Happy February! When I replace my calendar pieces at the end of the month and see it’s February, I immediate think of Valentine’s Day. It’s a sweet holiday that many students enjoy. If you are looking for Valentine’s Day activities for elementary students in your classroom, then you found the right place. Check out the list of read alouds, math activities, reading activities, and crafts below for ideas for how you can celebrate in your elementary classroom!
7 Valentine’s Day Read Alouds
Here are my favorite Valentine’s Day picture books for elementary students.
The Day It Rained Hearts by Felicia Bond
One day, Cornelia Augusta was outside when it started raining hearts! She began to catch the hearts and brought them inside. Cornelia decided the hearts would be perfect to make Valentines for her friends. She began looking at each heart and realized they were all different. Cornelia put a lot of thought into which heart would be best for each of her friends. She began making the Valentines, crafting each in a way each friend would appreciate.
After making all of the cards, Cornelia set off to mail them to her friends. While it never rained hearts again where Cornelia lived, it didn’t matter because she found other ways to make Valentines for her friends. This story is a sweet read for Valentine’s Day and has themes of friendship and kindness.
Learn more about The Day It Rained Hearts!
Download the The Day It Rained Hearts activities!
Valentine’s Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg
Mrs. Hartwell loves her students, so she wanted to throw a party to make her class feel extra special. Before the day, she asked her students for ideas and suggestions. They shared that they wanted lots of glitter, glue and ribbon. Some ideas she could use, and some ideas she couldn’t.
Then, she wanted to end with a big celebration. She decided to make a cake with lots of delicious frosting. But once the day came, all craziness broke loose. There was glitter all over, glue in hair, and candy hearts galore.
Finally, it was time for Mrs. Hartwell to bring out the exciting surprise- the cake. But- a piece was missing! Mrs. Hartwell felt very upset, and told her students she wanted to make the day special because they are. The students reminded her that she makes them feel special every day! They then help her clean up, give her a card, and say goodbye. They wonder how St. Patrick’s Day will go…
Learn more about Valentine’s Day Jitters!
Download the Valentine’s Day Jitters activities!
Roses Are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink by Diane deGroat
This is another great Valentine’s Day story. In Roses Are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink, it is Valentine’s Day and Gilbert is excited to write nice poems for all of his classmates. When he gets near the end, Gilbert only has two cards left to make, one for Lewis and one for Margaret. He doesn’t want to make nice poems for them because they had each been mean to him in the past. Gilbert writes a mean poem to both Lewis and Margaret and signs their names at the bottom.
At school, Gilbert opens his valentines and reads a nice note from each of his classmates. When Lewis and Margaret read their notes, they start fighting with one another. Eventually they realize that it was Gilbert who wrote the mean notes and Gilbert’s classmates are mad at him. After spending lunch and recess alone, Gilbert decides to make new poems for Margaret and Lewis and hands them out at the party.
Learn more about Roses are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink!
Download the Roses are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink activities!
Love Monster by Rachel Bright
The story Love Monster by Rachel Bright is about a Monster who is very different than the world around him. Monster is a bit funny looking and lives in a world of cute, fluffy things that everyone loves. This makes life hard for Monster and he decides to solve his problem and set off to search for someone to love him.
Monster’s search becomes difficult as he can’t find anyone that looks like him. Right when Monster is about to give up, love finds him.
Learn more about Love Monster!
Download the Love Monster activities!
The Love Letter by Anika Aldamuy Denise
Hedgehog, Squirrel, and Bunny are all good friends. One day, on his way to the meadow Hedgehog finds a love letter on the ground. Finding the letter makes Hedgehog oddly cheerful. He shares his lunch with Squirrel and walks Bunny home. After Bunny hugs Hedgehog goodbye, she finds a love letter on the ground.
Reading the love letter makes Bunny feel oddly helpful. She sets the table, sweeps the floor and heads over to Squirrel’s house to bring him acorns. After Bunny leaves, Squirrel finds the same love letter. Normally an anxious person, Squirrel feels carefree after finding the letter. Things that normally bother him did not. He thinks Bunny loves him.
The next day, the three friends arrive at the meadow and all feel shy. The friends realize they all received the letter and start arguing about who is belongs to. Suddenly, a Mouse appears. Mouse wrote the letter to her good friend the moon. Hedgehog, Squirrel and Bunny start reflecting on their friendship and how they argued. Mouse helps the friends to realize the mix-up wasn’t so bad because it made them all feel good.
Learn more about The Love Letter!
Download the The Love Letter activities!
Love Monster and the Last Chocolate by Rachel Bright
Love Monster returned from his vacation, feeling reflective about his fun adventures. When he gets to his house, he sees a box of chocolates. Someone must have known they were his favorite!
Love Monster struggles with sharing the chocolates or eating them all for himself. When all of his worries add up, he decides it’s safer to just eat them alone.
Sitting there, in his chair, he reflects on his friends and how happy it would make them to eat with him. So, he jumps out the door and runs to share with his friends.
