Themes & Activities

Valentine's Day
Open thematic poster

CIRCLE TIME
Use a puppet or figurine to represent Cupid and spark a conversation about him. Once you have elaborated on the subject, have children close their eyes and hide Cupid. When you signal them, children begin to search for Cupid. Warn them to watch out for his arrow of love! As soon as a child finds Cupid he gives it to you. Reward the child with a Valentine's Day sticker on his sweater. Children all return to their circle time places. The child who found Cupid hides it for his peers to find.

Nancy Hamelin suggests an imaginary game to begin each day. (Open - Cupid letter) Print the letter and Cupid. Prepare a special envelope covered with sparkling hearts. Place the envelope in an easy to find place in the daycare. During circle time, have the children find the letter and read portions of the letter each day. Follow the daily instructions.

AREA SETUP

For Valentine's Day, instead of sitting in a circle at circle time, have children sit to form a heart shape. They may place heart-shaped stickers on the floor where they are to sit. Add red lights in the daycare. Hang Cupids, hearts, a Valentine's Day garland made with the children, and red, pink, and white paper. Use Valentine's Day pictograms. (Open Valentine's Day pictograms) Print, laminate, and hang. Look for pictures of people who love each other in magazines such as a mother holding her baby, a father playing with his child, two children laughing...display in the daycare.

VARIOUS WORKSHOPS

Have fun with these great workshop ideas provided by Caroline Allard.

Role Play:

Cupid costume complete with a diaper, a bow, crafted arrows, and cardboard hearts
Set up a post office: send and receive love and friendship letters. A cap and large bag for the mailman, letters of all kinds (have parents supply envelopes, postcards, etc.), letters in red or pink envelopes, letters with lipstick kisses on them, perfumed letters, letters containing pictures of sweethearts, hearts... There are beautiful cards at the dollar store, some even play music
Organize a florist shop with ribbons, transparent paper for wrapping flowers, fake flowers, unbreakable vases, and pictures of real flowers... Dollar stores have an abundance of items which suit this corner
Transform your kitchen play area into a bakery/chocolate shop. Include a tea set, a tablecloth with Valentine's Day colors, homemade brown modeling dough (with a chocolate scent), rolling pins and cookie cutters

Arts & Crafts:

Markers, waxed crayons, and wooden pencils of every shade of red and pink, don't forget white
Lots of paper and construction paper: red, pink, white...Heart-shaped fun foam pieces can be used to make

Collages

Sparkles, metallic confetti, and stickers...anything shaped like hearts or cupids
Red or pink colored salt to make raised designs or salt/sugar on a red piece of paper
Red, pink, or white chalk used on dark sand paper
Heart-shaped cookie cutters dipped into red paint for stamping. Red paint may also be used with brushes and

Stencils

Red, pink, white, and metallic pipe cleaners to shape flowers with tissue paper
Coloring pages related to the theme
Red or pink sheets of paper for drawing

Construction or building blocks:

Wooden blocks, Legos, or any other kind of blocks using only those which are red, pink, or white
Add plastic hearts, a red tablecloth or piece of fabric can cover the floor and paper hearts can decorate the walls! Beware, children may be stimulated by so much red!
Little heart-shaped figurines

Manipulation:

Red, pink, and white modeling dough. You may buy it or make it yourself and add scents (strawberry, chocolate, and cinnamon...)
Different sizes of heart-shaped cookie cutters
Stimulation bottles with red and pink elements inside. Food coloring, sparkles, hair gel, confetti, cinnamon hearts, etc. Younger children will love manipulating the bottles and older children will invent all kinds of games using the bottles. With older children the bottles can be used in the kitchen play area
Prepare a bin with Valentine's Day colored fabric. Children will explore the textures (cotton, velvet, silk...) Fabric stores always have bins of scraps, you will find everything you need
Lacing beads. Red, pink, white, heart-shaped...
Various puzzles representing love, friendship, sharing
Memory game with educatall picture game
Hearts cut into two pieces in different ways. Children must find the corresponding hearts
Pre-writing activity sheets related to the theme

Pre-reading:

Picture books with hearts, more hearts, lot of hearts!
Storybooks about love, friendship, family, and sharing
Red Christmas lights
Pictures of sweethearts and hearts to decorate the corner
Create an "intimate" corner with a large piece of tulle and a few Christmas lights

Sensory bins:

Containers filled with red or pink colored salt or sugar...or white sugar/salt with red objects
Red water with sparkles
A container filled with red Jell-O
A small dish of cinnamon hearts
A bin filled with ice and red water

ACTIVITY SHEETS

(Open activity sheets - Valentine's Day) Print a copy for each child.

