Educational Valentine’s Day Activities

Written by Nicole Dean

Valentine’s Day is a time of exchanging gifts and cards that symbolize the love we feel for one another. Valentine’s Day is not only for those who are romantically inclined, but also for friends and family to show their appreciation for one another. Teach your kids the value of love through activities done on this day.

The biggest thing on Valentine’s Day is greeting cards. Let your children make their own gifts of affection for friends and loved ones. Provide construction paper, glue, ribbon, scissors, markers, and crayons for children to get creative with their cards. The cards that they make are gifts from the heart and should be cherished as such. Make sure that they give an individual card to each member of the household so that they all know how special they are.

Kids can demonstrate their skills in the kitchen by baking wonderful Valentine’s Day desserts for the entire family. Start with something simple like chocolate covered strawberries. Make sure that children cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper to keep the chocolate from sticking. Let them take strawberries that have been cleaned and dried and dip them into a pan of melted chocolate. For younger children that are not tall enough to work at the stove, you may want to set the pot on a trivet at the table and let them dip the strawberries there. The dipped strawberries can harden in the refrigerator until after dinner. Other desserts include mini heart shaped cakes and heart shaped sugar cookies.

Try some puzzle games. Many websites have printable crossword puzzles, word search puzzles, and word scrambles. Words associated with Valentine’s Day are scrambled and hidden in the puzzles waiting to be found. If the ones provided are too simple, children can make up their own puzzle pages for the family to enjoy. There are also online interactive games pertaining to Valentine’s Day like Hangman and Concentration. Concentration teaches children to memorize where they saw pictures that they turn over in order to uncover the match.

Tell your children the history of St. Valentine’s Day. Every holiday has a story and this one is no different. At family time, let them know what you know about St. Valentine. Valentine was a priest during the time that Emperor Claudius ruled the Roman Empire. His exact role is unknown but there are many stories that float about as to what he did to become a martyred saint. Some believe that he helped Christians escape persecution by the empire and was imprisoned. Another account contends that he performed marriages in secret after Emperor Claudius outlawed it for young men who could be potential soldiers in his army. Either way, he helped others out of love and was imprisoned where he died. The supposed remains of St. Valentine are housed in a casket that is on display in a church in Dublin, Ireland, every Valentine’s Day.

Let your children know the story of love for you and your spouse. Parents are the first example of love that a child sees. They learn to love from watching their parents. Give them a lesson they will enjoy. Tell them how you first met and where you fell in love. Your story will stay with them as they grow older and look for love for themselves. A healthy view of love is important in family life.

Valentine’s Day is a time when people show their feelings for one another. Cards and gifts signify the love that is within their hearts. Show your children what true love is and set a standard for them to imitate throughout their life.

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