When his friends see him, they simply say to open the box. The box only has one chocolate left because they thought of him when he was away. Love Monster is reminded that when we stop and think of others, it reminds us that they stop and think about us, too.
Learn more about Love Monster and the Last Chocolate!
Download the Love Monster and the Last Chocolate activities!
Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch by Eileen Spinelli
Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch is a great story for celebrating Valentine’s Day! Mr. Hatch has the same routine every day. He goes to work, eats lunch alone, gets the paper, goes to the grocery store, and heads home for the night. The people in Mr. Hatch’s down think that he keeps to himself.
One day, the postman brings Mr. Hatch a package. When he opens it up, he finds a box of chocolates and a note that says “Somebody Loves You.” Mr. Hatch is curious to find out who sent the mysterious package so he starts to walk through the town. He says hello to everyone he passes. Eventually, Mr. Hatch starts socializing with everyone and helping out his community. He throws parties and has the children over for brownies and lemonade.
Then, the postman returns to Mr. Hatch’s house looking very upset. He confesses to Mr. Hatch the he delivered the package to the wrong house. It did not belong to Mr. Hatch. This makes Mr. Hatch very sad and he goes back to his old ways. However, this time his community notices. They work together to bring balloons, candies, and a banner to his house! Mr. Hatch realizes that many people love him after all.
Learn more about Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch!
Download the Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch activities!
3 Valentine’s Day Literacy Activities
Check out the literacy activities below that are perfect for Valentine’s Day. These are some of my favorite Valentine’s Day activities for elementary students!
Valentine’s Day Graphic Organizers
These Valentine’s Day reading graphic organizer activities will provide engaging, meaningful practice to greatly improve your students’ reading and writing skills. They are so quick and easy for teachers to prepare. Each of the included graphic organizers can be used over and over and with any book you choose. Students love the thematic pages and teachers love the ease in which they can differentiate and meet individual student needs.
Valentine’s Day Non-Fiction Unit
This Valentine’s Day non-fiction unit includes 3 leveled reading passages, vocabulary cards, reading and writing activities, and more. It pairs really nicely with our fictional book companions. Learn more about this resource in our Clutter-Free Classroom Teacher Store!
Valentine’s Day Activity Packet
This Valentine’s Day activity packet is filled with fun and engaging activities students love like a directed drawing writing activity, word search, and crossword puzzle! These activities can be used as center activities, homework, fast finisher tasks, filler activities, or indoor recess activities. Learn more about this print-and-go resource in our Clutter-Free Classroom Teacher Store!
Valentine’s Day Math Activities
Check out the Valentine’s Day math activities below!
Valentine’s Day PBL Task
Project-based learning is a great way to implement real world learning in your classroom. It is a teaching method where a teacher poses a real world problem and complex question to students. The problem and question must be authentic and engaging.
In addition to this project equipping students with a deep understanding of the content, it also gives them opportunities to strengthen their problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication skills. These skills are essential for students to develop and refine for their future.
Check out this Valentine’s Day PBL Task!
Valentine’s Day Spiral Review Activities
Spiral review is the idea that, after introducing and teaching a foundational concept or skill, students continue to practice it regularly throughout the school year in order to maintain what they have learned. It is an integral part of every elementary classroom. Check out the February spiral activities below!
- 2nd Grade Spiral Review Activities
- 3rd Grade Spiral Review Activities
- 4th Grade Spiral Review Activities
- 5th Grade Spiral Review Activities
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6 Valentine’s Day Crafts for Elementary Students
These Valentine’s Day crafts would look great on a bulletin board to complement a Valentine’s Day writing activity. They are such fun Valentine’s Day activities for elementary students!
1. Toilet Paper Roll Stamping Craft
This Valentine’s Day craft is super easy and cheap to make! All you need is pink and red paint, toilet paper rolls, and white paper. Students can create these stamps in a short period of time and they create great results.
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2. Tissue Paper Heart Craft
Your students will love creating this Valentine’s Day craft! You’ll need tissue paper, cardboard, paint, glue, ribbon, and a hole punch. This craft makes a pretty wall display both in the classroom and at home.
3. Heart Wreath Ornament Craft
This craft is a sweet little gift that students can bring home and give to a loved one. It is such a cute option for a Valentine’s Day craft!
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4. Heart Garland Craft
In recent months, I’ve been loving not using commercial borders and having the kids play a big role in creating our bulletin boards. This purple hearts garland would make a great border for a Valentine’s Day bulletin board.
5. Valentine’s Day Frame with Student Picture Craft
This is another favorite. Super cute! I love anything that includes their pictures. I know my boys would be down with making this. I don’t know they would relish the idea of having it hanging in the hall. I’m thinking this is more of a “make it for mom and dad” kind of thing.
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6. American Sign Language Valentine Craft
Instead of using the die cut hands, I would have students paint their own hands and then cut them out. While 3rd graders may not do as many handprint crafts as those cutie patootie kinders, they can totally do them on their own. I just leave out the paper and paint and tell them what to do. I still have nightmares about my years in PreK. Nothing says “I teach the under 5 crowd” like a painted paw print on an Ann Taylor blouse.
