Valentine’s Day-A celebration

AREA SETUP

(Open thematic poster-Valentine’s Day-A celebration) Print, laminate, and decorate the walls of your daycare with all kinds of posters.

Educa-theme-Valentine’s Day-A celebration

(Open educa-theme-Valentine’s Day-A celebration) Print and laminate the document. The illustrations can be used to present the theme to children (and their parents) while decorating an area within your daycare.

Educa-decorate-Valentine’s Day-A celebration

(Open educa-decorate-Valentine’s Day-A celebration) Print, laminate, and cut out the various items. Use them to decorate your daycare and set the mood for the theme.

Garland-Valentine’s Day-A celebration

(Open garland-Valentine’s Day-A celebration) Print the illustrations. Let children decorate them. Cut them out and hang them within your daycare or near your daycare entrance to create a garland.

SPECIAL TOOL

This special tool was created in response to a special request received. (Open picture frame-Valentine’s Day-A celebration) Print. Use the frame to display pictures of your Valentine’s Day party within your daycare. If you wish, print a frame for each child. They will be happy to take a picture home as a souvenir.

A VALENTINE’S DAY CELEBRATION

Schedule model for your Valentine’s Day celebration

(Open schedule-Valentine’s Day-A celebration) Print and laminate. Complete the schedule by listing they day’s activities. Display near your daycare entrance.

Valentine’s Day menu model

(Open menu-Valentine’s Day-A celebration) Print and laminate. Use a dry-erase marker to display your daily menu.

Passports

(Open passport-Valentine’s Day-A celebration) Print a passport for each child. After completing each activity, children can stamp their passport or add a sticker. They must collect enough stamps/stickers to receive the surprise that will be handed out at the end of the Valentine’s Day party.

Invitation to the party

(Open invitations-Valentine’s Day-A celebration) Print the color or black and white version of these invitations. If you choose to use the black and white version, encourage children to color their invitation. Drop each child’s invitation in his/her cubbyhole to inform parents that you will be hosting a Valentine’s Day party.

Identification cards

(Open identification cards-Valentine’s Day-A celebration) Print and write the name of each child on one identification card. You can stick the identification cards directly on children’s clothing or use a hole-punch to make a hole at the top of the identification cards and thread a piece of ribbon or string through the hole. Children will like to wear their identification card like a necklace. Paint a pink or red heart on each child’s face.

Valentine’s Day-A celebration-Kiosks

(Open kiosks-Valentine’s Day-A celebration) Print and display on a wall next to the various kiosks. Here, you will find a wide range of kiosks offering different types of activities. You may pick and choose the ones you feel your group will enjoy the most or create your own.

1. Heart toss
   For this game, you will need several colourful plastic or candy hearts, a heart-shaped box, and colourful electrical tape to delimit the playing area. Encourage children to toss the hearts towards the box. Count the hearts that land in the box.
   
   
2. White+Red=Pink
   Add white poster paint to red poster paint to show children how they can create pink paint. If you wish, you could also have them mix red and blue paint together to see purple appear. After your initial experiment, provide small quantities of each color and let children experiment these color combinations independently.
   
3. Noisy hearts
   Fill plastic hearts (dollar store) with a variety of elements that will produce a sound when children shake them. Fill two hearts with each element to create pairs. Encourage children to shake the hearts and try to identify the ones that contain the same element.
4. Cupid race
   Divide your group into pairs and determine a start and finish line. Two by two, children must “fly” to the finish line as quickly as possible, pretending they are Cupid.
   
   
5. Pink balloons
   Inflate four or five pink balloons. Toss them up in the air and tell children that they mustn’t let them touch the floor. If you wish, you can increase the difficulty of this kiosk by challenging children. For example, you may tell them that they may not use their hands, that they can only use their mouth to blow on the balloons, etc.
   
   
6. Where is my heart hiding?
   Draw tiny hearts on pink and red Post-it style papers. Press them on different items throughout your daycare and encourage children to collect them. This activity may last all day. You can, for example, press hearts on your toothbrush holder in the bathroom, under their plates at lunch time, behind their coats in the cloakroom, etc.
   
   
7. Heart fishing
   Cut several hearts out of pink, purple, and red construction paper. Slide a paper clip on each heart and set them in a large bin or on the floor. Children can try to “catch” them using a homemade fishing rod (a rope tied to a stick with a magnet on the opposite end),
   
   
8. Beads and pipe cleaners
   Provide pink, red, and purple pipe cleaners and a variety of Valentine’s Day necklace beads that children can thread onto the pipe cleaners. When they are done, show them how they can bend the pipe cleaners to represent hearts and twist both ends together.
   
   
9. Valentine’s Day Twister
   (Open twister-Valentine’s Day) Print. Use adhesive paper to stick the large shapes on a 4 ft² playing area. The game leader picks one Valentine’s Day card and one body part card and uses them to give instructions to the group as in the traditional Twister game. For example, he/she may say, “ Place one foot on Cupid. ” Variation: With younger children, simply use the illustrations to decorate your daycare or for a recognition activity. If you stick the illustrations on the floor, babies will enjoy crawling from one illustration to the next to admire them.
   
10. Valentine’s Day tic-tac-toe
    On a large piece of white cardboard, draw a tic-tac-toe grid. (Open Valentine’s Day tic-tac-toe) The cupids will replace the X’s traditionally used while the hearts will replace the O’s. This game is for two children at a time. One child uses the cupids while the other player uses the hearts. They take turns depositing an illustration in the grid’s squares. The first player to arrange three illustrations in a row (up and down, across, diagonally) wins.
    
    
11. Playing cards-Valentine’s Day
    (Open playing cards-Valentine’s Day) Print and laminate. Give each child the same number of cards. They can take turns hiding them within your daycare. Once all the cards have been hidden, the race begins! Children try to find as many cards as possible before the time’s up.
12. Giant Cupid
    (Open giant Cupid pieces) Print, laminate, and cut out the pieces. Children assemble them on the floor to create a giant Cupid.

COLORING PAGES

I am learning to draw-A heart

(Open I am learning to draw-A heart) Print and laminate. Invite children to practice their drawing technique before attempting to draw a heart on their own.

Valentine’s Day-A celebration coloring book

(Open coloring book-Valentine’s Day-A celebration) Print for each child.

SONGS & RHYMES

(Open songs & rhymes-You are my love bug)

You are my love bug

By: Patricia Morrison-Sung to: You are my sunshine

You are my love bug

My favorite sweetheart

You make me happy

Each and every day

You can’t imagine

How much I love you

Here’s a hug

From me to you

Bzzzzzz…..

Have fun!

The educatall team