Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, so naturally we’re all thinking of one thing: what to do for our virtual Valentine’s Day Party? Normally my classroom goes ALL OUT for Valentine’s Day because we LOVE showing love! And what better day to share love? But like everything else this year, normal isn’t quite possible.
Although students may not be able to hand out or receive those cute Target Valentines with sweet treats, it doesn’t mean the day can’t be special. With these 15 Valentine’s Day party ideas, your students will be able to feel and share the love just as easily as ever!
1. Sweet Treats Spotlight
Having virtual classes sadly eliminates the giving of Valentine’s between classmates, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have treats! Have students bring their own little bag of goodies. Give each student 30 seconds to show off a treat they may have gotten; a special chocolate? A new book from Grandma? A Valentines from a friend you haven’t seen in a while? This is a great way to practice social communication skills!
2. Sharing is Caring
Valentine’s Day is all about celebrating the people you love. Have students share a photo of someone that means a lot to them. Maybe it’s Mom, Dad, Nana, Grandpa, their mailman, their best friend, their cousin or their pet. Whoever it is, give each student a moment to share about their Valentine and why this person is special to them.
3. Creating Cards Together
Even though you can’t make them together, creating Valentines is always a great chance to work on fine motor skills, writing techniques and personal expression! Encourage your parents to have materials on hand a few days ahead of the planned party. Taking it step-by-step as a group you can show students how to cut out a simple heart to decorate from construction paper. You can practice spelling out simple phrases and words together to include on their valentines. Some ideas are: “I love you”, “best friends”, “be mine”, and “Happy Valentine’s Day”.
4. Pump up the music!
Most kiddo’s love when the music turns on, because who doesn’t love dancing? Share your screen while streaming a dance along Valentine’s Day song and get the wiggles out! Plus, your little learners will love seeing your cool moves too!
5. Wear your most festive clothes
Setting the mood and getting your kiddo’s excited for the party is half the work, but with this simple trick it’s a no brainer! Have your students dress up in their most festive clothes that are red, pink, purple or white. Be sure to not leave out the boys though, and encourage them to try new colors out! Just be sure to make this a BIG DEAL! Talk about what you’re going to wear, ask them what they’re thinking of wearing, or even have students give predictions for how many will wear red or pink the day before! Then during your party, graph the results and see who guessed the closest!
6. Estimation Jars
This is a super easy way to get your kiddos involved and excited! Fill a transparent jar, container or bowl with candy hearts – but be sure to know how many! Give each student a chance to guess how many candies there are. Write down their estimations and after everyone has guessed, reveal how many they are! Add in more math by counting the candies together by groups of tens or fives.
7. Valentines Day BINGO
If you don’t already know how much we LOVE Bingo here at A Dab of Glue, now you do! Bingo is always a “heck yes!!” in our books because it’s such a fun game that kids love, is super easy, and can be played with any class size! Send parents one bingo page for their student. They can print it off or pull it up on their student’s screen so they can participate. Anything small can be used for the Bingo markers – coins, cereal pieces or goldfish, buttons, etc.
8. Random Acts of Kindness
Valentines Day is all about love and friendship, but did you know that February 17th is Random Acts of Kindness Day? It’s the perfect chance to put love in action! Have your students brainstorm some acts of kindness that they want to perform for someone in their life. Write down ideas on a large poster board (maybe one shaped as a heart if you’re feeling creative!) and plan how best to pull them off. You can even turn it into a multiple day activity that lasts the week!
9. Zoom in, zoom out
Take advantage of your camera and play “Zoom in, Zoom out!” Find a few items and hold them up close to the camera, giving your students a very zoomed in perspective. Have them guess what it is! Some ideas for what to use are:
· Feathers
· Glitter
· A chocolate treat
· Roses or other flowers
· A pearl necklace (or other jewelry)
10. Write your own candy hearts
What would YOU put on a candy heart if you had creative control? “Ur cute” isn’t super original – but guess who is? Your students! Tap into their imagination and see what they come up with!
11. Photo Fun
Have a class photo shoot! Utilize those fun Zoom backgrounds and take some snazzy photos of your students! Those pictures can be printed off and used for end of year gifts or made into a class book!
12. Valentine’s Day Crafts
Although crafts can be difficult virtually, there are many that use very basic materials that most, if not all, students have around the house! Check out this super simple Valentine’s Day Heart Thumbprint Art craft. If students don’t have access to paint or ink, the same concept can be used but using markers, crayons or colored pencils. Have them scribble, draw, or make designs around the heart in the middle for the same effect.
13. I love me and I love you….
This super easy game is great for building up communication skills, and is a great chance for your kiddos to interact with each other on the screen. Start by saying one thing you love about yourself. Maybe it’s your hair, your impeccable sense of humor or your dazzling smile, but don’t be shy! YOU are amazing and there are so many things to love about yourself. Then randomly draw the name of a student (hello popsicle sticks!) and name one thing you love about them! That student then picks up by saying one thing they love about themselves and one thing they love about the next student whose name is drawn. Continue until each student has had a chance to go. The last student gets to say what it is they love about YOU.
Check out our 12 top favorite Valentines Day books here to share with your kiddos. Whether it is the heartwarming tale of Mr. Hatch or Pete the Cat and his friends, there are so many great books about Valentine’s Day and love that you can share with your kiddos.
Bonus: Scavenger Hunt
This activity is great for virtual parties! With a timer on the screen, have students go and find one thing in their house that is red, then have a moment to share each item. You can do this for as many rounds as interests them, continuing on the Valentine’s Day theme. Here are some ideas:
· Find something red
· Find something pink
· Find something with hearts ON it
· Find something that is shaped like a heart
· Find something YOU love
· Find something MOM loves
· Find something DAD loves
· Find your favorite food
· Find a picture of someone you love
