Valentine's Day Party: I Love My Students a Waffle Lot...You Butter Believe It!

I LOVE throwing a great party! It is fun to bring an over-the-top party to my classroom. Over the years, I have thrown different parties. Here's a look at a few of my classroom celebrations for Valentine's Day.

1. Donuts Valentine's Day Class Party

One year, I hosted a donut party. We needed a sweet treat, and donuts were just the thing. We had glazed donuts and I brought some pink frosting and sprinkles to decorate with. We read several Valentine's Day books. Everyone received a donut eraser from me as well as a set of Valentine teeth holding a rose. The teeth could be wound up and walk...so fun. I bought a class set of hashtag blocks and we did a STEM challenge with them. We also build Valentine bridges following the STEM method. 

2. Pizza Valentine's Day Class Party

I Love You to Pizzas was a fun way to celebrate as well. We had an Italian restaurant and students made pizzas from scratch and baked their own heart-shaped pizzas. We used our newly acquired fraction skills to double a recipe and make the dough. It was a tasty math lesson and a truly fun day of LOVE. 

3. Waffle Valentine's Day Class Party

One year, a friend of mine did a waffle party. I had to try it the very next year. I found some clipart, brought my waffle maker and we enjoyed a waffle breakfast. I knew that it would take a while to make fresh waffles, so I set the tables with activities that students could do while waiting. We had a heart-shaped book for drawing or writing, a Valentine word search, a fun new Valentine pencil with a heart topper, and a set of tic-tac-toe games for every two students. The theme was: I love you a waffle lot!

Overall, I enjoyed it a lot. This was several years ago, and it's time to bring it all back with a bit of a twist...stay tuned.

4. Another Waffle Party

I have been preparing for this year's Valentine's Day party. I am bringing back the Waffle breakfast party. I am taking it up a notch with new clipart and activities. Here's what I have so far. 

I am sending a breakfast invitation the night before. Students will be given a card that says, I love you a waffle lot. You butter believe it. I used some Shopkins-style clipart to create everything. This time, we have some of the same activities, only I have recreated them in the waffle theme. We will have a waffle-themed Tic-Tac-Toe game, pencils, special Valentine's that are waffle-themed. We will have a word search and a STEM activity with heart-shaped gummies and toothpicks. 

I am excited to have a fun day. This year, we are celebrating two days before Valentine's Day, because it is over the weekend and we are out of school on Friday. Thursday is also a 1/2 day, so it will be a perfect party day. 

This is the vibe I am going for. I think it is super cute and that my students will love it! Can't wait until our party!

Valentine's Day Resources

Here are some extra fun resources to get your party started. 

Valentine's Day Class Coupons

Give your students the fun gift of classroom privilege coupons in this cute Valentine's Day envelope that opens to reveal eight coupons. Click the link above.

Valentine's Day History Reading Comprehension

If you love to teach your students the history of the holidays, this is just up your alley. Students will learn about Seven traditions around the Valentine Holiday. This resource also includes other extension activities. Click the link above to purchase this resource. 

What are your plans this season? Whatever you do, I hope that you find a way to help your students feel extra loved today. 

My All-Time Favorite Valentine's Day Book

There are books that I come back to again and again. And this one, for Valentine's Day, is always at the top of my list. It's called Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch". I discovered this gem years and years ago and I have used it ever since. 

This book has a message kids need, something to inspire them to be better and do better. To look for the lonely. To show kindness to the overlooked. It. Is. Perfect. 

. 

Mr. Hatch was all alone. He kept to himself and followed his routine each day, never veering from it....until one day the post man makes an unusual delivery to Mr. Hatch's home one afternoon. And that is when everything changes. The delivery was an enormous heart-shaped box of candy. There was a note that fell from the box that said, "Somebody loves you!" The note changed everything. He started taking extra care of himself in case he met his secret admirer. He started to change his routine, to smile more and be friendly and helpful to everyone he met. Everyone in town noticed Mr. Hatch had changed and they changed toward him too. The whole town fell in love with Mr. Hatch until....

