It feels like the holidays were just yesterday, but already Valentine’s Day is creeping up and coming in just over a month. Ok, maybe I should write that as “The Holidays” since there are tons of holidays throughout the year (just ask my friend Christy who I interviewed recently!), but I’ve always heard the grouping in November through January referred to as “The Holidays” throughout the year. But I digress… Valentine’s Day is coming and that means it’s a great time to start preparing your home and homeschool with Valentine’s Day crafts!
We started homeschooling when my daughter was 3, so crafting became an important aspect of our homeschool. I began to attend preschool when I was 3, and it was filled with fun and playing and crafts, so it just made sense to bring those parts of my preschool experience into hers. It doesn’t always teach a lesson, but it makes it easier to engage younger children and make them realize that school isn’t all about work. Although my kids haven’t attended public school, I think it would also be a helpful way to transition to homeschooling and show that it isn’t just “school at home” in most instances.
Why Valentine’s Day Crafts?
I honestly feel that Valentine’s Day is one of the best holidays to do crafts with your kids. Not only does Hallmark make us feel the need to hand out cards, but, despite its exact origins being unknown, it’s a holiday about celebrating love. What better way to show someone that you love them than by taking the time to make something for them? Although baking is fun and yummy, I leave creating recipes to the experts (see NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Cookies). For me, I’d rather create fun arts and crafts that my kids can do.
Last year, when they were both 3, my nephew visited and I cut pink hearts of many sizes out of construction paper and handed them to him and K. They had fun running around the house taping them up. Eleven months later, we still have some hanging around. It didn’t teach them a lot, but they both learned, for as long as their 3 year old brains could remember, that Valentine’s day was about hearts and that meant it was about love.
How to Incorporate Valentine’s Day Crafts into Your Homeschool
Before we talk about specific crafts, I want to ask – do you currently incorporate arts and crafts time into your homeschool? If you do, that’ll make it super-easy to add in Valentine’s Day crafts in lieu of some of the other activities you have planned. If you don’t, I really recommend that you do as it promotes fine motor skills, creativity, critical thinking, and social and emotional learning amongst a bevy of other benefits!
Either way, you could plan time for Valentine’s Day crafts during morning time, during a break, free time, or down time, on a Friday afternoon, or maybe on a homeschool day off. If it feels like you can’t fit it in, think about how you might adjust your schedule for a doctor’s appointment. Taking time for crafts will most likely take a lot less time than a doctor’s appointment, but thinking of it that way can remind you that it’s possible to be flexible in your homeschool. And, of course, you could also do the crafts outside of your homeschool time in the evening or on the weekend.
So What Valentine’s Day Crafts Would You Suggest?
When it comes to choosing crafts, that all depends on you, your kids, your homeschool, and your time available. If your homeschool has a lot of crafting supplies and a lot of available time for crafting, you’ll have a lot more options than if it doesn’t. And Pinterest fans probably have a board filled with craft ideas ready to go. If your homeschool kids are younger, non-readers, or have little siblings that want to participate, you’ll likely need to be more heavily involved in their arts and crafts time.
I recommend starting with simple crafts. Like I did with my daughter and nephew, cutting out hearts, or showing your kids how to cut out hearts themselves, and putting them up around your home or homeschool area, is a great way to get started. Coloring pages can also be put up to add to your homeschool decor and get in the holiday mindset. You can create 3-D designs of hearts or words out of materials like playdoh, toilet paper rolls, or ripped up construction paper or macaroni glued to a page.
Valentine’s Day would be a great theme for a sensory bin, using colored rice or another filler, and adding things to the bin that remind you and your kids of loving and caring for others. You might include hearts, pink pom poms, animal figurines in pairs, penguins with pebbles, lobsters (10 points if you know what movies I just referenced!), or even some candy hearts or other Valentine’s Day candies that you won’t be eating after you finish using them.
Cards, Cards, and More Cards
Along with the above crafts, you can also make your own Valentine’s Day cards to send to family, friends, and loved ones. You can usually also find nearby nursing facilities, or other places that accept Valentine’s Day cards to put a smile on the residents’ faces. Or you could always exchange cards in a co-op group or with other homeschoolers you know or can find in groups online.
Pop-up cards are always fun, and not that difficult to make – line up two pages and fold them in half together, then cut shapes or patterns through the crease without going past the halfway mark or cutting too much of the paper off. Next you reverse the creased section so that the cut section is folded the other way. Glue the pages together and slowly open the card to see the shapes you cut pop out of the card.
Last year we found a way to make cards where you fold a page in half and trace your child’s hand with the thumb and pointer finger at the page crease. When you cut through both pages to cut the hand out, then open it, his or her fingers form a heart. It was a cute card (see photo above) that we were able to personalize, plus it makes for a great memory of how small your child’s hands were.
Conclusion
Arts and crafts are a great way to get into the spirit and mindset of Valentine’s Day. Posting each masterpiece in your homeschool area allows your kids to look and remember that the holiday is coming. Making and sending cards is a great way to keep your kids connected with family, friends, and loved ones, and can also be used as a service project.
I’m not an expert. I’m just a crafty mama who wants my kids to be happy and excited to learn. For more ideas, I’d definitely Google it or check Pinterest!
Thank you for joining us In Our Homeschool.
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