Spoiler Alert: I’m pretty sure I became a teacher for Valentine’s Day. Opening each and every card and reading sweet messages of friendship and appreciation is the GREATEST, don’t you agree?!?!
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Imagine my reaction when the principal told me that all parties ended in 3rd grade. (I was just hired as the 4th-grade teacher.) – I was BLOWN AWAY! What? No Valentine cards???
I’m not usually quick on my feet, but that day, God was with me for sure…. I explained that since it was SAINT Valentine’s Day and we were a CATHOLIC School if I designed activities based on solid lessons, could I then celebrate the holiday???
In 1994 I’m sure there were standards, but as an un-credentialed Catholic School Teacher, I didn’t use them, know they existed or care frankly. The principal agreed to my plan and this spunky young teacher was about to design lessons for a room of 40 children and we WERE going to have a SAINT Valentine’s day party…..
I researched Saint Valentine (before there was internet in every home) in every saint book I could find. Saint Valentine of Rome was indeed known for spreading friendship, Christianity, and marrying soldiers when it was deemed illegal to do so. The “legend” of him sending a letter signed: From your Valentine, was just that, a legend. But legends are rooted in historical fact, so we could write our own letters as part of our activities!
My lessons were well done and APPROVED by the principal. We could use our Religion time to learn about Saint Valentine and exchange Valentine’s Cards!
Grab these free Valentine’s Day Cards for you celebration this year.
Looking for Valentine’s Day crafts for kids? You’ll want to head over to A Touch of Homeschooling. This blog has 25 easy Valentine’s Day crafts for you!
(Watch out Saint Patrick – here I come!!! )
From that point on I celebrated everything I could get away with – and, God bless my first principal! By allowing me that freedom to research and write my own lesson, I blossomed into a teacher who would write more and more curriculum herself over the years.
When I left the classroom in 2019, the only district approved textbook I was using was for math. Everything else was “homegrown” and developed over years of research and putting children above standards.
I know you may have to use standards in your home or classroom based on your circumstance, but the great thing is this: YOU KNOW YOUR STANDARDS BEST. Take my resources and adapt them to fit your standards. I have 20 years of curriculum writing experience, all because I wanted to get Valentine cards!
If you are in need of academically based lessons for Saint Valentine’s Day – or you would just like to have historically accurate resources, the Happy Hive activity: Saint Valentine: The Man Behind the Holiday is just what you need!
You get a fact-filled Google Slide presentation with printable worksheets your learners fill out as they follow along. After learning about St. Valentine, make the St. Valentine Paper Plate Craft. you can choose from the FULL COLOR or the COLOR YOUR OWN templates!
And you guessed it we also have St. Patrick and St. Nicholas… or you can get all three in a money-saving bundle!
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