PICTURE GAME

The pictures may be used as a memory game or to spark a conversation with the group. Use them to decorate the daycare or a specific thematic corner. (Open picture game - Valentine's Day) Print, laminate, and store in a "Ziploc" bag or in your thematic bins.

WORD FLASHCARDS

The flashcards may be used during circle time to spark a conversation or in your reading and writing area. They may also be used to identify your thematic bins. (Open word flashcards - Valentine's Day) Love, friendship, Cupid, heart, marriage, chocolate, bouquet, rose, arrow, card, valentine, sweetheart

ACTIVITIES

My secret friend
At the beginning of the week, have children pick the name of a friend out of a bowl (Use pictures if they are unable to recognize the names). Children must do nice things for their secret friend throughout the week without saying who they picked. They must however, try to guess who picked their own name.

The sweetheart dance

Children dance two by two to the sound of music. When the music stops, they must quickly change partners.

Hidden hearts
Use small chocolate hearts or construction paper hearts. Hide them throughout the daycare. When you give them the signal, they search for the hearts and place them in a designated bowl. To prolong the game and to ensure that everyone has the chance to find some, have children bring them to the bowl one at a time.

Ball Duet
Two by two and back to back, children transport the ball from one predetermined point to another without dropping it. If the ball falls they must stop and wait for you to place the ball for them before continuing their route.

Chocolate factory
Invite children to pretend they are working in a chocolate factory. They can make heart-shaped chocolates using modeling dough, cookie cutters, and utensils. Provide small heart-shaped boxes to store the chocolates.

Standing ovation
Choose one child each day. Throughout the day, this child may request a standing ovation whenever he wishes simply by saying, "I would like a standing ovation please." Other children will gladly stop whatever they are doing, and clap as loudly as possible.

The love ball
Stand in a circle. Throw the ball to a child and say a kind word. The child must send it back to you and say another kind word. Continue until you can no longer think of more words.

Musical drawing
Divide children into two groups. Have each group sit at a table and provide them with one large sheet of paper per group. Also give each group one red crayon. Play music. Each child can, for the duration of one song, draw everything they love about Valentine's Day. When one song ends, the next child continues on the same sheet of paper, and so on.

Musical gift
Prepare a box filled with stickers and small treats. Wrap the box with various Valentine's Day paper. Sit in a circle. When the music plays, children pass the box around the circle. When the music stops, the child holding the gift begins removing the paper. When the music starts again, the gift is to be passed around the circle. At the end of the game, distribute the treats among the group.

Balloon chase
Blow up, tie, and attach a string to each balloon. Tie a balloon to each child's ankle. Children attempt to pop their friends' balloons without having their own balloon popped.

Watercolor
Have children choose a red or pink piece of tissue paper. Draw a heart on their paper for them and have them cut it out. Place the heart in the center of a white piece of drawing paper. Children soak a paintbrush in water and gently apply it to the tissue paper. Gently remove the tissue paper and the ink from the paper will have run onto the drawing paper.

It's raining hearts
(Open heart shape) Print and cut out enough hearts for each child to have at least ten. Place the hearts in the center of a parachute or blanket. Children all hold a corner of the parachute tightly. When you give them the signal, they lift the parachute. As the hearts fall, children try to catch as many as possible. They can count how many they caught.

Valentine's Day tree
Make Valentine's Day decorations. Give each child a tree branch. Have them decorate a clean empty can. Fill the can with sand and stick the branch into the sand. This can be a collective craft if you use a larger branch and stick it into a pail filled with sand. The branch can be painted. You may want to add sparkles. When it is dry, hang your decorations.

Balloon dance
Give each child a balloon. If they are old enough they can blow it up and tie it themselves. Select wild music. The object of the game is to keep the balloon in the air until the music stops.

Valentine's Day bingo
(Open Valentine's Day - bingo) Print, laminate, and store in a small heart-shaped box. Play bingo with the group.

Valentine's Day snakes and ladders

(Open Valentine's Day - snakes and ladders) Print and laminate. You will need a dice. Small chocolate hearts are perfect as pawns. The object of the game: all children must reach the finish square. When they have, children may eat their pawn.

Valentine's Day tablecloth
Purchase a white paper tablecloth. Help children cut out different colored hearts. Vary the size too. Glue all the hearts onto the tablecloth. You will have the most beautiful tablecloth for your Valentine's Day lunch!

