Activities page 3

Painted Hearts
First have the child make a set of finger paintings.  When they're dry, cut out a variety of heart shapes.  Glue the hearts onto a plain card, along with ribbon.  Save one heart to glue onto the back of the envelope.

The Tasty Pasty Valentine
Characters Needed:
Mouse
Cheese
Boy
Girl
Hearts
Little gray mouse peeked out of his cozy little house.  "I'm so lucky," he thought.  He was lucky.  His little hole in the wall was just right, his house was just right, and the people that lived in the house were just right too. There was a mother, a father, a boy, and a girl.  They had the most delicious food in their kitchen.  Little mouse loved to run in there to get a snack every now and then. Little gray mouse's house was in the boy's room and sometimes that caused a problem.  Like right now.  Mouse wanted to go to the kitchen, but the boy was in the room, right in his way.  The girl was there too.  Oh, how the mouse wished he could run by them and get a piece of wonderful cheese that he smelled in the kitchen.  But, he was afraid. "I wish those two would go out and play," thought little mouse.

The boy and girl were working on something.  They had red paper and paste and scissors.  He cut up the red paper.  They put paste on the paper, they snipped and they snipped. "Oh, Dear" said the girl, "The one's I'm making look awful."

  "My valentines look terrible, too.  Something is wrong," said the boy.

"I wanted them to look pretty, but something is not quite right.  They don't look frilly enough," said the girl.

"Come on," said the boy, "Let's finish them up so we can go out to play. Maybe when they're dry, they will look better."

"Yes," thought the mouse, "Please finish them and go out to play.  I want my cheese from the kitchen."

The children left and the gray mouse popped out of his hole.  He was about to make a dash for the kitchen, when he stopped.  He smelled something wonderful. Sniff!  Sniff!  The smell was coming from the red papers that the children had left.  It was the wonderful smell of white paste. Mouse ran to the papers.  Um, the paste smelled good.  Nibble, nibble! Little mouse nibbled all around the papers.  In and out and around and around, nibble, nibble he went, wherever there was the wonderful taste of paste. At last he finished and went back into his house to go to sleep. Little gray mouse was still sleeping when the boy and girl came back.  They ran into the room.  They stopped.

"Look at our valentines," said the boy.

"Why they're beautiful," said the girl.  "I wonder who did this for us. They look as if they have been nibbled all around." 

All at once the boy and the girl looked at one another and they both began to laugh. "I know who it was," said the boy.  "We must thank the special little creature who did this and I know just how to do it." Little gray mouse was just waking up from his nap when he smelled something. What could it be?  He had never smelled anything that good before.  He ran out of his hole as fast as he could.  The boy and girl were gone, but what a surprise.  There in the middle of the room was some cheese, and on the cheese was some paste.  There were words on the red paper that said, "BE OUR VALENTINE."  Little gray mouse didn't care about the words.  He cared about the cheese and the paste.  It's not often you can eat cheese and paste at the same time.

"What a day!" he said happily.  "What a wonderful, tasty day!"

Valentine Gift
Have children glue small scraps of pink, red, and white crepe paper on used (cleaned) ice cream cups.  Then trace the children's hand on red construction paper, cut out the hand, then glue the two middle fingers down so the hand says "I Love You" in sign language.  Then glue the hand onto the decorated ice cream cup.  Wrap some Hershey Kisses and Hershey Hugs in some red tissue paper and place them in the decorated ice cream cup.

Have the children make special Valentine's cards for residents of a nursing home or a senior citizen's group. Help the children add their own messages and decorations. If possible, plan a class field trip to deliver the cards.

Pot Of Kisses - Valentine Gift
Materials: Small clay pots
Sponges cut in shapes
Several bags of Hershey Kisses
Colored Saran wrap
Directions: Have the children sponge paint their pot.  Let dry.  Let the children fill their pots with the kisses.  Wrap the pot up with colored Saran wrap and tie with ribbon.

Valentine Memory Books
For Valentine's Day, have the children make memory books.  Give them a book with about 12 blank pages in it.  Have them paste their valentines in the book.  Have them decorate their books with markers, crayons, collage materials, etc.

Love Book
As a small group activity, have class think of someone that they love.  Draw these people on large sheets of construction paper.Hole punch the art work and make a cover with the title, "Our Love Book" and assemble the children's artwork into a book that is placed in the book area.

Valentine Gift For Mom
Have the kids make a valentine gift for Mom by using an inexpensive votive holder(can be bought at dollar stores).  Use watered down glue to attach pieces of red, pink, and white tissue paper on the outside of the cup.  Put in a tea light and you have a candle votive.