Well, I better not give away the ending away. But you will just have to pick up the book and find out the ending. You can find the book over here.

Valentine's Day

Are you looking for a quick an inexpensive idea this Valentine's day? If so, be sure to read on for a couple of fun ideas you can put into place immediately with little time left. 

For me, Valentine's Day would not be Valentine's Day without sharing some books in the classroom. Kids love listening to stories and over time, I have built up a little collection to help celebrate the day. None can ever measure up to my absolute all time favorite book, Somebody Loves you Mr. Hatch. It is seriously so good. I never tire of it. It is definitely my yearly MUST READ.

My next suggestion is to bring a treat to pass out. Last year I did a donut bar and my class LOVED it! I picked up some donuts on my way to work, added a can of pink icing, and some sprinkles and the students got to decorate and enjoy their own donut. Sometimes I bring homemade goodies too, which is even more cost efficient.  

If you have seen those tubes of hashtag blocks at Target, you know how much students love them. And their creativity is astounding! I love to use the Valentine sets for a hashtag block challenge. Students have a grid of different challenges that they complete. It is a lot of fun and for only a dollar per tube of blocks, it isn't bad....plus you can reuse them from year to year. 

Finally, I love to pass out Valentines. This year, I am giving these super fun Valentine envelopes that open up to reveal 8 coupons that can be used in the classroom for privileges. My students absolutely love receiving coupons from time to time, usually during holidays. 

If you need more ideas for celebrating Valentine's Day in the classroom, be sure to check out my older blog post here and here and here. 

And, if you are interested in snagging these little Valentine coupon envelopes, you can find them here. 

Celebrating Valentine's Day in the Upper Elementary Classroom

Celebrating Valentine's day does not just have to be for lower elementary. Lots of kids still enjoy it in the upper elementary classroom too. Hey, even the teacher loves it. 

I have a quick disclaimer to make. I work in a tiny school and I have the same kids for two or three years, depending on the year. I have had my current fifth graders since they were little third graders. With that in mind, I have to shake things up from year to year to keep it fresh since I teach multi-grade and get to hold on to the same kiddos for so many years. So because of that, I have to have a huge collection of activities that I can rotate each year.

Valentine's Day Boxes in Upper Elementary

Today, my fifth graders were asking if we could do Valentine's Day boxes. I have to admit. I love the boxes ....a lot. I enjoy seeing the creativity and originality or each student. Their personalities and passions shine through. They actually teach me something about themselves when they create these amazing boxes. It is always a surprise to see the boxes they create to hold their cards from our card exchange. They are excited to share and to see each others' and I think it is fun to create a little competition around them. So we will be doing that again this year. 

Valentine's Day Books in Upper Elementary

My students love...LOVE a good book. They love chapter books and also picture books. No book is off limits, including picture books that others may see as books for the younger crowd. Kids love growing up, but they also love the familiarity of a simple book. I love reading them just as much as they love hearing them. Here are some of the books I have collected through the years. 

Games

We love games and having fun. I love doing Minute to Win it challenges with the class. Kids this age are very competitive. A little competition is just what they need.

S.T.E.M. 

S.T.E.M. challenges are perfect for any holiday. They are perfect because they are not something we do everyday. They are a challenge, in a good way. They get kids interaction and work together. They stretch kids' creativity and ingenuity. They give kids a break from the usually learning tasks and bring a novel form of learning. They are super fun. Last year we did a Valentine's Day bridge building S.T.E.M that I got from Maniacs in the Middle. It was so much fun. This year, I purchased a class set of Valentine hashtag blocks that we will be using for small S.T.E.M. challenges. 

