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Valentine's Day
Page

Follow the Directions
Distribute sheets of drawing paper and crayons and ask the children to follow step-by-step verbal directions to complete a folding and drawing activity. Demonstrate how to fold the paper as you give the following directions.
1. Fold the paper in half and then fold it in half again.
2. Unfold the paper. You should have  four  "boxes."
3. Number the boxes 1,2,3 and 4.
4. Draw one heart in box 1, two hearts in box 2, three hearts in box 3, and four hearts in box 4.
5. Color the hearts red.

Valentine Placemats
Materials: Markers,construction paper(several colors), scissors, sheets of 18 x 12 heavy white paper, large roll of clear plastic adhesive Draw different-sized hearts onto several colored sheets of construction paper. Cut them out. Next, arrange the hearts in an attractive design on the sheet of white paper. Cut off a piece of clear plastic adhesive large enough to cover the paper and overlap the edges of the placemat. Peel off the adhesive and carefully cover the placemat with it. Tuck the "extra" clear paper onto the underside of the placemat. It's ready to use at the Valentine's Day party!

Valentine Mailboxes
Have children bring shoe boxes, tissue boxes or white bakery boxes from home to decorate for valentine mailboxes. Provide markers, scissors and red construction paper.You can also provide a variety of craft items (pompoms, glitter, beads, etc.) Help them cut "slits" in the tops of their boxes to complete their mailboxes.

Heart Puzzle
Cut a large heart from red or pink posterboard.  Cut into several pieces, making a puzzle.

Heart Brooch
Use the following recipe for playdough to make a heart shaped brooch.  Make the dough - then shape into hearts.  Before the heart is dry press pins into back of hearts. 
When the heart is completely dry, paint with valentine colors.
Playdough recipe- for above recipe
Materials: 1 cup flour 1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons cream of tarter
1 teaspoon oil
¼ cup salt Food coloring
Directions: Mix all ingredients, adding food coloring last. 
Stir over medium heat until smooth. 
Remove from the pan and knead until blended smooth. 
Leftovers can be placed in an airtight container when cooled. 
Will last for a long time.

Bulletin Board Ideas
"With All Our Hearts We Love Mother Goose": Draw or paste pictures of characters from favorite Mother Goose rhymes on big hearts. "With All Our Hearts We Love Good Work": Attach the children's good work to big hearts.

Valentine's Day Party Hats
12 x 18 red construction paper (1 sheet per child)
pink and white construction paper
scissors
paste
markers
stapler
Instruct each child to fold and crease a two-inch strip of a sheet of red construction paper to form the brim of the hat. (demonstrate as well, if you like) Then they will need to fold their papers into a cone shape. Help them staple their cones together to form hats. Have the children write their names on the brims of their hats with markers. Let them cut out hearts, flowers and other decorations out of the pink and white construction paper to paste on their hats.

Valentine Holder
Materials: 1 and ½ Styrofoam plates for each child
Stapler
Hole Punch
Colored Yarn Kids
Plastic Sewing Needle
Directions: Turn ½ plate upside down on the full plate. 
Staple in 2 - 3 spots around the edge to keep it from slipping. (For younger children- Hole punch through both plates all around the sides the 2 plates touch.
This will be sewing holes for them to sew.) Show them how to sew their plates together and then decorate with stickers,etc.
Hang them up with ribbon and use them as mailboxes.

Magnets
Use plaster of paris or any dough that hardens.  Pour into candy size paper baking cups.Let harden. Paint like a piece of candy.  Glue a magnet strip on the back.

Mouse
Cut a large heart shape from construction paper.  Glue a small length of yarn for a tail at the top of the heart but let it hang off of the heart.  Fold in half like a teardrop.  Stuff with a little cotton.  Glue edges of heart shut all around.  Tail should be hanging out.  Cut a small heart for his ears. Fold heart in half.  Glue on rounded part of big heart so they form an ear on each side.  Add whiskers, eyes, and a little pink nose.

Pasta Fun
Dye different shaped pasta in food coloring and rubbing alcohol.  Use shades of red and pink and then string or glue onto a heart shaped paper.

Circle Time Heart Match Game
Make a valentine for half the number of children in the group. 
Cut each heart in half in a zigzag or swirly fashion, so that each cut is fairly unique and identifiable.  Each child is given part of a heart and must find his/her partner by matching the valentine halves.

