Valentines

Each February, class lists come home from school and the process of writing out friends names on Valentines begins. This is an incredible challange for pre-schoolers but a worthwhile one. Bridget was up to the challange and settled into her spot at the table with a pen in hand. She used so much pressure and effort on the first few valentines that the letters made indentations visible on the other side. Bridget made great progress but after more than half of the princess valentines were done, she was tired from the effort.  After a break she was ready to finish the spiderman valentines for the boys.

A lot of the valentines have questionable coolness as you enter older grades, and they don't even formally have exchanges after 3rd grade, but Rachael, being a fan of creative projects, decided to make her own. Her  plan was to make origami boxes, put a chocolate heart inside, and a paper heart on top, then write names on the boxes. It was an ambitious project for the amount of time she had and ultimately it became a group effort. Rachael and Emma worked on the boxes, Megan on the chocolates and Grandma Kate cut hearts.  The project covered the dining room table but the teamwork resulted in a satisfying pile of Valentine boxes.

Megan also worked on homemade valentines. We cut out large red hearts, folded them in half, put in a chocolate heart and Megan decorated with heart jeweled stickers and added a personal note. This too was a family effort and turned out beautifully.

In eighth grade there are no Valentines but candy is always acceptable. Emma brought a bag of chocolate to school and passed them out as the day went along. She also came home with a collection of sweets, but I have a feeling a lot of what she received didn't last long.

Valentines Day is a nice opportunity to let people know that you love them. Our family did that in a number of ways, with boxes of chocolate, valentine cards, but also with  a willingness to pitch in and help.