A Special Box For Valentine's Day
Get any small box (such as a Jell-O box) and wrap it in shiny paper or whatever paper you choose.  Children can do this also.  Once wrapped tie a small ribbon around it and attach this poem.
This is a very special box
That you can never use
The reason that it's special
Is that it's always new
Whenever you feel lonely
Or are feeling blue
You only have to hold it
And know I think of you
You never can unwrap it
Please keep the ribbon tied
Just hold the box
Close to your heart
It's filled with love inside

Post Office Center
Incorporate the post office theme in the valentines theme.  Junk mail, rubber stamps, recycled envelopes, a scale, pens, pencils, lick on stickers (for stamps), etc. can be used as props for this center.

Math Matching Game
Use an old valentine candy box to create a counting/number matching game in the math center.  In each compartment of the box glue a number.  Then have laminated heart shapes with corresponding number or dots to place in the matching compartment.

Valentine Friendship Necklace
Materials: Candy kisses
Clear cling wrap
Red, white, and/or pink curling ribbon
Directions: Place the cling wrap into a rectangular piece.  Have the child place the kisses along the bottom leaving a small space in between.  Then roll the wrap tightly around, starting at the bottom and working towards the top.  When you are finished the kisses should be in the wrap all rolled, like a snake. The children then tie the curly ribbon between each piece of candy.  Encourage the children to use patterns with the ribbon.  When finished, trade with a friend.

Clay Dough Necklace
Mix a batch of clay dough(see recipe below).  Children can shape their dough using cookie cutters.  Bake the clay at 225 degrees for 2 hours, rotating during and after baking them.  You can shellac the hearts when they are done. String them on yarn or laces.
Clay Dough Recipe 3 cups flour
1 cup salt

½ cup oil
Red food coloring
Mix ingredients together in a bowl.

Painted Valentine
Using an empty heart shaped candy box, cut white construction paper hearts the same size as the inside of the box.  Students place one of the paper hearts in the box along with marbles dipped in red and pink paint.  Close the box and roll the marbles around for a pretty valentine.

Valentine Gift For Parents
Cut out a red heart from heavy construction paper and a smaller one from a paper lace doily.  Take a picture of the child with their arms spread out wide.  Glue the photo on the lace heart doily and the doily onto the red heart.  Put the words, "I Love You This Much!" below and you have a cute valentine card straight from the heart.

Heart Stencil
Show the children that a stencil of half a heart on a folded sheet of paper is actually a whole heart when cut out and opened up

Heart Treasure Hunt
Hide large foam heart shapes around the room.  Have the children try to find them.

Duck, Duck, Goose Variation
Instead of the traditional way, say, "Like, Like, Love."

Heart Basket Ball Toss
Have a ball toss with koosh balls and a heart shaped basket.
Chalk Heart
Materials: Pink construction paper
Red and white chalk
Butter knife
Dish pan
Water
Directions: Cut a heart out of pink construction paper.  Fill the dishpan with water. Using a butter knife, grate red and white chalk onto the surface of the water in the dishpan.  Then gently place the pink heart over the water.  Pick it up and place it somewhere to dry.

Secret Cupids
Make a list with the children of all the people in school or around the community who deserve some special attention. They can take turns leaving handmade cards to those people.

Happy Valentine's Day-Stop!
Strange coincidence: Did you know that the first lasting cable for sending transatlantic telegrams went from Valentia, Ireland to Heart's Content, Newfoundland? No wonder Valentine's Day is a popular time for heartfelt messages sent by telegram. Children can send their own valentine telegrams, but no need to make them intercontinental. Ask them to send a personal telegram to the class next door! To make your class friendship-gram, start with a large piece of posterboard. Then as students write and draw all kinds of kind messages, glue these on the poster. Make your delivery on Valentine's Day.

File Folder Idea- True Love
Open the folder and draw one snake on each side. Make sure to draw them looking as if they are "in love". Add pockets on each side.Label each pocket with TRUE or FALSE. Write true/ false social studies or science statments on cards. Provide an answer sheet if needed. To vary, make cards and pockets for correct/ incorrect, fact/ opinion, or greater/ less than skills.

Love is the Best Reason for Not Smoking or Drinking
Bulletin Board idea Loving hearts can be combined with  a health unit on tobacco and alcohol. To conclude that health unit, each student write reasons why he/she won't smoke or drink on a small, white heart and decorates it. Add these hearts to large red hearts for a huge hallway display.

Love Bugs
Create a heart-y insect to carry your Valentine wishes to special friends. Materials needed:tongue depressor for a body, pip cleaners for the antennae, pink,red,white scraps for hearts. Ideas: caterpillar, butterfly,ladybug Have them cut out some hearts and set their imagination to work!

Check in Highlights magazines for Valentine stories. eg. The Zany Mixed-Up Valentine's Day Highlights,Feb. 1987 Kevin's Cake Highlights, Feb.1997


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