Valentine's Day Countdown

A holiday all about love is a wonderful idea.  Unfortunately, sometimes it seems like the spirit of Valentine's Day gets lost in a maze of commercialization, candy and unusually expensive date nights. This year, in the days leading up to Valentine's Day, I wanted to turn our focus out towards acts of love that we could do for each other, and for our community.  I cut out 10 paper hearts, and wrote a different act of love we could do on each heart.  The activities are simple and easy enough to be done with or by toddlers and preschool aged kidst, but are equally meaningful for older children and adults.  Here are our activities:

1.  Help clean up the neighbourhood by picking up any garbage we see at the park, or on the street (make sure you wear gloves!).

2.  Take care of someone else's chore, or help clean up without being asked.

3.  Plant flower seeds in pots.  Share them with friends once they begin to grow.

4.  Surprise someone with a note telling them what you love about them, or draw a picture of you and that person together.

5. Think of someone who helps you (a teacher, a babysitter, grandpa etc), and write them a note or draw them a picture to let them know you appreciate what they do.

6. Make a donation to a charity (there are lots of ways to do this, from dropping off items at the food bank, to having an older child select a portion of his or her allowance to give to a cause that is meaningful.  Toddlers can be given a coin to drop into a fundraising jar, with mom or dad explaining what the charity does).

7. Bring a surprise to the neighbours.  From baking cupcakes or cookies, to leaving a magazine or other treat in the mailbox, the options are wide open.

8. Share something you love.

9. Make a birdfeeder, or scatter some birdseed outside.

10. Choose a new book, art supplies, or a toy to donate to children at the Alberta Children's Hospital (for more information on what items are most needed, check out the website).

I placed the hearts in a clean jar (I think it may have once held pickles).  We used a glue stick to glue construction paper hearts onto the jar, and tied a ribbon on it. 

Each day, we will select a heart in the morning, and at the end of the day we will talk about how we each completed the activity.  We will then write a letter onto the heart, and tie it onto our countdown calendar (a simple ribbon tied to a dowel).  Since there are 10 letters in "VALENTINES", and 10 days in our countdown, by Valentine's Day we will have spelled out the complete word, sneaking in a little early literacy, alphabet, and spelling practice as well. 

We would love to have your family join us in our countdown.  Be sure to let us know if you do! Check out momstown.ca for more Valentine's Day themed crafts and activities too.