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Valentine Party Tips for Kindergarten Teachers

Make sure to STOP and read these Valentine’s Day party tips before planning your classroom celebration. Or just watch the VIDEO below! These are guaranteed to make your day go smoother and more fun for your kindergarten students!

Do not have a class Valentine party until you hear these Valentine party tips for kindergarten teachers. These tips and tricks are tested and proven to help create a more manageable classroom celebration so you can focus on engaging activities and student fun!

This resource works well with

Check out this video for all of my tips!

Watch this to get all of the tips explained by me!

Keep reading below to learn exactly how to decrease the stress and increase the fun during your classroom celebrations…

Read these tips before your next Valentine Party in kindergarten!

Tip #1: Only have your students do the FROM not the TO on their valentines.

This will eliminate a lot of issues. First, your students are in kindergarten. For them to sit down and write 25 student names they cannot spell can be hard for many of them. So what happens? The families write the names. Problem solved right? Nope because they may not have readable handwriting or even write in cursive and your students won’t be able to read it. Not to mention then the kids will be roaming around the room trying to figure out who sits where to get the right cards in the right boxes. Make life easy and just have the kids write the FROM.

Read these tips before your next Valentine Party in kindergarten!

Tip #2: Line up your boxes or bags in a line to distribute them.

I figured this tip out about halfway through my teaching career. This will change your day! For me, I like to put the boxes or bags in one straight line or put them around my whole group carpet. (It really just depends on the space I have that year). Then, we go one (or a few at a time) and just go down the row and drop one in. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Before this, I would put them on the students’ desks and tell the students to go in a certain order from desk to desk. Every single year I had at least 3-5 students who missed students. No matter how well I explained it. And it does matter because when little Sally gives everyone a cool pencil on their valentine and 5-6 kids didn’t get it you will spend your time trying to figure out who didn’t get what. (Yes, I know it doesn’t really matter but to me I want all my kids to get all the things especially when they are cool. It’s a fun day and I embrace it whoever happens!)

You can get the Beary Special Valentine bag here and the letter for the boxes here.

Tips #3: Plan an activity but don’t do something new.

If your kids have never played BINGO, today is not the day to start. If your kids have never done a minute to win it, don’t start today (we have some great valentine’s games here if you have BTW). That being said, practice practice, practice. If you want to do those games practice them in the days leading up. I have even read in our Facebook group where teachers will practice all week leading up to the party so that on the big day they are so proud to do the activities well.

To me, that’s the goal – independence. Let’s face it, class parties are working and things will come up so you want your day to run as smoothly as it can. Not doing new things will help.

That being said, our Kindergarten science units all follow the same format and we have a Conversation Heart Science unit (click here). We also have a ton of Simply Centers for Literacy (click here) and math (click here) that also follow the same format. We really have a TON of valentines resources to help you with this (click here to see it all).

Read these tips before your next Valentine Party in kindergarten!

Tip #4: Cupcakes with rings.

I love a good cupcake but when you are 5 it’s all about the rings. If you are allowed to have cupcakes (some are not, click here if that’s you) we suggest asking your parents to send them with the rings, not on them. Most bakeries will give you a set of rings separate from the cupcakes, you just have to ask. We ask this in our class party letter (click here to get that).

If you do get cupcakes with rings, I would quickly grab some Ziplock bags and use a Sharpie to write names on them. Tell students to take those rings off and put them right in their baggie and right in their backpacks. Most of them will be able to cleanly take those off and take them home to wash and wear.

Read these tips before your next Valentine Party in kindergarten!

Tip #5: Have a clear plan if you want your students to be able to open their valentines and treats.

For me, this depends on my class. Some years it’s a flat no – take it home and enjoy your items there. And some years it’s a yes. When we do I will use our carpets to organize it. Students all each a carpet square and their box and items must stay in their space. (Click here to read about our carpet squares). I rarely let my kiddos eat the candy so make that very clear in your directions but they LOVE looking at the little cards.

Tip #6: Ask for help.

YES! ??Like for real. Have families come in and help. Having extra hands can take off some of the stress. Families can help work with kids on the crafts and centers, help line up the boxes or bags, and help students who need to distribute their valentines. Click here to get our free Valentine class party letter where you can ask for volunteers if you want.

The last most important tip – HAVE FUN! It’s going to be crazy, it’s going to be chaotic, but it’s also going to be fun and memorable. These are the days that kindergarteners will be excited to come and remember! Thanks for taking the effort, time, and a lot of times money to make your students have these memories!

There you have it. What tips do you have for a smooth Valentine’s Day party? Let us know if the comments below.

At Simply Kinder we work together to bring you ready-to-use resources to partner with great teaching for any curriculum, a Facebook community where teachers talk all things Kindergarten, and low-prep learning ideas that your students will love. Be sure to stay up to date with all things kindergarten on InstagramFacebookPinterest, and through email. Simply Kinder: where teaching Kinder is definitely better together!

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