I absolutely love celebrating holidays—they bring joy and provide a special reason to come together as a family.
During the cold winter months, having something to look forward to can be a bright spot in your homeschool routine. Valentine’s Day, nestled in the middle of February, is the perfect milestone to remind us that spring is on the horizon.
In our homeschool, Valentine’s Day has looked different over the years. Sometimes we keep it simple with a festive family dinner and chocolate hearts at each place setting. Other years, we embrace hands-on learning by creating handmade Valentine’s cards and hosting a small party. No matter how you celebrate, these moments can make your preschool or kindergarten day extra special and bring warmth to the winter season.
Here are a few suggestions for your own celebration:
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Make Valentine’s Cards and send them to friends.
- Bake Heart Shaped Sugar Cookies (use our Solar System Cookie Recipe and cut them in heart shapes).
- Have a cupcake walk. Place heart shapes on the floor with numbers on them. Put corresponding numbers on the cupcakes. Play music. Stop the music and when your child lands on a heart with a number corresponding to the cupcake they get to eat it. If there are several children, call out a number when the music stops and the child on that number will get to pick a cupcake. This could also be done with non-food prizes.
- Have a Valentine’s Day Picnic (indoors if the weather is bad). Pack heart-shaped foods and lay out a pink blanket. Read Valentine’s themed books while you relax together.
- Decorate your homeschool space with a pom-pom garland. Here's our simple tutorial to make your own.
- Do a Valentine's Day Science experiment. Test how candy hearts react in different liquids (water, vinegar, soda). Have kids predict and observe the results for a simple science project.
I love reading books about holidays, and these are a few that you might enjoy:
- Llama, Llama I Love You by Anne Dewdney
- Little Bear’s Valentine by Else Holmelund Minarik
- Fancy Nancy: Heart to Heart by Jane O’Conner
- Happy Valentine’s Day Mouse by Laura Numeroff
What are your favorite books and activities for Valentine’s Day? Comment and share with the Peaceful Press community.