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."