The History Behind the Holidays

I feel like this topic is included in every holiday I talk about. I just love helping kids learn about where traditions that surround the holidays came from and Valentine's Day is no different. Last year, I created several articles to help my students learn about some of the most obvious traditions. This year I created some more articles that I can use in my class. Here is a quick list what traditions and things my students learn about. 

Conversation Hearts

Valentine's Day Cards

Chocolate

Traditions around the World

Roses are Red, Violets are Blue Poems

Paris, the City of Love

The Love Lock bridge

We read and do comprehension activities. We extend our learning with other activities that tie into our learning as well. 

Card Exchanges and Small Gifts

Card exchanges are a must for me. We all bring cards (whoever chooses to) and some bring small candies to share with classmates. It is just so much fun to share and put a smile on the faces of others. The kids feel that. They feel the love. I enjoy bringing something small to share with the class as well. Maybe it is a pencil, a book, and special treat, just something to let them know they are loved and I am glad they are a part of our class family. 

Party

This year, we are having a donut themed party. I found cute donut erasers to pass out. We will have real donuts too. I am bringing glazed donuts and we will have a donut bar. Students will get to frost their donut with pink frosting and add sprinkles if they want. We will spend some time immersed in Valentine's books, eating donuts and maybe sipping some hot chocolate too. 

I hope these ideas help you find ways to make the holiday special in your classroom. Whatever you do, your kids will love it.

Here is a link to my History Behind Valentine's Day pack if you are interested. 

If you want to see some of the boxes we created in previous years click here. 

More Valentine's Day activities here. 

 

Getting Ready for Valentine's Day

I just love Valentine's Day in the classroom. It is just so fun. I love the crafts, making things for parents, exchanging cards, and all the pink. I love the candy, the excitement, and the games. Here's some of my go to favorite things to do on Valentine's Day.

1. I love Valentine's Day boxes that the students create. A few years ago, I started having students create Valentine's Day boxes with their families at home. Each year I cannot wait to see their creativity. Some of them are pretty simple and some are elaborate, but they are all so fun to see. Here is one from last year.

How amazing is that little owl? And the feathers were all made from hearts....super cute! I just sent out the project this Friday so my students can get started. I just can't wait to see this year's boxes. It's a great way to store all of those cards, pencils and candy that the students bring in to share with the class. Here is a blog post from last year with more ideas. 

2. I love doing this simple Valentine's day activity with conversation hearts. Students get a small box of the hearts and a writing paper. They create a story or a letter and use the conversation hearts in it. I did this way back in the day when I was in school. I always remembered how fun it was. Now I do this with my students. I enjoy hearing their stories each year after they write them. 

You can get this activity for free by clicking here. I have used this resource even with my firsties when I used to teach them. It is still something I could use in middle school or even high school too. Different age groups would just do longer or shorter stories.

3. I love the stories around Valentine's Day. I like to collect different stories to share this time of year, but these two are some of my favorites. This one is super cute. It's called Will you Be my Valentine? You can find it here.

This one is my number one top all-time favorite for Valentine's day. If you have never read it, you need to get your hands on a copy right now. It's called Somebody Loves you Mr. Hatch. you can find it here.

4. The games are so fun. In the past, I have enjoyed doing Minute to Win It Valentine's Day games in my class. My class has had a lot of fun with them and so have I. You can do a search and find a ton of different games but here is one example of a bunch of different options. 

5. I love giving cards. I try to put a lot of thought into the cards I give. Sometimes I have done a candy craft card to give out and that can be a lot of fun. This year I made several different cards. I'm really loving llamas right now so I created three different types of llama cards and also some flamingo cards. Here is what they look like. You can find them here, here, here, here, and here. 

So that's how we celebrate in our classroom, what about you?

Valentine's Day Boxes

Last year I had my scholars do these valentine's day boxes. This year, I had decided not to do them again, but my students remembered doing them last year (I keep my students for two years and have a combo 3/4 class). Some of them asked to do these again, so I let them. I love how the student's Valentine's day boxes turned out. Here's some of our favorites.