Have you started planning your February lessons yet? I love February since it's a short month with plenty of fun things to do! Not to mention, Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays to celebrate in the classroom. Using themes of friendship and kindness is always a win in my book! If you're looking for ways to sprinkle some holiday fun among your regular lessons, you'll love this post! Check out these 6 fun Valentine's Day resources for the primary classroom!
Use Valentine's Day To Foster Engagement
When it comes to the primary grades, it's essential to plan lessons and activities that will keep students' interest. One of my favorite tricks for doing this is to use holidays and seasonal themes in the classroom. Adding a pop of holiday fun into your small groups, centers, and whole-group activities is a simple way to ensure you'll snag student attention and keep it!
Over the years, the best way I've found to do this is by intentionally choosing holiday-themed activities to include in your regular routine. This could mean selecting fun math and literacy centers, planning a holiday craft for fun Friday, or using seasonal no-prep printables. In my classroom, I'm a fan of doing all of these things and really embracing the holiday spirit, no matter what month it is! There's always something fun to celebrate and adding a pop of seasonal fun is a surefire way to make for engaged classroom learning. Here are my top 6, fun and simple Valentine's Day resources!
1. Valentine's Day Phonics Activities
In first grade, we spend a lot of time working on phonics. At least one part of every day is dedicated to phonics lessons. To help keep things interesting, I'm a big fan of leaning into holiday-themed centers like these Valentine's Day CVC Word Centers.
This Valentine's Day resource includes 5 fun games that help students focus on short vowels, rhyming, word families, and sorting nouns and verbs. All of the games use only CVC words, so they are perfect for students just getting started with word work.
Depending on the skill level of your class, these are great for kindergarten as well as for 1st-grade review activities. I like to use these during center time since my firsties are already well-versed in CVC words by February. Since the children are familiar with these words, this is a great Valentine's Day resource that they can work on independently.
These activities would also be great for the morning of your Valentine's Day party when children need something to keep them focused amidst all of the holiday excitement.
2. February No-Prep Math and ELA Worksheets
If you teach young students, you likely have a need for some extra activities to weave into your day. It's inevitable that some children finish more quickly than others, your schedule changes, or you might just find yourself in need of one more activity to fill 15 minutes in a meaningful way.
This is when I always reach for fun, seasonally-themed no-prep printables. I love to make enough copies of these for my whole class at the beginning of the month and store them in hanging file folders. This way I can grab a stack of worksheets at a moment's notice. They are also great to have on hand for a last minute sub. I love that each of these no-prep pages focus on content-rich lessons rather than fluff!
Each page focuses on important 1st-grade math and ELA concepts that my students have been working on. Not to mention, the February No-Prep Math and ELA Worksheets feature fun Valentine's Day themes that the students love! Some of the activities include making words, unscrambling sight words, rhyming words, digraphs, addition, subtraction and fact families.
These fun no-prep printables are a great way to sneak in some extra practice whenever you have a few minutes to spare. They're also perfect for morning review, fast finishers, homework, and independent practice.
3. Valentine's Day Contractions Task Cards
Next up on my list of Valentine's Day resources, are these Contractions Task Cards. This fun grammar center is a must for 1st and 2nd-grade students learning all about contractions. I love to set this activity up for center time since the cards have a self-checking option.
To play, students will choose a card that shows 2 words that can be turned into a contraction. They will find the matching card with the correct contraction listed. Then, they write the word down on their recording sheet. This resource uses a Valentine's Day treat theme that the children absolutely love!
This Valentine's Day resource comes with 4 recording sheet options so that you can choose the one that best fits the needs of your group. The children can work with all 32 of the cards or 16-24 at a time. This activity is great for centers, but it's also wonderful for use in small groups when children are just beginning to dive into contractions and need a little extra oversight.
4. Valentine's Addition Write the Room
Do you use write-the-room centers in your classroom? In my room, we LOVE write-the-room since it's an opportunity to get up and move - which firsties never complain about! It's a wonderful change of pace if you find yourself with a classroom full of kiddos feeling a bit stir-crazy.
Whenever children are in need of a break from their desks, I love to pull out this Valentine's Day Addition Write the Room activity. This Valentine's Day resource uses a cute candy heart theme on each of the cards, perfect for celebrating the holiday.
To play, students will count the number of candy hearts in each jar and add the two together to find the sum. Then, they'll write that number down on their recording sheets. There are 24 task cards included with sums from 10 to 20. Also included are 4 different recording sheets. There are options for 12, 18, and 24 boxes to allow for differentiation.
Use this fun, Valentine's Day resource during center time or play as whole group activity when kiddos need a chance to get up and move!
5. Valentine's Day Craft
Do you ever spend time doing crafts in your classroom? I love using a cute craft on a Fun Friday or in preparation for a class party. In February we always make these Valentine's Day Card Holders for our party. This craft is also quick and simple to make.
To use, I run copies of the pieces on colored construction paper and then have students cut their own pieces out. The chick is made up of heart shapes, and also includes a bow tie or hair bow to decorate it. Students will cut and glue the pieces together to make their chick and then glue them down to a paper envelope or brown paper bag.
This is a great way to make Valentine's Day card holders without spending a ton of time crafting. These Valentine's Day Chicks would also make a super cute bulletin board display if you don't need card holders. They're a great way to decorate your room for Valentine's Day without a lot of extra prep!
6. Valentine's Day Bookmarks
In need of a super simple, inexpensive gift for students? These Valentine's Day Bookmarks are just the thing! I love printing these off in color on white card stock. You can also laminate for durability if desired and add a fun ribbon. I give these out as student gifts along with a $1 book from Scholastic.
This is such a simple way to hand out a thoughtful gift to students that won't break the bank or take hours to prep. My kiddos love bookmarks and seasonal books so this gift idea is always a hit.
This Valentine's Day resource also includes a blackline version of the bookmarks. These can be printed on colored cardstock if you don't have access to a color printer. Alternatively, print these out on white cardstock and have students color them during your Valentine's Day party for a fun and simple activity!
Start Planning your Valentine's Day Activities
I hope you enjoyed reading through these ideas for Valentine's Day in the primary classroom. Using holiday activities is such a great way to add a sprinkle of fun, while still working hard on those learning goals! If you're looking for more Valentine's Day inspiration, be sure to check out my TpT Shop for plenty of fun activities to add to your routine.
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