Get creative with valentine ideas that offer excitement and fun. We were inspired to make printable coloring valentines for the kids' classmates!
Even if your kids' school isn't doing candy anymore – or is going virtual with mailed cards – you still want them to share something fun!
I expected my boys to simply write their names on the blank cards, add the stickers to the back and hand them out, but they insisted on coloring a few for their teachers and grandparents. How sweet is that? So these coloring valentines can totally double as a fun activity for friends AND a sweet, memorable gift for loved ones.
I know that older grades like to practice handwriting by writing all of their peer's names in the “to” section of the card, but in the younger grades the kids aren't quite ready for all that yet (in pre-kindergarten, my son is writing his name and very short words like “cat” and “to”). To make these as versatile as possible, I made separate downloadable versions. One is WITH TO AND FROM and one is just made WITH FROM on it. You can click those links to download.
We bought a big, bulk order of crayon 4-packs like the kind they give out in restaurants, and we used removable tape to affix the crayons to the backside of each valentine.
We simply printed them out on card stock, cut out each individual valentine and we're ready to go!
To be totally Valentine's Day-ready, here's everything you need:
Do you have fun memories of swapping valentines with your friends when you were a kid? I always see these TV episodes where kids are sending candy grams or singling out individual friends to gift valentines to, but I don't remember any of those shenanigans. It was a whole class deal, and I loved sorting through my big bag of treats when I got home! Back when I taught 3rd grade, I'd have the kids make their own little valentine boxes and dole out their cards towards the end of the day, then we'd spend the afternoon playing around with our stickers and activities and reading each card. That's why I'm extra-stoked when I see a non-candy option: I know I'm making their teacher's afternoons that much easier!
What are your Valentine's Day traditions?