Valentine's Day activities in the upper elementary classroom doesn't have to mean pink and red hearts everywhere. They should be fun, meaningful, and serve a purpose. One way to show the theme of love is to start or reintroduce discussions on kindness, friendship, how to prevent or stop bullying, and working together as a team.
1. Review Discussions: Teamwork, Friendship, Anti-Bullying
While you might start some of these discussions at the beginning of the year, Valentine's Day can be a great time to continue those conversations. Take this time to discuss friendship dynamics and how they may have changed since the start of the school year. What have your students noticed about "the outsiders", or is your group working as a cohesive team at this point in the year? If not, why? If there are cliques taking shape, can they be more integrative or tolerant to include new members that may be marginalized? You can download the "Temperature of the Class" printable at the end of this post to use as a Valentine's Day activity, or any time of year.
After students have had an opportunity to share their frustrations and concerns, the "I Can Show Kindness" printable can be used to brainstorm ways for students to show love and kindness in words, actions, and their thinking. What would that look like in your classroom, on the playground, before and after school? This Valentine's Day activity is no-prep and can be downloaded below.
2. Kindness Writing and Bulletin Board Activity
Need a bulletin board that can be used during Valentine's Day, or year round? Check out this Kindness Writing Craft that has kids look at what it means to be kind, and why it's important. You can check it out here.
3. Valentine's Day Read Alouds
The Boy and the Giant by David Litchfield is a beautifully illustrated story about a lonely giant that does kind things for everyone in town without them knowing. Along comes a young boy who doesn't believe he exists, but eventually become best of friends even though they are very different.
Farmer Falgu Goes to the Kumbh Mela by Chitra Soundar explains how kindness can be its own reward. Farmer Falgu is delayed arriving to the festival because he stops to help those less fortunate along the way. A lucky event allows him to finally enjoy the festival before returning home.
Hiawatha and the Peacemaker by Robbie Robertson is based on the true story of a man named Hiawatha that is seeking revenge after his village is burned down and his family is tragically taken from him. Along the way he finds wisdom, and turns his anger into forgiveness.
The Potato Chip Champ by Maria Dismondy is a story of kindness and acceptance that is found when two very different boys come together and share a bag of potato chips.
Will You Be the "I" In Kind? by Julia Cook gives many examples of how students can be kind to their classmates, families, the planet, and more.
I hope you enjoy these easy, non-traditional Valentine's Day activities that can be used any time of year (Back-to-School, Random Acts of Kindness Week, or SEL lessons). Don't forget to grab your free Kindness printables below.
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