Valentine’s Day Activities for Junior Classes

Good morning everyone,

I hope we are all keeping well and slowly but surely getting through the never ending month of January. Once this month is over there’s lots of breaks to look forward to so hang on in there! I am writing this post a bit ahead of time given that it is not even February yet but the early bird catches the worm! I am going to share below some simple Valentine’s ideas to use in the junior end of the school.

Art/ Valentine’s Cards:

An obvious one but making cards is always fun, particularly if you supply them with coloured paper and heart shaped stickers! You could do it as a drawing lesson, a fabric and fibre lesson, a construction lesson or even during play time. Encourage them to think of someone they love and to make a card for them.

Maths:

Counting Hearts: Cut out heart shapes from paper and have students count them. For a challenge, they can practice addition or subtraction with the hearts.

Heart Patterns: Use heart stickers or cut outs to create patterns (red, pink, white) for students to replicate or continue. You could use a variety of colours, sizes etc. There’s ample free Valentine’s maths resources on TPT if you do a quick search!

English/ Valentine’s Day Writing:

Acrostic Poem: Teach them how to write a simple acrostic poem with the word “LOVE” or “HEART.” You can guide them to come up with creative ideas for each letter.

Valentine’s Day Letter: Help them write a letter to a friend or family member, practicing sentences like “I like you because…” or “You are my friend because…”

Explore vocabulary around caring for and loving others and pre teach it so they have the vocabulary they need for the lessons.

Reading/ Valentine’s Day Story Books

Books about Friendship: Share picture books that focus on kindness, friendship, and love. ‘Kindness is My Superpower’ , ‘The Squirrels who Squabbled’, ‘The Paper Dolls’, and ‘The Bear Who Shared’ are all ones I can recommend.

Valentine’s Day Poems: Read simple poems about love and friendship. Students can even try memorising a short poem to share with the class.

Valentine’s Day Science:

This website has some nice science activities: https://www.science-sparks.com/science-activities-for-valentines-day/

Classroom Games:

Heart Hunt: Hide small heart cutouts around the classroom, and have the students find them. Once they find one, they can share something nice about a friend.

Valentine Bingo: Create a simple Valentine’s-themed Bingo game using words like “heart,” “love,” “red,” and “friend.”

SPHE:

Compliment Chain: Start a compliment chain where each student gives a compliment to the person next to them. This is a great activity for reinforcing kindness and building a positive classroom environment. If they cannot write it they can draw it instead.

Friendship Bracelets: Students can make friendship bracelets using beads or string. As they make them, talk about the importance of being kind friends.

Remember too to do a lesson on loving yourself first. It is so important to work on building the self esteem and confidence of children. Ask them to describe three things they are really good at. Each year with almost every class I have had, I would leave a post it on there desk with a little treat saying one thing I loved about them. It could be something like ‘you tell funny stories’, ‘you include others’, ‘you are creative’ etc. They loved their little compliment cards!

Music/ PE

Valentine’s Dance Party: Valentine’s Day is always a good excuse for me to play my favourite Beatles song ‘All you Need is Love’ .Play some fun Valentine’s-themed music and let them dance away!

Heart Jumping Game: Use heart cut outs on the floor, and students can hop from one heart to another, practicing listening skills and balance.

Here’s a resource with lots of Valentine’s ideas and activities I made for first/ second class. Some of it would suit senior infants too.

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