Valentine’s Day Classroom Decorating Ideas

Here's My Heart Bears Bulletin Board DecorValentine’s Day is an exciting time for students.  Even though students may tell everyone that they encounter “I love you!” there is still a lot of teaching and fun that can be accomplished through Valentine’s Day activities.

Valentine’s Day Decor

Before beginning the “real” Valentine’s Day parties and crafts, take time to decorate your classroom walls, doors, and bulletin boards with bright, colorful figures. Here is a list of Valentine’s Day Classroom Decorating Ideas to get you started.

Red, white, pink or patterned background paper or material can be used to create eye-catching displays.

And finally, don’t forget to include an attractive border to your bulletin board:

Valentine’s Card Exchange

If your students will be exchanging Valentine’s cards, take the opportunity to discuss friendship as well as proper respect for other children’s backgrounds, beliefs, and feelings.  Some students may not have money to spend on Valentine’s for an entire classroom of children while other students have time and money to make or purchase extravagant Valentines.  Another issue to consider when distributing Valentines is that some unpopular children will not receive many (if any at all) Valentine cards, while popular students may receive many cards as well as candy, flowers, toys, and other items.  Teaching concern for others in the classroom through discussion of Valentine’s gifts can be easily demonstrated by the teacher and understood by the children, regardless of the student’s ages.

Valentine’s Classroom Party Games

6 Inch Heart DoiliesLearning games are a great way to incorporate skill review while having fun.  For instance, students can use the letters in VALENTINE’S DAY to see how many spelling and vocabulary words they can form.  Valentine’s Tic-Tac-Toe games can be played while reviewing math facts, spelling words, or science questions.  Make the game pieces red and white hearts, or these 5×5 shimmering hearts, or use chalk and markers to draw the X’s and O’s on the board.  This game could also be played on the playground or classroom floor with a posterboard grid and colored or shaped bean bags.  Puzzle games for Valentine’s Day can be found online or in teacher’s resource books for use during February as well.

Valentine’s Day can also be incorporated into the learning goals for the day to tie the holiday into writing, grammar, vocabulary, and spelling.  Story writing using a Valentine’s Day writing prompt and letter writing with a Valentine’s Day theme are two of many ways to incorporate into the holiday.  To illustrate, have each student write a letter to one person, maybe even the teacher, telling him or her how much he or she means as well as why he or she means so much.  A story example would be a story about sending Valentine cards. Did the cards ever arrive?  Did something happen to prevent the cards from being delivered (snowstorm, blown away, lost, torn by a machine, etc.)?  This story idea can be used to create a mystery, a comedy, a tear-jerker, or even a science-fiction genre.

Art can be incorporated into Valentine’s Day if you are able to provide the supplies. Students can use pipe cleaners to make rings, friendship bracelets, heart glasses and animals. Construction paper, patterned Valentine paper, glue, heart doilies, and scissors can be used to create heart people. The faces, bodies, hands, and feet can all be heart shaped. Rolling google eyes or paper eyes can be added to the people. These eyes can also be used on pipe cleaner animals that can be attached to Valentine’s Day cards.

Finally, Valentine’s Day would not be complete without a container to hold the cards received.  Students can cover and decorate shoe boxes, construct cardboard “mail” boxes, or use white paper bags, colored paper bags, or cloth to create “mail” bags. Cute and beautiful stickers, as well as stinky stickers such as the following ones available from our website will allow each student to create a one-of-a-kind masterpiece that will be treasured. regular-stickers-valentines-day-120pk-acid-lignin-free

Another idea for decorating students mailboxes and mailbags is to allow the children to cut shapes from the bulletin board borders (see links above in this article) to decorate their bags and boxes.

For students who really want to create masterpiece Valentine’s Day mailboxes and gift cards, the creative book The Budding Artist edited by Laura Laxton will be a treasured resource.

Once the cards, letters, stories, and crafts are complete, it is ready to enjoy the party food!

Food and Snacks for a Valentine’s Day Classroom Party

Party food for Valentine’s Day has changed in recent years so please be sure to check with your school district regarding acceptable food items. Heart shaped sandwiches (grilled cheese, chicken or tuna salad, lunch meat, jelly, etc.) or pizzas (topping flavors of your choice) can be served along with heart shaped watermelon and cantaloupe, red strawberries dipped in chocolate, heart shaped cheese on crackers, heart shaped cookies (flavor variety), and a colorful mixture of Valentine M&M’s, raisins, cereal pieces, chocolate chips, and marshmallows.   The drink served can be 100% juice, strawberry (or regular) milk, red food coloring in water, or punch. Additionally, students love to decorate their own cookies or cupcakes to eat at parties.  If allowed, colored sprinkles along with pink and white icing can be used to make colorful, creative, and tasty treats.

Valentine’s Day is an exciting time so be sure to incorporate some fun activities into your learning activities during the month of February.  Books about kindness, Valentines, hearts, and friendship can be read aloud or silently in order to encourage good behavior and bullying prevention.  Since there are so many topics and learning activities to incorporate, try adding a Valentine’s theme to your week instead of just the party day.  Have a Happy Valentine’s Day in your classroom!

 

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Valentine's Day