Every February 14, lovers of love have the opportunity to express their feelings of devotion when they celebrate St. Valentine’s Day. In elementary school, this holiday is typically marked by the exchange of cheery Valentine’s cards. While this practice falls by the wayside as children age, older pupils can still enjoy Valentine’s festivities by engaging in valentine-themed games. These games allow pupils to join with their peers in celebrating this day.
Significance
Valentine’s Day is a holiday dedicated not just to romantic love but also to friendship and unity. Even though your students are too young to experience the burning devotion that characterizes unwavering love, they can benefit from Valentine’s Day activities that encourage them to engage in kind and compassionate actions.
What to Include
When planning your games, try to incorporate as many Valentine’s Day-related aspects as possible. Feature red, pink and white prominently in your games as these colors are characteristic of the holiday. Incorporate hearts, cupids or arrows and your students will be able to recognize the Valentine’s connection easily.
Types
Valentine’s games come in nearly as many shapes and sizes as love itself. Plan games featuring Valentine’s Day symbols that meet your students’ interests. Consider venturing to the gym and creating a basketball game by placing hearts that spell out love across the gym floor and allowing students to take a shot from each. Or build a more mentally taxing game by taking words with a Valentine’s theme and typing them out, then clipping the letters apart to create a word jumble.
Mix Love and Learning
Celebrating Valentine’s Day does not mean that you have to abandon learning all together. Consider a math game with hearts featuring math problems and numbers for pairing or history activities in which students match famous couples throughout history. Both of these educational activities allow students to learn.
Keep in Mind
When dealing with older children, it is important to keep in mind that relationships are a touchy subject. Some pupils have likely already dabbled in love, while others wait patiently for their time to come. Among older children, taunting regarding crushes or romantic feelings is common. Don’t create more difficulty by pairing up students to play games without considering the potentially emotional implications of these pairings.
Photo Credit
- valentines image by japonka from Fotolia.com
