Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite days to celebrate in the classroom! My students are always full of excitement and smiles! I want to share with you some of my favorite Valentine’s Day classroom ideas and activities. I have used these activities over the past couple of years, so please don’t think I do them all in one day. I spread them out throughout the week or I pick and choose a couple do on the day and will save the rest for another year.
Valentine’s Day Classroom Idea #1 - Valentine’s Day Jar Craft and Writing
I always love doing a cute writing craft for Valentine’s Day and this one has been my go to for many years. It is simple, yet engaging for many grade levels. I have used this with first and second graders. This Valentine’s Day classroom activity is perfect for students to think about they can fill other people’s hearts with love.
The valentine jar is very easy to prep! Simply print the jar and hearts on colored cardstock or paper. I usually print the jar on light blue and the hearts on pink and purple. Then I select the writing page I would like for my students to use and print the number of copies I need. Last, I cut pieces of ribbon to tie around the jar. This isn’t necessarily something that needs to be done, but I think it provides an extra special touch.
Students glue the hearts to the jar and staple the writing page to the back. It makes a great bulletin board!
You can download the Valentine Jar HERE.
Valentine’s Day Classroom Idea #2 - The Biggest Valentine Ever
These Valentine’s Day stations and activities go right along with the bookThe Biggest Valentine Everby Steven Kroll. It is one of my favorite valentine books! My class and I have so much fun having a Biggest Valentine Ever Station Day. We read the book, eat a snack, and have a ton of fun with these Biggest Valentine Ever stations and activities! There are 10 station signs and differentiated station activities included. The stations and activities are engaging, fun, and full of literacy skills, math skills, and STEM skills! I love using these stations before a break or on a holiday.
I can usually get all the stations and activities done during a literacy and math blocks. I keep the students in their literacy or math groups. This way it makes it super easy to plan for the day. The activities are math and literacy related, so it is perfect for keeping students engaged!
Below are a few pictures of the activities we do, but you can read much more about it on the blog HERE.
Valentine’s Day Classroom Idea #3 - The Valentine Sweet Shop
This is one of those activities that will keep kids engaged for quite a while. My students loved celebrating Valentine’s Day by visiting The Valentine Sweet Shop! Students can select and buy their favorite treats from the shop. I had my students select 5 treats.
To prep, I folded 18x24 pieces of construction paper. I chose to use pink. You will want to fold it so the paper will open up like a shop. Then I printed off the papers by students were going to use. You could print in color or print in black and white and have students color.
First, students glued on the title and sweet shop picture to the front of the paper. Then students selected their 5 treats and glued them in their treat bag. They wrote the name of their treats and the price in the table under the bag. This paper was glue to the center section inside the folded paper. Next, they glues the selected treats to the outer sections of the paper. I reminded students to just glue the top section so they could lift the flap up. Finally, students glue the correct set of coins on each treat’s flap.
It was very helpful for my students to have a visual as they completed this project. I do recommend putting one together before the students do. :)
You can download the Valentine’s Day activity HERE.
Valentine’s Day Classroom Idea #4 - Valentine’s Day Read Alouds
If all else fails, read a book. This is my motto I will always live by. I keep our read alouds for the month in a small basket by our library. I place a few extra books in there for times when we just need a break or if we have an extra 10 minutes. There are many adorable stories to read on Valentine’s Day!
My Favorite Valentine’s Day Read Alouds
Love Is by Diane Adams
The Day it Rained Hearts by Felicia Bond
The Biggest Valentine Ever by Steven Kroll
Valentine’s Day Classroom Idea #5 - Valentine’s Day Student Bookmark Gift
I don’t feel the need to give my students something every holiday, but my students do participate in a card exchange, so this was a fun alternative to cards. I give each of my students a personalized bookmark. My students love anything personalized and a bookmark was the perfect little gift! You could pair it with a book too!
Valentine’s Day Classroom Idea #6 - Valentine’s Day Play-Doh Student Gift
This is another great alternative to a traditional card for your students. These Valentine Playdough Mats are very simple and cost friendly! My students love anything to do with Play-Doh and these are super fun for Valentine's Day! They can decorate a cookie or cupcake, and fill a jar with candies or cookies.
I simply print a playdough mat and treat tag for each student. I place the playdough mat and party size Play-Doh in the bag. The mats and treat bag topper fit perfectly with basic sandwich bags. Finally, I sign my name and tape the treat tag on top.
Valentine’s Day Classroom Idea #7 - Valentine’s Day Math Centers
I like to sprinkle in some Valentine’s Day math centers into our days leading up to the holiday. I place the math centers in our math tubs that we use during our daily math workshop. The math centers add a bit more fun to our daily routine.
Valentine’s Day Classroom Idea #8 - Fill Your Heart with Love
My youngest daughter was born right before Valentine’s Day and I wanted to do something special with my class before my leave began. I wanted my students to remember our time together and all the special moments we shared. I draw a jar on a large piece of white paper and printed out some hearts. The students wrote things they wanted to remember from our time together on the hearts. I taped the hearts to the jar and hung the poster in our classroom. It was a very special project to complete on my final days with my students.
I also gave my students a little bag filled with candy hearts on my last day. I placed a jar printout with the same title as our poster and candy hearts into a bag and tied with a ribbon.
You can download the jar printout HERE.
I hope you found some fun and engaging ideas to do with your students on Valentine’s Day!
If you have any questions, need an explanation, or would like to bounce ideas off each other, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Happy Teaching!
Winter, Valentine's Day
Emily Piatt
Valentine's Day, winter
