Valentine's Day

A fun Valentine's Day activity for your students is to tell them that they have been promoted to president of a new greeting card company and that Valentine's Day is their first holiday on the job. Have them come up with greetings for a new line of cards. Be sure to give them specific intended recipients for each card (principal, parents, younger siblings, grocery store cashier, etc.) How do the slogans differ depending on the recipient?
As many of you have experienced, Valentine's Day can be difficult for teachers. Not only is it nearly impossible to ensure that valentines are distributed fairly, but many of us still carry the scars from when our elementary school friends seemed more loved than we did. To deal with both issues, I thought it would be a good idea to try sharing a Valentine's Day anecdote with our students. It might make them feel better to hear that the pressures they feel on a day like this are universal.