Fun Ways to Celebrate Valentine's Day with Your Kids

In the Kitchen

1) Use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut pancakes or a sandwich into a Valentine's heart.

2) Roll out homemade pizza crust dough and trim the edges to make a heart shaped pizza.

3) Decorate heart shaped sugar cookies with pink frosting and sprinkles.

4) Add a drop or two of red food coloring to a glass of milk to give it a festive pink tint.

5) Melt baking chocolate or milk chocolate chips on low in the microwave. Using the bamboo sticks that you build shish kebabs with, spear strawberries and chunks of bananas, then dip into the melted chocolate. Set on wax paper to cool, then enjoy.

Crafts

6) Cut out construction paper hearts in red, white, and pink. Use a hole puncher to make holes around the outside edge of the hearts, and thread ribbon or yarn through them, making a bow at the top. Decorate with glitter glue.

7) Make flowers for a loved one with white coffee filters. Using washable markers, color the coffee filters. Fill an empty spray bottle with plain water, then spray the colored coffee filters until the colors start to bleed. Stack two or three coffee filters on top of each other, then pinch the centers together to form a fluffy flower shape. Secure by twisting a green pipe cleaner around the pinched part, letting the rest of the pipe cleaner hang down to form a stem.

8) Make a picture frame by gluing clean popsicle sticks together in the shape of a rectangle. Decorate with paint and glitter, or glue little candy conversation hearts on.

9) Cut a heart shape out of a sponge and sponge paint.

10) Make a Valentine's wreath by cutting the center out of a large paper plate. Glue construction paper hearts around the remaining ring.

11) Cut a heart shape out of construction paper or cardboard. Tear red, white, or pink tissue paper or construction paper into squares. Glue the squares onto the heart.

Games

12) Play checkers or bingo using conversation hearts as playing pieces.

13) Cut a heart out of a cereal box or piece of thick construction paper. Cut it into large pieces, and let your child reassemble it like a puzzle.

Other Activities

14) Learn how to say "I love you" in different languages. Here is a list.

15) Discuss the legends surrounding the origin of Valentine's Day. A good place to start is this website about Valentine's Day. Some of the legends are a little graphic and may require censoring before sharing with your children.

Additional Sources
www.stvalentinesday.org