As I reflect on Valentine’s Day, I always think of chocolate, flowers, Hallmark cards, and Cupids. 
This year, I decided to expand my thinking about Valentine’s Day. Are there other things we can add to Valentine’s Day to make the holiday more meaningful? Can we show more gratitude for all of the blessings that we have in life? Can we help those who may be hurting, or going through a tough time ? Can we expand this idea to involve our students so they can learn to help others in their community? Help them gain some understanding that giving of themselves can be rewarding and make them feel good inside? Here are some ideas I’ve discovered after doing some research:
invite some residents from an elderly home or center to our school and have students read to them. Have these wonderful, wise people read to our students. Make some rewarding human connections with people who may need some contact with young, lively “hearts” that are found within our students.
Die-cut construction paper hearts and have a class set for each student. Have each student write one compliment for each of their classmates. These messages can prove to be quite powerful, and their messages can be remembered long after this year’s Valentine’s Day is over.
Have students create a “Valentine” for their parents, and create it so it is a “pass” for one free chore that the student will do at home for the parents. This activity can also be expanded so students can make one free “Chore” valentine for a teacher, office manager, principal, custodian, school nurse, or librarian.
Have students (with the help and supervision of their parents) bake goodies and have them bring them to school. Have a bake sale at school and donate the proceeds to a local crisis shelter for children or a local homeless center. This shows students that they can help those who are less fortunate than themselves.
These simple acts of kindness will help all of us create more meaning as we celebrate our wonderful holiday we call Valentine’s Day.
Happy Valentine’s Day to you and yours! Please leave a comment with some additional ideas that can help us add to our “giving list”.