18 Little Valentines

As you know, this past Tuesday was Valentine’s Day. To be honest, I’ve never been a huge fan of this particular holiday. It’s nothing personal, I just feel like it’s a painfully generic holiday. Think about it--- unlike Christmas and birthdays, Valentine’s Day doesn’t require any creativity or originality in showing someone special how much you care. It seems as though February 14th causes everyone to go out and select the exact same roses, chocolates, and stuffed animals. Call me crazy, but I like to know that some time and thought went into selecting something perfect just for me. Even when I was in elementary school I felt this way. I used to open up by box of Valentines, organize them into piles of each unique card, and purposefully select a card for each of my classmates, bearing in mind both the picture and the saying on each card. Call me a weirdo, but it was a whole process for me. And as I was getting my Valentines ready for my 18 second graders I realized that nothing much has changed.

For my 18 little valentines, I settled on a Dr. Seuss theme. They LOVE Dr. Seuss these days, and I can’t say that I blame them. He’s always been one of my favorites, too. Happily, I found Dr. Seuss valentines at Walmart and then stumbled upon Dr. Seuss bookmarks at a craft store. To complete each gift bag, I added a pencil, a fun-size package of M-n-Ms, and 3 Smarties. Then I tied each bag with red satin ribbon and made blue nametags using my Cricut. Each bag is unique, with a Valentine and pencil selected for each child based on their personality. Not only were these gift bags cute, they were affordable too! Each bag cost less than a dollar. Plus, I still have plenty of bookmarks and valentines left over for future students.

As it turns out, Valentine’s Day is about a hundred times more fun and exciting when you’re an elementary school teacher. We worked fun valentine activities into each subject area, sang charming Valentine’s Day songs, surprised our lunch room aid with a heart-shaped box of chocolates, exchanged cards and sweet treats, painted red glittery hearts on the kids’ faces, and had a wonderful time. My 18 little valentines had the sweetest smiles on their faces as they plundered through their valentine holders, laughing and sharing with each other. This was by far the best Valentine’s Day! How was your Valentine's Day?

XO, Amy