Celebrating Valentine's Day with Your Child

Valentine's isn't just for lovers - it's about love and all those we love, our children included. We can start teaching our children what it's all about by having a special celebration with them, even if there's an adults-only celebration later on. Here are some ideas to get you started: 1. Make heart meringues. On this adorable site - http://www.himonkey.net/cooking/pavlova/index.html - the little monkey shows you step-by-step how to do it. 2. Let your child have a party for his or her friends. Let him make the invitations: http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/val/clip/ . Plan the refreshments - think of all the RED things - tomato soup, catsup, pizza, red jello, on and on. Plan some games - pin the lips on the Valentine Lady, musical chairs, or rent a video like "Willie Wonka". 3. Make heart-shaped sugar cookies and take them to a children's shelter, neighbors, a nursing home, or Nana and Papaw. 4. Check your local newspaper for special Valentine activities. For example, the Lynchburg Maier Art Museum is having "love at the Meier: Family Program," Sunday, February 12, 2006, at 2 P.M. In keeping with the special exhibition "Some Kind of Wonderful: Recent Sculpture by James O. Clark and Tara Donovan, youngsters will create three-dimensional Valentines. Additional Valentine-themed crafts and activities and free refreshments will be available. 5. Make valentine's decorations. HiMonkey can show you how to make your own "crackers" - http://www.himonkey.net/holiday/xmas/xmascrackers/index.html . They aren't just for Christmas, and aren't just for the UK. I always have them myself! http://homeschooling.about.com/cs/unitssubjhol/a/valentines01.htm has instructions for invitations, placemats, coupons, coloring pages, cards, and more! 6. Learn how to set a beautiful table for Valentine's Day - lots of tutorials here - http://homeschooling.about.com/cs/unitssubjhol/a/valentines01_2.h tm . This is so great for learning lifeskills. 7. Have a mission through your church. One woman I know, and her daughter, team up and make dinner for a couple at their church, and then baby-sit their children while the couple goes out. 8. Include our most constant source of unconditional love - our animal companions. Let your child plan something for you dog - this helps them learn about love, giving, and doing for others. You can make homemade dog biscuits - http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/recipe_dogbiscuit.htm 9. Help your child with the situation at school. Many of us have bad memories about Valentine's Day. I remember the year I dreaded I wouldn't get any, and then something worse happened - a boy I couldn't stand stuffed about 50 into my Valentine box and everyone made fun of me. Different teachers have different rules, i.e., in some classes everyone must give to everyone, but whatever they are, talk through the feelings with your child as you anticipate some likelihoods. It's a good time to teach Emotional Intelligence, being fair, hurting feelings, compliance, etc. Share your feelings and memories about Valentine's Day with your child. 10. Shape the holiday according to your values. Is this about love and friendship, or about materialism? And is the only love that counts the love between a man and a woman? Model this for your child - give gifts of time, appreciation, kindness, and listening. Label it clearly for your child, because they don't think conceptually. Say, "Let's give Papaw something special for Valentine's. Let's go visit him and ask him to tell us stories about his childhood. That's a special gift for him."