Hearts, candy, cards, excited kids – you need some fun (and free) Valentine’s Day activities to keep your early elementary students engaged and learning!
I have found a bunch of free resources to help you plan some fun and educational activities.
Valentine’s Day Books and Online Read-alouds
Personally, I think books should be the first thing you consider when you begin lesson planning. Recently, I wrote a post suggesting 5 great picture books for Valentine’s Day. Head over to the post to read more about these great books.
Of course, there are lots more great book options to add to your Valentine’s Day activities and I am sure you have some favorites. I found two online read-alouds on Storyline Online that might just become class favorites, Somebody Loves You Mr. Hatch, and Romeow and Drooliet. Both of the short videos would be perfect when your primary students need a little “calm” time.
Free Valentine’s Day Research
No doubt Valentine’s Day is fun, but we also want to add some educational elements. Even our youngest children are not too young to start doing some research. Our early elementary students need to know how to find information that is trustworthy. We also want them to find information safely, which is why I love using Ducksters. This site is safe in terms of appropriate content. It also has content that you can feel good about sharing. Some of the words may still be too difficult for your primary students to read alone, but you can pull the article about Valentine’s Day, including the history, and read it with your students.
National Geographic for Kids is also a site you can feel good about sharing with your young students. They have a great article that provides a lot of information about Valentine’s Day. Like Ducksters, you may have to read the article to your students.
Free Valentine’s Day Color by Addition
Valentine’s Day is also a great time to sneak in some meaningful review. This Valentine’s Day Color by Code is perfect for morning work, early finishers, centers, independent review, and even homework. You can print this fun Valentine’s Day activity or assign the activity in Seesaw.
Another great option to sneak in some skills review is this free Valentine’s Day activity that can only be found in my Free Teacher Resource Library.
This resource gives students much-needed practice with skip counting and with place value. You can print this no-prep printable or assign it in Seesaw. Become a member of the Free Resource Library to get this fun freebie and many more.
Not so Free, but Worth Mentioning Resources
My title says fabulously fun and free Valentine’s Day activities, but I do want to share a few that aren’t free, just in case they might be just what you need as you plan your lessons. (I promise I will end this post with more freebies). All of these additional Valentine’s Day activities can be found in my TPT store.
If you like Color by Code, I have a fun Valentine’s Day Color by Sight Words. This resource features 3 different levels of sight words: Kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. There are also sight word games for even more hands-on review!
This Valentine First Grade Math Secret Picture Puzzle resource comes in several formats: print, Google Slides, PowerPoint, and center work mats. These fun, hands-on, self-checking activities will provide meaningful math practice.
These fun secret picture puzzles also come in Boom Cards format! This Boom Cards deck has 5 secret picture puzzles to help your early elementary students review addition and subtraction.
I have more Valentine-themed Boom Cards! Check these out for even more Valentine’s fun! Just click the caption to see these digital task cards in my Boom Learning store.
More Free Valentine’s Day Activities
Back to the free resources! Here are three sites that will certainly add to the holiday fun: Starfall, ABCYA, and PBS Kids. Starfall has a cute Send a Valentine activity that allows students to create an online Valentine. ABCYA has several online and printable games for your early elementary students. I have included the link to take you directly to the Valentine’s Day activities on this site. Finally, PBS Kids has some really cute videos that your students will certainly enjoy, like Pinkalicious, Nature Cat, and Sesame Street.
Final Free Activity
This activity does require some paper, but I would definitely suggest using scrap paper or that faded construction paper in the back of your cabinet! This Valentine’s Day activity will have your students problem-solving, thinking, and cutting! Students will use a square, a circle, and scissors to make a heart!
This is one of my favorite Valentine’s Day activities, I must admit. I did this one every year when I taught first grade. When I taught this special grade, we were allowed to share homemade baked goods (for the most part). So, I started this activity with a promise of a heart cake! I know you can’t typically share homemade items now, but this is still a great activity. Here is the cake portion of the activity, but feel free to eliminate it or find store-bought options.
First, I would build my students’ anticipation by telling them the day before that I was bringing them a beautiful heart-shaped caked for a special Valentine’s day treat. The next day, I would dramatically remove the tinfoil from my beautiful cake and reveal – wait for it – a plain circle and square cake (no icing). Of course, the kids reacted the way I thought they would, and honestly hoped they would. I heard lots of groans and oh nos! A few really sweet kids always told me the cakes were still pretty. You have to love the sweet ones!
Next, I would tell my students that we could turn the two cakes into one beautiful heart cake – but I needed their help. I would give the students a circle and square piece of paper. Then, I would tell them to make one cut and try to figure out how to make a heart.
You decide how to proceed with this activity. I have had some classes where I gave them few directions and just let them try to figure it out. Of course, I had lots of circles and squares ready for them! On the other hand, I have had classes where I first guided them to cut the circle in half and then put their scissors away. The students still had to problem-solve, but I simplified the activity for them.
Once a student figured out the secret to turning a circle and square into a heart, I would then turn our two cakes into one heart cake. After icing the cake, we all enjoyed a yummy piece.
Conclusion
Your students are already excited about Valentine’s Day, so you might as well use this excitement to your advantage! Plan some fun, thematic activities that will add to your students’ learning. There are so many fabulously fun and free resources that can really provide some great Valentine’s Day activities!