Tender hearts
Trace and cut out a giant heart and display it on the wall. (Open tender hearts) Print. Ask children to cut them out and to color them red. Next, give children hearts to take home for parents to write tender messages on them. When children bring them back to the daycare they can stick their tender hearts onto the larger heart. Children may also secretly tell you kind words they would like to write for one of their peers. Suggestions are: nice, happy, adorable, beautiful, charming, cute, sweetheart, super, kind, best friend, etc.

The bakery
Create a bakery in your modeling dough corner. Offer children red, white, and pink dough to make Valentine's Day cookies and cakes. Provide kitchen accessories, small boxes for the cookies, ribbons, etc. Set up a cash register and get the entire group involved.

Story and memory game
Print, cut out, and laminate the pictures. (Open story and memory game - Valentine's Day) Place cards face down on the floor. Children pick three cards and invent a story using the pictures. Variation: Print two copies and use the pictures for a memory game.

Heart Hop
Trace, cut out, and glue heart shapes on the floor. Children hop on the hearts.

Wedding Cake
This is a wonderful association game. (Open wedding cake) Print a copy for each child. Have them color the cake by associating the numbers to the correct colors.

Valentines in the mail
Children prepare one or more drawings for their friends. Make a large mailbox with the children. They can send their valentines to their friends by depositing them in the mailbox. The valentine mailman distributes the valentines (disguise yourself with a Valentine's Day colored hat and scarf). Randomly pick the valentines out of the mailbox. Children explain their drawings to the persons they are addressed to. This activity can last as long as you wish, a day or all week. Valentines have also been created for you (Open - Valentines color or black and white). You may also ask parents to write small love notes for their children and deposit them in the mailbox. For children to appreciate their notes, have parents include an anecdote or the nickname they use for their children.

Musical heart
Place hearts on the floor and play music. Children move about the daycare. When the music stops, they must jump on a heart.

Red, red, red
Children sit in a circle. They look around the daycare and, one at a time, they must name something which is red in the daycare.

CULINARY ACTIVITIES

Little pink hearts

Ingredients:

250g of icing sugar
200g sweetened condensed milk
175g coconut
red food coloring

Combine the sugar and condensed milk in a bowl. Add the coconut and then the red food coloring. Spread the preparation on waxed paper and gently flatten. Make heart shapes with pastry cutters. Allow to harden. This is a great activity for children. They love baking!

Chocolate coated strawberries

A favorite snack for this special week.

You can use fresh strawberries, candied cherries, or even marshmallows. Melt 3 semi-sweet squares of chocolate or 1 cup of chocolate chips in the microwave for 1 minute. Dip your snacks in the chocolate and deposit on a baking sheet. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Heart-shaped cookies

Bake heart-shaped cookies and provide red and pink candy for children to decorate them. Here is a very simple

Cookie recipe.

150g of flour
75g of butter
75g of sugar
1 egg

Combine the sugar and flour. Add the butter cut into small pieces, and then the egg. Mash with fingers until you obtain a dough texture. Shape into a roll. Refrigerate for one hour. Slice and shape into hearts using a knife or pastry cutter. Make another roll with the remaining dough and repeat. Place cookies on a buttered baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 375 F.

Sweetheart fondue
For your Valentine's Day dessert, offer a platter of fresh fruit along with chocolate pudding cups. Enjoy your fondue. Add candles to set the mood.

ARTS & CRAFTS

Individual mailboxes
Use two paper plates. Cut one of the plates in two. Discard one half. Put glue along the contour of the cut plate and glue it to the full plate to form a pouch. When the glue is dry, make holes with a hole-punch on the full plate. Lace the plate with yarn to decorate, starting at the top. Stick hearts on the plate to complete the craft.

Valentine's Day memory game
Give each child two hearts. Have them color them identically. When they are done, laminate the hearts to solidify them. Children will love playing their very own homemade memory game!

Sweet smelling heart

(Open heart shape) Use the model to trace two hearts per child in felt. Make holes around the contour using a hole-punch. Children use yarn to close their hearts. Before closing them completely, stuff the hearts with pot-pourri. Make a knot. Children will be excited to offer their parents such a sweet smelling heart for Valentine's Day!

Gentle butterfly
Trace the shape of a heart on construction paper and cut it out. Add several tiny hearts forming a vertical line to represent the butterfly's body. Children decorate their butterflies and add eyes and antennae.

Stained glass window
Trace a butterfly on a piece of construction paper and cut it out. Keep the contour. Stick a sheet of adhesive plastic ("Mac-Tac"), on the construction paper. Place tiny pieces of tissue paper of various colors in the heart. Hang in a window.

