I don’t know about you, but the thought of class parties makes me want to curl up under the covers and call a sub. The sugar, the chaos, the sugar, the way it throws off the rest of the day, the sugar, the noise, and did I mention the sugar?
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So instead of a big blow out on Valentine’s Day, I’m going for subtly sweet. When I was a student teacher my class had the most amazing parent volunteers. Our parties were low key and casual thanks to the calming spirit of one mother. For Valentine’s Day she had the brilliant idea of creating a book of nice notes for each student.
Each day, in the month leading up to Valentine’s Day, we select a student (or two) of the day. The rest of the class volunteers nice comments about the student of the day, and we write them down on chart paper. Then the student of the day calls on 3-4 students to ask questions, usually about favorites. After gathering our nice thoughts, the kiddos go back to their desks and write nice notes on half sheets of white paper (with two hole punches), and can decorate them if time allows. The person of the day creates a folder to house the notes, which they don’t get to read until Valentine’s Day.
On Valentine’s Day we bust out the folders and the students can create and decorate books out of construction paper, a class picture, decorative wire, stickers, etc. If your class needs a little community boost, or participates in “filling buckets,” this activity might be a great substitute* for your typical class party.
*I guess I still get a sub this way 😉
Whenever I’m having a tough day, I pull my book out for a little pick me up. Hopefully my kiddos enjoy their books as much as I enjoy mine!
I love this: “I love your outfits”
Do you do anything special for class parties?
Spinach and Skittles 