Get Ready For Valentine’s Day

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Get your students in the Valentine's Day spirit with these easy-to-make decorations and crafts.

Valentine Letterbox 
Cover each side of a tissue box (4 1/4 by 5 1/4 inches) with colored paper. Do not paper over the top opening. Decorate with valentine symbols cut from paper or fabric. Glue a paper doily around the top opening so children can use the box to store valentines.

Valentine Holder
These happy valentine holders are made by cutting a lovable pet out of strong and heavy paper. Add features and glue or staple on a large heart pocket, leaving the top open for cards.

Wall of Hearts
Heart minimurals are a good way for students to experiment with watercolor washes. Give each student a 12 by 18 inch sheet of white construction paper. Dampen the paper and dab on dots or stripes of paint, allowing colors to run together. When dry, draw five to eight heart silhouettes on the paper with a black felt pen. Cut the hearts out and leave a small border around the black outlines. Mount them in a row on a strip of heavy tagboard or matboard. Tie the design together with a border.

Flowery Valentine
Cut heart with top on fold so card will open for inside message. Cover front with flowers cut from seed catalogs, magazines, or gift wrap. Overlap so that no background shows. Paste on letters naming recipient.

Valentine Animals
When this art project is finished, your bulletin board will have a menagerie of heart-warming and lovable animals. Begin by having children cut out many, many hearts of different shapes, sizes, and colors. Then students arrange and rearrange them to make their creations. They can use hearts of many colors and draw in some of their animals' features. When satisfied with their finished animals, students glue or tape the hearts together to make them permanent. Display animals on a bulletin board covered with white paper and trimmed with red rickrack.

Valentine Designs
Use hearts of all colors in this valentine display that combines positive and negative areas. Notice how one heart is upside down and cutout centers are used as parts of the design in other places.

Valentine with Streamers
Give children two shades of valentine colored construction paper from which to cut two of the same sized pieces (as pictured below). Weave the pieces together and staple or paste to finish off. Attach all sorts of streamers with shiny paper hearts to hang from the ends. Write valentine messages in interesting places.

Valentine Banner
Plan banner first on paper before cutting from felt. Cut paper design apart and pin on felt for pattern. Cut out with sewing scissors. Assemble with any fast-drying white glue. Use a dowel or tightly rolled paper for hanging rod. Be sure to leave enough empty space at top of banner for rod pocket.

Poetry for All Ages
To show the delight and fun that words can be, introduce your students to poetry.

It's Poem Day!
Give poetry its own special day of the week! Special idea and activities by Ellen Booth Church.

Maria Tallchief, dancer
Find out about dancer Maria Tallchief, considered by many to be the greatest ballerina ever born in America.

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