt. Get the whole class excited about a silly scavenger hunt.
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Pin the heart on the Fox. This classic game is a fun one for classrooms of younger kids.
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Valentine’s Day Bottle Ring Toss. This one might get a little more crazy, but it’s a great way to work out some wild wiggles in kids.
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Games are such a fun way to celebrate Valentine’s Day in the classroom! Whether you choose to play bingo, or orchestrate a scavenger hunt, you’ll have so much fun with your classroom party games!
Read also: 25 Ways to Celebrate Valentine’s Day with Kids
Hosting a Valentine’s Day Dance
For older kids, transform the school gym into a festive place where every student feels part of the celebration. Kickstart the planning with a committee brimming with eager volunteers; after all, many hands make light work. Scour the community for donations to keep your budget in check, and maybe land a local DJ willing to spin tracks pro bono.
Deck the halls with heart decorations and set up a photo booth with props for those timeless snapshots. Ensure the playlist has something for everyone, from the newest pop hits to timeless slow dances. Inclusivity is key, so pepper in activities that aren’t all dance-centric, like an arts corner or a refreshment stand, catering to all tastes and dietary needs.
Building a Wall of Kindness
Imagine the warm fuzzies that will flutter through the school halls as you embark on creating a ‘Wall of Kindness.’ Start by decorating a bulletin board with heart decorations and invite every student to write down the kind acts they see at school
Use colorful post-it notes or recycled paper cut into heart shapes for your papers. As students witness kindness, the wall will fill.
Not sure if students will get excited about a wall of kindness? Kick off the effort by writing down every act of kindness you see for several days. Taking the time to write your own “kindness hearts” will encourage your students to do the same.
Wrapping Up Valentine’s Celebrations
As the last heart-shaped cookie is savored and the final handmade card is exchanged, it’s time to fold up the streamers and pack away the glitter. From crafting personal DIY valentines to dancing with friends at a love-themed school dance, and engaging in meaningful acts of kindness, you’ve not only celebrated a holiday, you’ve nurtured a community of caring and creativity.
Embrace these love-filled ideas, allow them to inspire your classroom and homes, and know that each hand-printed heart and every shared friendship activity enriches your students’ lives. May this Valentine’s Day be just a chapter in a lifelong story of learning through joy and community. Here’s to a classroom filled with camaraderie and an extraordinary Valentine’s Day brimming with happiness and heartfelt moments!
