Love / Valentine's Day Theme

Valentine's Day is February 14th!!!!

(Here are some activities you can do on Valentine's Day.  You won't be able to do all of them on one day.)

Literature
Read a book about love or Valentine's Day.

Discussion: Talk about the importance of someone loving you and loving others.

January/February Word Activities (pdf)

Math
Talk about symmetry.
Look around the room, do you see anything that is the same on both sides?  Is your face, entire body, etc. symmetrical?

Math & Art
Make hearts by folding a piece of paper in half.  Color or paint them (to be symmetrical).

Games & Music

Grab the Heart Game
Have the title of the song written on various hearts.  Place them in a bag, basket, box, or a tape them onto a poster board (words facing the poster board).  Grab a heart.  Once the song is read off, toss a bean bag (or pillow) into a box (or basket) with a picture of a house on it.   You can use the one located at House Filled with Love or ST: Family Love house patterns.  Sing the song that was choosen.  Repeat with each heart.

Heart Hunt Game
Have one child leave the room.  Hide a small heart bean bag (or pillow).  Have the child enter the room again.  Have the children clap, snap, or sing "La", etc.  Have the children that did not leave the room sing louder or softer (depending how close the child that left the room is to the heart).  Continue to hide each heart.

Games Kids Play - Honey Do You Love Me

Valentine's Arts & Crafts

Child Directed Crafts

Valentine Cards
Make different sizes of hearts in the color the child wants.  Decorate them and write a valentine's message on them and give them to who want to.
Another way you can do it is hole punch in the center of a lot of hearts and write different messages on them.  Tie some yarn in them and give them to who want to.

Finger Painted Heart
Have your child have fun finger painting with finger paint, pudding, etc. on a heart. Put the name of the child and the date so
you remember when it was made.

Hand Print Craft
On a large piece of paper, place your hand or finger prints all over the paper.  You can use finger paint, pudding, etc. Put the name of the child and the date so you remember when it was made.

Parent or Teacher Directed Crafts
It is best to let a child direct his or her own learning, but if you decide not to do it that way, you can use these crafts.

Hand Heart
Using a piece of red, white, or pink construction paper, spread your hand out.  Place the small finger on the fold.  Trace the hand on the paper.  Cut it out.  Write "Happy Valentine's Day...", "Love, ..." and put the date on it.

Painted Hand Heart
Spread a hand out.  Place the hand in red, pink, white (or other colors) kids paint.  Place the hand on paper.  Take the other hand and put it on the opposite side of the already done hand print.  Let dry.  Cut it out.  On the back side, write "Happy Valentine's Day...", "Love, ..." and put the date on it.

Math

Valentine Math
Buy colored Valentine heart candies.  Place some in a little cup or bag.  Have the child separate them by color and count them.  Eat some of the candy or place it on or use it for the Valentine Sugar Cookie cooking activity.

Valentine Graphing
Preschool through Elementary School

Buy colored Valentine heart candies.  Place some in a little cup or bag. 

In the below pdf file, I have on the top:
1.  Count the number of candy hearts you have of each color.
2.  Color the correct number of rectangles in. 
3.  Write the number of hearts you have on the lines.

Under that, I have 10 rows and 6 columns. (I typed in the colors of the candies in each column: green; orange; pink; purple; white; yellow or blue; green orange; pink; purple; yellow.)  

On the bottom of the graph, I have "There are __________ green candies.", etc. and "There are  __________ candies."  

For older children, have them do percentages of the results. 

Eat some of the candy or place it on or use it for the Valentine Sugar Cookie cooking activity.

Graphing Activity Sheet
Bar Graph: Number of Heart Candies Sorted by Color - pdf.  Updated 8/6/04

Note: I have two different graph activity sheets in this (since you can buy different bags of Valentine heart candies in the store).  Also, I have it in black and white or in color.  The color activity sheets are for the non-readers and beginning readers.  (If you don't have access to a color printer, have each child make a line with a crayon or colored pencil for each color.  This will allow the child to work on his/her own.)

I might remove this activity sheet after Valentine's Day is over.  I will replace it each year (so I have more space for other activity sheets I create).  If I have removed it from my site and you would like to have it, please contact me by going to my education page.

Home Economics & Math
Make heart (or other shapes) cookies.  Is this cookie symmetrical (is it the same on both sides)?  Cut one cookie in half.  Put it together and show the child/ren that it is symmetrical.

Valentine Sugar Cookies
Make heart sugar cookies or dairy-free sugar cookies.  Decorate them using red, white, or pink frosting.  Sprinkle on top, sprinkles, colored sugar or decorate with Valentine heart candies, red hots, etc.  If you are a teacher, make them ahead of time and have the children frost and decorate them.

Valentine Graham Crackers
Take graham crackers.  Frost each with red, white, or pink frosting.  Decorate by placing red hots or Valentine candies in the frosting.

Edible Valentine's Day Cards
Take graham crackers or sugar cookies.  Frost each with red, white, or pink frosting.  Decorate by placing red hots or Valentine candies to make your friends or family names or initials or decorate it any other way you like in the frosting.

Music
Somebody Loves Me (Words & Music by  Gaynor Jones)
I Made a Valentine (Music by Lynn Freeman Olson)
Magic Penny (Words & Music by Malvina Reynolds)

I have the above songs in the book: Integrating Music Into The Elementary Classroom by William M. Anderson and Joy E. Lawrence that I bought it at the university bookstore.

Chinese Music: Sheet music for Sweetheart (Chinese Folk Song) and Parental Love

Other Songs with Words & Music:
Love Remains the Same @ KIDiddles
Valentines @ KIDiddles
A Special Valentine @ KIDiddles You can change the last line to another person besides "To Mom".
St. Valentine's Day @ KIDiddles