As a teacher, I used to not enjoy Valentine's Day parties. It felt chaotic and the kids were extra distracted. A few years into teaching, I decided to embrace the fun and crazy! I started doing themed parties with specific activities planned that were carried out through stations in my classroom. I have put together ten SWEET Valentine's Day classroom party ideas that are low prep for you, the teacher. They are also super engaging for students, which cuts down on behavior issues throughout the day. You can do these activities as stations or you can do them throughout the day as a whole group. Pick and choose which ideas you use or use them all! I would usually do the stations in small groups that rotated and did the snack part together at the end as a class.
Can I just say that I am OBSESSED with Valentine's Day decor?! It's just so bright and fun! You can print these decorations to hang on your front board to get students in the Valentine spirit. The theme is all about sweets, so I had to add these cute sweet printables.
Families love to help with parties and send in whatever you need. I would send this family letter home 2-3 weeks in advance. Be sure to tell families when you need it back and when you need the supply they are donating. I include an editable letter in the resource so that you can add whatever you need. You could also create a Sign Up Genius for families if you are feeling techie.
If you are doing stations, print the station signs for each station you are going to use. I attached these numbers so that students would know which station to rotate to next.
Of course, you don't have to do stations! You can do the activities whole group, especially with the pandemic still in full force. Here is little party agenda that you can follow to make sure you fit in all of the activities.
I like to give students a break from their usual morning work on holidays. They can color this printable when they first come in that morning.
Families will love getting photos with students holding these Valentine pennant flags! You can print all four on cardstock. I attach them to a wooden skewer with scotch tape. You can even tie different ribbons to the stick for a little extra flair!
It's not a party without a STEM challenge! I tried to create a super simple challenge that doesn't require much prep. All you need are these little Love Robots printed on cardstock and Conversation Hearts for each student. They have to build the tallest free standing tower that can hold the Love Robot on top.
Color by Number is always a favorite for my students. I kept it simple with addition to 12 so that most students could independently complete the printable.
Instead of bringing in Valentine boxes, I always have my students create a treat bag at school. For this one, they will put together a donut craft to attach to these craft paper gift bags. I included these on the family letter, because I always have parents who are willing to pick them up for us. They can use these bags to hold the Valentine cards they receive from their friends.
Be sure to grab some extra Conversation Hearts for BINGO! I put the name of each piece of clip art on the calling cards, because I know some of them can be a little confusing. There are ten different BINGO boards included, so that you can have lots of variation if you play as a whole group.
I ended up changing the name of this station after I took these photos to Sweet Reads. I like to start off stations by reading one Valentine's Day read aloud. I also let them listen to one while they are eating their party snack.
Put all of your Valentine's Day books in a basket or tub for the Sweet Reads station.
If you need to incorporate some standards into your party, students can fill out this BME graphic organizer after reading one of the books.
The directed drawing for this party is of a cupcake. I try to keep them pretty simple for stations, in case they are doing this independently. Printable directed drawing steps are included that you can hang at the station.
We do the party snack at the end of the day as a whole group. I put everything together while they are at their stations. I have been making Cupid's Floats with my students for as long as I can remember. It's super easy, just pour cherry 7UP and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I put a strawberry Twizzler in for a straw but have found that it's hard to drink the float through, so I grab some straws to stick in there, too.
We do a snack mix for Halloween and for Valentine's Day. The usual cupcakes and all the things are just a waste and are messy. I like to do a snack mix filled with fun Valentine treats, so that the kids can pick and choose what they want to eat without a mess. Be sure to put each student's individual snack mix in a bag that is resealable so they can take the leftovers home. I found these cute bags at Target!
If you would like your Valentine's Day classroom party planned for you, click on any of the photos to grab the resource. I know you all loved the Halloween and Christmas Party Activities, so I just had to put together one for Valentine's Day. My goal is to always make things that are low prep for you and engaging and fun for your students. Grab this party resource to join in on the classroom party fun!
