Valentine’s Day 2024 Teaching Resources
Get your classroom Valentine's Day 2024 ready with classroom decor, crafts, fun activities for kids, card templates and more ways to celebrate this heartfelt day with your students! The teachers of Teach Starter created this teaching resource collection — so you know every printable, every worksheet and every craft has been designed with teachers in mind!
Looking for Valentine's Day vocabulary words? How about Valentine math activities or templates to bring the February holiday into your reading centers? Yup, we've got you covered! Many of the resources are even curriculum-aligned, so you can satisfy those state standards while you're warming up those little hearts mid-winter.
Read on for a primer from our teacher team with everything you need to know to mark this day in the classroom, including when Valentine's Day will fall on the calendar and a simple definition to share with your students.
What Is Valentine's Day? A Kid-Friendly Definition
You may know what Valentine's Day is, but do you need an easy way to explain it to your students? Here's a simple definition from our teacher team to help:
Valentine's Day is a day when we show our love and affection for other people. We use this day to be extra kind to one another. Sometimes we exchange special cards called valentines in order to show people how much we care.
Where Did Valentine's Day Come From?
If you're teaching older students, you may want to dig deeper into Valentine's Day with a look at where it came from.
The origins of Valentine's Day as a celebration of romantic love are not entirely clear, but it is widely believed to have originated in ancient Rome as a festival honoring the goddess Juno, the queen of the Roman gods and goddesses.
The holiday is named after Saint Valentine, a Christian martyr who lived in the 3rd century.
Valentines — the special cards the day is known for — were not sent until the 18th century, when people in England began to make these special love notes by hand, exchanging them with people they loved.
When Is Valentine's Day 2024?
You probably know by now that the holiday is celebrated on February 14, but is Valentine's Day on a school day this year? The answer is a resounding yes — it's a Wednesday in 2024, and that means many schools in the US will be open (although you may have a winter break going on).
While some schools ban Valentine's Day parties in the classroom, if yours is one where the holiday is celebrated, you might want to circle the date in red. Or maybe add a heart?
How to Keep Valentine's Day Positive in Your Classroom
Valentine's Day can be a hard holiday for kids — after all, bullying and clique-ish behavior can easily run rampant on a day when cards are handed out in the classroom. Even when there are "everyone gets a card" rules in place, this holiday can easily go sideways.
Don't want to cancel the fun of the heartfelt holiday? Our teacher team has some tips to make sure Valentine's Day is positive in your classroom in 2024:
- If your class will perform a Valentine exchange, skip the process of card creation at home and stick to in-class card creation. While this will take more time out of your lessons, it will ensure children who do not have money to purchase cards are not left out of the celebration. No time for that? Use our printable valentine cards for kids, and send the templates home to parents, so every child is on the same playing field.
- Instead of enforcing an "everyone gets a card rule," be more specific. Instruct students to write one (or more) nice message(s) for each person in the class on their cards.
- Create Valentines for veterans, nursing home residents, etc. Instead of creating cards for their classmates, why not focus on kindness and create Valentines for people in their community who are often forgotten? This allows kids to celebrate in a positive way and skirts the fraught issues inherent in a classroom exchange.
- Make Valentines for a buddy class. Do you have a buddy class this school year? Have your students create cards for the students in that class, rather than the students they see every day.
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Love Heart Waterfall Card
Create a lovely heart waterfall greeting card for your students to give to someone special.
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Share the Love - Gratitude Love Heart Template
Create a classroom display of gratitude and appreciation with this writing exercise.
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I Love You to Pieces Card Template
Print a unique "I love you to pieces" card template for students to hand out Valentine's Day or to make a card for someone special on Mother's Day, Father's Day or Grandparents' Day!
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Love Hearts – Letters and Numbers Pennant Banner
Create classroom banners and displays for Valentine’s Day with this set of letter, number, and punctuation mark heart pennants.
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Decorative Pennant Banner – Love Hearts
Decorate your classroom for Valentine’s Day with these shades of red and pink heart pennants.
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Valentine's Day Classroom Decorations
A set of cut-out decorations to use on Valentine's Day.
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26 Valentine's Day Bulletin Board Ideas for a Lovable Classroom Display
From quotes to love and heart themes, these Valentine's Day bulletin board ideas will surely bring a smile to your students' faces and brighten the classroom.
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10 Valentine's Day Books for Kids to Read Aloud in Your Elementary Classroom
Celebrate Valentine's Day in the classroom with these children's books about love perfect for a read-aloud or to prompt a discussion.
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15 Valentine's Day Craft Ideas for the Classroom With an Educational Twist
These fun Valentine's Day classroom craft activities are teacher tested and boast an extra boost of education for elementary students.
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27 Fun Valentine's Day Ideas for Teachers That Your Class Will Love
Valentine's Day is a great opportunity to show appreciation for those around us. Share the love this February 14th with Valentine's Day activities for kids perfect for the classroom.
- Valentine’s Day 2024 Templates
- Valentine’s Day 2024 Worksheets
- Valentine’s Day 2024 Games
- Valentine’s Day 2024 Craft Activities
- Valentine’s Day 2024 Labels Signs Decorations
- Valentine’s Day 2024 Task Cards
- Valentine’s Day 2024 Writing Templates
- Valentine’s Day 2024 Color by Code
- Valentine’s Day 2024 Interactive Activities
- Valentine’s Day 2024 Mini Book
- Valentine’s Day 2024 Graphic Organizers
- Valentine’s Day 2024 Banner Display Letter Sets
- Valentine’s Day 2024 Bulletin Board Displays
- Valentine’s Day 2024 Pennant Flags
- Valentine’s Day 2024 Puzzles
- Valentine’s Day 2024 Flipbooks
- Valentine’s Day 2024 Bookmarks
- Valentine’s Day 2024 Word Searches
- Valentine’s Day 2024 Dice Games
- Valentine’s Day 2024 Custom Studio Resources
- Valentine’s Day 2024 Bingo
- Valentine’s Day 2024 Logic Puzzles
- Valentine’s Day 2024 Coloring Pages
- Valentine’s Day 2024 for Pre-K
- Valentine’s Day 2024 for Kindergarten
- Valentine’s Day 2024 for 1st Grade
- Valentine’s Day 2024 for 2nd Grade
- Valentine’s Day 2024 for 3rd Grade
- Valentine’s Day 2024 for 4th Grade
- Valentine’s Day 2024 for 5th Grade
- Valentine’s Day 2024 for 6th Grade
- Valentine’s Day 2024 for 7th Grade