5 Ideas for Celebrating Valentine’s Day in Your Homeschool
Published:
January 19, 2021
Contributor:
Carrie
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase via my links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. See my disclosure for more info.
As homeschoolers we can make anything a lesson, even through celebrating Valentine’s Day. Whether you’ve considered using holidays as teaching points in your homeschool, here are five ideas for celebrating Valentine’s Day in your homeschool.
Be sure to scroll down to access our free printable Valentine’s Day cards that have Charlotte Mason quotes – perfect for the nature-loving, Charlotte Mason style homeschool.
The History of Valentine’s Day
Teaching the history of a holiday is always a good starting point. When it comes to Valentine’s Day, it’s roots spread between a mix of fact and fiction, most of which has lost its validity over time. Depending on which route you take, you’ll find multiple stories about men named Valentine, all who could’ve been the one behind the most commonly taught story.
Most quick searches pull up the story about Valentine of Rome, a priest who lived during the third century. He believed the edict put into place by Emperor Claudius wasn’t fair to young men, especially those who found love. This particular edict prevented young men from marrying because the Emperor believed they would be better soldiers.
Valentine, on the other hand, secretly married couples. He would eventually be put into jail but would then perform a miracle of healing a judge’s bling daughter. This story then ties into his faith in Jesus and the impact it had on the judge and his family. They would eventually renounce ties to the gods they previously believed in and converted to Christianity, eventually getting baptized.
Of course we don’t know the truth of this, but the moral of the story makes for great teaching points about belief, faith, works, and taking action for what you believe in.
Where did Valentine’s Day cards and gifts come from?
With the above history lesson in mind, you may wonder (like I did) where the cards, gifts, and overall celebration of Valentine’s Day come from. It is said that Valentine’s greetings date back to the early 1400s with the first recorded Valentine greeting being handwritten by a man named Charles, Duke of New Orléans. Handwritten Valentine’s would continue to be a thing until the 1900s when they began to be replaced by printed cards.
Statistics show that Valentine’s Day is the second largest holiday where people send greeting cards. It is estimated that over 1 billion cards will be sent each and every year.
5 Ideas for Celebrating Valentine’s Day in Your Homeschool
Once the history lesson is out of the way, use some (or all) of the ideas below to have a great time celebrating Valentine’s Day in your homeschool.
Make Valentine’s Day treats.
Who doesn’t think of sweet candy and desserts with this holiday? I sure do! Here are some quick and easy kid-friendly recipes to try:
Have fun with Valentine’s-themed hands-on activities.
If there’s two things kids love it’s fun and hands-on activities. These suggestions are low-prep and lots of fun:
- Make a Valentine’s sensory bin for the littles in your family.
- Incorporate a Valentine’s STEM challenge for the slightly older kids.
- Play a few hands-on minute-to-win-it games, perfect for the whole family.
Enjoy a few love-themed movies.
Between Amazon Prime, Disney+, and Hulu – there are lots of love-themed movies to watch as a family. Here are a few to consider adding to your watch list:
- Up
- Meet the Robinsons
- Ever After
- Penelope
Read several Valentine’s themed books.
It’s hard to pass up good literature, not to mention, these are easy to add into your morning basket or read as bedtime stories:
- Happy Valentine’s Day Mouse
- The Day it Rained Hearts
- Love from the Very Hungry Caterpillar
- You’ll Be My Valentine
- Llama Llama I Love You
Send Valentine’s Day cards to those you love.
What would be Valentine’s Day without sending a card as a token of love to those closest to you (and your kids)?
We have some free nature-themed, Charlotte Mason inspired Valentine’s Day cards that are print ready.
All you need to do is download, print, cut and have your kids decorate the back. If you plan to mail them, a small envelope will work or you can get postcard stamps and send them as is.
Click here to download your free Valentine’s Day cards!
More FREE Valentine’s Day Resources You Might Enjoy:
Carrie
Carrie Fernandez is the founder of Homeschool Giveaways and owner of Daily Skill Building. She has been homeschooling for over 18 years, has two girls and works side by side at home with her awesome husband. She has been saved by grace, fails daily, but continues to strive toward the prize of the high calling of being a daughter of the Most High God.
