Valentine's Day Games for the Classroom
Make-a-Match and Valentine Puzzles are Fun for All Ages
Jan 25, 2009
A Valentine’s Day classroom party doesn’t need to be very much work for a teacher to organize. A few simple games and some healthy snacks are all that is needed to make a fun party. These games are fun in smaller groups as well as large groups of children, and they are suitable for all ages.
Make a Match
Cut out paper hearts in red, pink, and white. Make one for each student. If there are an odd number of students, the teacher should have one too.
Think of things that go together in pairs. Pairs can be:
- Storybook characters, such as Beauty and the Beast.
- Food items, such as peanut butter and jelly.
- Opposite pairs, such as hot and cold.
Make enough pairs so that there is enough to write one word from each pair on a heart. Tape one heart to each student’s back as he or she enters the classroom.
The students must try to find the match to their half of the pair by asking questions that can only be answered with a yes or no answer. They may ask, “Am I a fairy tale character?” but they may not ask, “What fairy tale am I in?”
As students find their pairs, they should sit down next to each other.
Valentine Jigsaw Puzzles
Glue valentine pictures or gift wrap to a piece of construction paper. When dry, cut up the valentine pictures into jigsaw puzzles. Make the pieces larger for younger children and smaller for older students. Have the pieces laminated.
Place the puzzles on desks around the room, so that groups of 2-4 students will work on a puzzle together.
Have students time each other to see who can put the puzzles together the fastest.
For older students, an option is to put one wrong piece in with each puzzle. When they figure out which piece is the wrong one, they must go visit the other table groups to find their missing piece.
After the game is over, store each puzzle in an envelope and save it for next year’s party.
Valentine Make-a-Word Puzzles
Print a Valentine’s Day phrase on a piece of paper. Have the students cut out letters and lay them on the desk. Moving the letters around, students make as many words as possible. Have students list each of their words on a paper. Make this game harder by requiring words to be at least four or five letters long.
Some phrases to use could be:
- Happy Valentine’s Day
- Be My Valentine
- Will You Be Mine
- St. Valentine’s Day
Important Valentine Names to Know
Create a word search that includes all the names of the students in a class. The word search can be made more difficult for older students by having the words go any direction; vertical, horizontal, diagonal, backward, and forward.
Students who find the most names in the puzzle after a set amount of time win a small prize.
Valentine Word Scramble
Use the phrases from Valentine heart candies to create this word puzzle. Scramble the letters from a phrase. List up to ten scrambled phrases on a page and have the students unscramble the phrases. For example, EMBNIE unscrambles to become BE MINE.
Valentine Crossword Puzzle
Create unique valentine themed crosswords in minutes using the free, downloadable Eclipse crossword software. Crosswords may be posted online, printed out, and made as simple or as difficult as the teacher desires.
This year’s classroom Valentine’s Day party will be one to remember with these simple games.
Students may also craft a Valentine's Day Heart Basket to hold cards and candies.
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