5 Educational Activities to Celebrate Valentine’s Day with Your Family

Much ink has been spilled on the subject of love. It’s an endless source of literary inspiration! So why not choose a book (or two, or three) and have a special Valentine’s Day read-a-thon? Once you have your selection, set the mood:

• Light some candles
• Grab your coziest blankets
• Put on your pajamas
• Make hot chocolate
• Etc.

There’s no better way to make your child smile than with a loving message! Turn yours into a secret code to create a fun activity. For example, with our Valentine’s Day code breaker tool, you can hide a few heartfelt notes for your child to find throughout the day (e.g., in their backpack, in their lunchbox, under their pillow, in their coat pockets). You can follow up with your little one after school:

• What was your favourite message?
• Why do you think I chose that one?
• Can you use the secret alphabet to write me a nice note?
• Etc.

Encourage your child to make a kindness garland for each member of your family (or anyone of their choosing). This simple craft project is a lovely way to decorate your home. Here’s how to make a garland:

• Cut a piece of string roughly the length of two arms
• Cut out 12 paper triangles
• Tape the triangles along the length of the string

The last step is to write something kind on each triangle. Ask your child to think about the person’s qualities and what they like most about them. Here are some examples of what they can write:

• You’re a ray of sunshine.
• I love when you sing to me.
• You always know how to make me feel better.
• Etc.

Once your child has written a message on all 12 triangles, their garland is ready to give away. The person your child chose can hang it on their wall or wear it around their neck.

Learning idioms is a wonderful way for your child to expand their vocabulary. In keeping with the Valentine’s Day theme, ask your child to find expressions that contain the word heart. Here are a few examples:

• To wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve (to show one’s emotions in an obvious way)
• To have a heart of gold (to be kind and generous)
• To have one’s heart in one’s throat (to be extremely nervous)
• To melt one’s heart (to make someone feel great sympathy, compassion, etc.)
• To follow one’s heart (to do what one truly wants to do) 

Once your child has found several idioms, ask them to do the following:

• Learn the meaning of each expression
• Illustrate each of them with a drawing
• Write a short story based on their favourite one
• Etc.

On Valentine’s Day, Cupid goes from house to house dropping off some of his favourite items. Depending on what you have on hand, make a list of things for your child to find and give them clues in the form of riddles. Here are some examples:

• I’m round, red, and crunchy (answer: a red apple)
• I’m very soft and I help you fall asleep (answer: a stuffed animal)
• I’m a sweet treat that’s baked in the oven (answer: a cookie)
• Etc.