Why Valentine’s Day as a theme?
By: Emma Jaye Morgan
If you are unsure why you would use Valentine’s Day as a theme this year, look at all the ways you can use
this calendar event to support children’s holistic development in a different way:
Physical Development
There are lots of different activities you can do on a small scale using tweezers to transfer themed items
from one area to another. Be it in a tuff tray or an egg carton, you move those red heart shaped items
back and forth to develop fine motor skills.
Want to include this in water play? Add some heart ice cubes and red coloured water and encourage
children to move them around using pipettes.
Also supporting fine motor skills; have an ‘unlock my heart’ activity with different shapes and sizes of
padlocks with keys.
On a larger scale, throw some heart shaped balloons and see who they land on or move them from
friend to friend and talk about how Valentine’s Day is all about love and friendship. This also supports
gross motor skills.
Personal, social and emotional development
This theme is a great opportunity to explore
feelings and emotions. Make Valentine’s cards for
those who are special to the children and discuss
why they have chosen that person. How does it
make them feel giving the card and how will the
person feel by receiving it?
Give within the class or setting so that all the
children get a chance to give and receive, as well as
to their loved ones outside the nursery