Don't hate me but I love Valentine's Day. This Valentine activity is one example why. Creating a kindness jar with a group of friends, classmates, or family members is a power experience. There is a free printable at the end of this post to get you started!
Over the years I have been THAT mom asking specific questions at the end of the day. My hope is that my boys reflect on their days and on the people that impact them.
This past holiday season we had our inaugural “Life is Good” jar where we wrote on scraps of paper anything and everything we loved in life. So, you can imagine the range of responses depending on mood, on the day, on the child, and so on.
On Christmas, at the dinner table, that is how we began our meal. That was my toast to the family. I opened the jar and read bit after bit of why our “Life is Good”. Such a wonderful reminder of all the wonderful joys to experience every day.
Valentine Activity for the Whole Family
Valentine's Day has a love/hate relationship with the world. I choose to embrace the occasion. Yes, I LOVE Valentine's Day as a day to celebrate and honor friendship, kindness, and compassion. So, of course, I created an “I Love You Because” jar…that we have been dutifully filling…without pressure each morning or afternoon depending on when the mood strikes us.
My boys love it.
“I love you because you are crazy like me. We can be crazy together.” My 6-year-old wrote to his younger brother. Heart melting.
I am sure I will find a few “I love you because your poop…” you get my drift…and I need not say any more.
Perfect Valentine Activity for the Classroom
I created three sets of Valentine cards for my sons to fill out. The sets include “I love you because”, “You rock because”, and “You're a great friend because…”. I printed each set in cursive and standard font.
Steps to making this Valentine Activity happen are simple:
- Find a large mason jar or container. Make it see through so you all can enjoy watching the jar fill with love over the month!
- Download this FREE printable
- Print out
- Cut
- Place by jar with markers & pens
- Encourage children to write sentiments without the pressure of naming themselves or the person in their thoughts (although they can certainly write their names if they would like)
- I also included pink and red post it notes for fun
- On Valentine's Day, open the jar, and read (or take turns reading) all the love notes
- Experience the warm fuzzies
Free Valentine Printable
Click on the image above for your FREE Valentine Activity printable!
I hope you enjoyed this post. Come on, admit it, you're with me, you love Valentine's Day now. Right?
Related Read: [Free Printable] Valentines Day Activities & Crafts for Preschoolers
Marnie