Flying Hearts
Glue a red and a pink heart together back to back.  Put this special heart plus about three dozen plain hearts in the center of an old bed sheet.  The children hold onto all sides of the sheet and gently toss the hearts up and down.  At the shout of "Hearts high!" the children toss the sheet high into the air, making the hearts fly.  The child who picks up the most hearts and the one who finds the special pink and red heart are the winners.

Heart Mouse
Materials:
Red and pink construction paper
Scissors
Stapler
Black marker
Glue
Flat lollipop
Directions: 1. Fold a piece of red construction paper and cut a half heart about 3 ½ inches high on the fold.  Leave the heart folded to form the body of the mouse.
2. Cut a smaller heart from the red paper for the head of the mouse.  Cut a slit about halfway up from the point of the heart.  Wrap the two sides of the slit around to form a cone nose and staple them in place.  Use a black marker to draw eyes and a nose.  Staple the head to the pointed end of the heart body.  Staple the rounded end of the body so that it forms a pocket.
3. Cut a tiny heart from red paper.  Write PULL on the heart and glue it to the stick end of the lollipop.  Write your valentine message on this heart and glue it over the wrapper.  Tuck the lollipop into the body of the mouse so that the stick end is sticking out to form the tail of the mouse.

Valentine Puppet
Materials:
Red construction paper
Scissors
Glue 4 Large rubber bands
Markers
Directions:
1. Cut two hearts of the same size from red construction paper.  Make them bigger than your hand.  Cut 4 1 inch hearts from the red paper for the puppet's hands and feet.
2. Cut each of the rubber bands so that they form elastic strings.  Glue the rubber bands to the sides and bottom of one of the large hearts to form the arms and legs of the puppet.
3. Glue the tops of the two large hearts together with the ends of the rubber bands between them.  Leave the bottom part open to slip your hand in.
4. Glue a small heart to the end of each elastic arm and leg.  When the puppet has dried completely, draw a face with markers.

Heart-A-Saurus
Make a heart-shaped dinosaur head and body. All vocabulary words that are made with the root word heart are placed on the animal. A dictionary is helpful in finding the words.Use the words for bonus spelling words or creative writing ideas for February.(eg. heartache,heartless,heart attack, hearty) Make up TASK CARDS and mount them on on red hearts.
*Look up the word heart in the dictionary. Make a list of all the definitions.
*Find all the words you can in the dictionary that have the base or root word heart. *Write a story using as many heart word as you can.
*Cut out several hearts of various sizes and colors. Write a different word on each heart that has heart as its root.
*Write the heart words on the front of the hearts and the definitions on the back. Make up a game to play with the hearts.
*Draw a large heart. Cut it out. Write all the heart words around the edge of the heart in decorative handwriting.

Postman, Postman
Everyone gets to participate in this game involving a hidden valentine. Choose one child to be postman and give him or her the postman's hat. (Red strip of paper with pink heart that says Postman.)  The postman must cover his/her eyes while you give another child a valentine to hide behind their back. Then the postman uncovers his/her eyes and faces his/her classmates who say, "Postman, postman, where's the mail?"  The postman gets three guesses to find out who is hiding the mail.  If he guesses correctly, he continues as postman.  If he guesses incorrectly, the person with the mail becomes the postman.

Smelly Valentine
Materials: Paper
Glue or stapler
Cotton balls
Perfume
Directions:
Cut out 2 large hearts the same size; decorate as you wish.  Spray perfume on cotton balls.  Staple or glue around edges of hearts, leaving an opening. Stuff the cotton balls inside.  Seal the opening.

Valentine's Gift for a Friend
Take an old deck of cards.  Pull out the hearts cards and poke holes in appropriate places for arms and legs.Push some pipe cleaners through the holes for arms and legs.  Glue a cut-out valentine on for a head and decorate with eyes and mouth.  Have the "hand" hold a lollipop and pass to a favorite friend for a special valentine.

Kindness Coupons
Talk to children about kindness - make kindness coupons for those they love.

Magic Hearts
Write a secret message on a white construction paper heart with a white crayon.  Have them press hard.  Then have the kids paint the hearts pink or red.  Magic message will appear.

Caring Tree
Decorate a branch in a pot or other container.  Hang hearts from it that contain the children's versions of what "caring" is.

  Activities  1  Activities 2  Activities 3 
Activities 4  Activities 5 
Poems 1  Poems 2  Poems 3  Poems 4  Poems 5  Poems 6 
Recipes 
 
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