Pretty in pink
Make Valentine's Day glasses. Use two small yogurt containers ("Minigo"). Cut hearts out of the bottoms and cover them with red acetate. Punch holes on the outside edges and insert pipe cleaners. Shape the pipe cleaners so children can secure them on their ears. Attach the two containers together using a small piece of pipe cleaner also.

Cookie box
(Open decorative box) Print and trace the model on a piece of construction paper (one per child). Cut out and build according to the pattern. Have children decorate their boxes as they wish and place cookies inside to offer them as a gift. Add decorative ribbon.

Hearts everywhere
(Open heart shape) Print the various hearts and trace them on the paper of your choice. Children decorate hearts with crumpled pieces of tissue paper, sparkles, etc.

Valentine's Day jewellery
(Open jewellery models) Cut 2cm wide strips of paper. Adjust the strips to fit children's wrists. With glue, overlap hearts on the strip of paper, alternating colors.

Valentine's Day crown
(Open Valentine's Day - designs) Print several copies. With a strip of red paper, measure children's heads and staple in the back. Children have fun decorating with designs however their hearts desire.

Painting with love
Make "Jell-O" paint with children. Simply use one or more boxes of "Jell-O" and add a touch of water to create a malleable texture. Select a picture in the coloring pages or use plain white paper to encourage creativity. Children paint with their fingers. Some will most certainly taste it too!

Heart garland to decorate
(Open heart shape) Print, cut out, and glue onto a string. Use red, white, or pink string and cardboard.

Lovely placemat
Cut hearts out of paper. Use construction paper, wrapping paper, metallic paper, etc. Glue all the hearts onto a sheet of paper. Add a picture of each child in the middle of their placemat. Laminate.

Heart with two legs
(Open heart with two legs) Print. Have children color the pieces and cut them out. The large heart is for the head and the body. Make accordions with strips of red paper for the arms and legs. The medium-sized hearts are to be glued to the ends of the arms and legs to represent hands and feet.

Mobile
Trace and cut out various sizes of hearts (Open heart shape) Decorate the hearts with sparkles, lace, ribbons, cotton balls, etc. Glue the hearts back to back on either side of a ribbon or string. Hang from the ceiling.

Crumpled heart
Trace a heart onto a piece of black construction paper. Crumple up small pieces of red, pink or white tissue paper and fill the heart.

Lacing heart
(Open heart with holes) Print, laminate and cut out. Punch holes around the contour of the heart. Lace the heart with a string or ribbon. Make a beautiful bow with the ends.

Straw with hearts
Cut out pink hearts. Make a slit and insert drinking straws.

COLORING PAGES
(Open coloring pages theme - Valentine's Day)

SONGS & RHYMES

Skidamarink a dink a dink

Skidamarink a dink a dink
Skidamarink a doo

I love you
Skidamarink a dink a dink
Skidamarink a doo

I love you
I love you in the morning
And in the afternoon
I love you in the evening
And underneath the moon
Skidamarink a dink a dink
Skidamarink a doo
I love you
Skidamarink a dink a dink
Skidamarink a doo
I love you

Roses are red

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Sugar is sweet

And so are you

VALENTINE'S DAY

(Open perpetual calendar - Valentine's Day) (Open schedule - Valentine's Day) A day like no other, filled with red, pink, and white. Throughout the day, have fun discovering red and pink. Use food coloring to give food a special look. Try to make lunch, dessert, and snacks completely red! Replace regular light bulbs with red ones. Add small red Christmas lights everywhere and draw red hearts with lipstick on mirrors and windows. Invite children to attend daycare dressed in red, pink, and white or have a pajama party.

Fill your day with free play, dancing, music, surprises, Valentine's Day face painting, etc. Fill a small pool with balls of red, pink, and white paper. Add a slide. Have fun covering children with balls of paper, have a paper ball fight, play basketball. Hide chocolate hearts in the bottom of the pool and have children search for them.

My Valentine
Have children color small valentines to give to their friends. (Open - Valentines color or black and white) You may also use the colored ones.

Heart hunt
Hide tiny chocolate hearts throughout the daycare. Give children clues as to where the hearts are hidden. Examples of clues are: I am hidden in a very cold place (refrigerator), You will find me in the area you go to right before lunch (sink), You will find me in your favorite area (depending on each child), Go to where you leave your toothbrush (bathroom), etc.

Have nice day!

Educatall team

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