February is one of my favorite months of the school year! I love all things pink and hearts, so of course I enjoy all of the Valentine’s Day activities. There are so many fun ways to tie kindergarten standards into this holiday!
Morning Bins
Morning bins are how I soft start the day in my classroom every day. Students come in and get to do fun hands-on, fine motor activities at their tables. These activities include building with different materials, cutting, hole punching, etc. The February morning bins are all related to Valentine’s Day. Students always have so much fun with these activities and look forward to the new theme each month.
Candy Heart Math Centers
What better way to make math more fun than with candy? Those famous conversation hearts that you find around Valentine’s Day make great math manipulatives. I like to purchase the individual boxes and give one to each student. They complete 6 different activities with their hearts, including counting, making patterns, sorting and graphing, measurement, addition, and subtraction. The best part…when they are done they get to eat their hearts!
Color By Code Activities
Color By Code activities are always a huge hit with my students. They are great for reviewing skills we have worked on, such as letters and numbers. I use them all the time as early finisher activities, morning work, and even in my writing center that students can visit during free play time.
Math the Room
Math the Room is always a favorite center in my classroom. Students get to use clipboards and walk around the room to find the picture cards. They count the pictures and write how many on their recording sheets. I can easily differentiate with the recording sheets, because there are different versions including writing the number, filling in a 10-frame, and comparing the amounts. I also have picture cards for teen numbers, addition, and subtraction.
Teacher Valentine Cards
Of course, passing out valentine cards is one of the most exciting things about Valentine’s Day in the classroom. As a teacher, I like to give my students cards too, but don’t want to break the budget. The dollar store and Target dollar spot are always filled with fun holiday goodies. So, I just find some items there and pair them with my printable Valentine cards. These cards are also great for when a student forgets or isn’t able to bring in cards.
Love Monster Directed Drawing
Each month, I love to do a directed drawing with my students. We learn to draw the picture together as a whole group, then students get to color their drawing. Afterwards, we hang them up on our student work display board.
In February, we draw these adorable little love monsters. This is one of my favorites because it pairs with the story Love Monster.
Valentine's Day Read Alouds
Story time is my favorite time of the day in kindergarten! As with any holiday, I love to incorporate some fun themed read alouds. Some of my favorite Valentine’s Day books include The Day It Rained Hearts, I Love You Already, and Duck and Hippo the Secret Valentine.
Check out all of my favorite February read alouds below!
Other Valentine's Day Resources
These are a couple of other Valentine’s Day activities I love to use in my classroom! The emergent reader is great for small group instruction. My students also love practicing their number sense by building the boxes of chocolate during math centers.
Hopefully this gave you some ideas for some fun and engaging activities to do in February with your students.
I know many schools celebrate their 100th day of school in February as well. Check out how I celebrate the 100th day of school HERE.
