Making Valentine's Day Educational

Everybody knows Valentine’s Day is the holiday of love. But why not make it the holiday of learning, too? This special day has its roots in both Christian and ancient Roman traditions, based upon the legendary Saint Valentine. However, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints with the name, and all are believed to have been martyred on February 14. The stories range from a man who performed secret marriages for soldiers in love, to one who healed a girl of her blindness. Although the origin of the true Valentine is not clear, archaeological evidence confirms that a Saint Valentine did exist.  It is the combination of legend, mystery, love, and history that makes Valentine’s Day a fascinating topic for study at almost any age.

There are many ways that you can incorporate learning around the holiday of love. From craft projects to essays on the history of St. Valentine, February 14^th offers a great opportunity for homeschoolers to mix learning with fun! One of the great advantages of homeschooling is the flexibility to build lessons around special events and holidays. This year, do more than just send out some valentine cards – make Valentine’s Day an educational experience!

• Study the history of Valentine’s Day. For some great historical resources about this holiday, visit:
  • The Holiday Spot
  • History.com
  • St.Valentine’sDay.org.

• Make a Valentine’s Day lapbook! Lapbooks are wonderful hands on ways for children to learn and do at the same time. They incorporate facts, creativity, and fun all together, and give children a “finished product” they can refer to later on. For ideas on a Valentine’s Day lapbook, consider these lapbook resources:
  • Thoroughly Blessed
  • Cranberry Valentine, a lapbook for young children based on the book by Wende and Harry Devlin.
  • PDF Valentine’s Day lapbook for $7.95

• Do a Valentine’s Day unit study. Unit studies allow you to customize the learning to the specific areas on which you wish to focus. You can incorporate subjects from science to language arts to math, all while learning about Valentine’s Day. Consider these resources for a Valentine’s Day unit study:
  • TheHomeSchoolMom
  • Homeschool Helper Online
  • A to Z’s Home’s Cool
  • Hip Homeschool Moms