Well, it is February 2021 and we are still Virtual Learning. It’s crazy to think that some schools like mine have been virtual since March 2020.
If you have read any of my other posts like “Chester and The Kissing Hand,” “Pete the Cat and Halloween,” “The Polar Express and Christmas,” etc, then you know that I love creating resources to go along with your favorite books.
This is such a passion for me because I LOVED books as a kid. And it has been a dream of mine to bring books to life for my kids.
That’s why this Valentine’s Season I am creating Valentine’s Day Activities for Virtual or Distance Learning that can accompany any of your favorite books.
Because having fun in school is still important, even if you are teaching Virtually. Besides, anything I can do to make your life a little less hectic I am happy to do!
So without further ado here are my top Valentine’s Day Activities For Distance Learning.
(This post may contain affiliate or external links. Meaning I get a commision if you purchase anything through my links at no cost to you. Read full disclosure here.)
Valentine’s Day Books
I know, I know, no surprise here!
Of course, I would recommend a few books before we get started.
Now I know some teachers have their go-to favorites when it comes to holiday books.
But if you are a new teacher or you just want to mix things up, here are my top 5 books for this Valentine’s Day Season.
There Was an Old Lady
Now if you are anything like me, you have this whole series in your classroom library. I love how comical and silly this series is.
I particularly love Valentine’s Day one because she swallows everything to make a card.
If you want to make the day extra special, you could always dress up as the “Old Lady.”
Yeah, not gonna lie: I’ve done that!
You can find the book here on Amazon if you want to check this book out and you don’t already have it.
Love, Splat Cat
My students love this book! If you haven’t checked out, this is a great book that’s worth the read.
In the Story, Splat makes a special Valentine’s Day Card for his Crush “Kitten.” But it all goes south when another cat likes Kitten too!
Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch
In all honesty, I didn’t know about this book until I ran into it on Storylineonline.
(Storylineonline is a free website where famous actors read their favorite books. You can check it out here)
This story is very sweet! One day Mr. Hatch gets a surprise at his door. Little does he know that the surprise wasn’t for him!
Pete The Cat
If you are a Primary Teacher, I am sure you have heard of Pete the Cat before. My students LOVE him!
And anytime I can incorporate him into the classroom, I instantly become the “Cool Teacher.”
In this story, Pete doesn’t believe Valentine’s Day is cool. But little does he know that he will soon change his mind!
Happy Valentine’s Day, Mouse!
From the original series “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” this book tells all the tales of what Mouse would do on Valentine’s Day.
This book is a classic and you can get it here on Amazon.
Virtual Writing Valentine’s Day Activities
After I read the story I chose to my kids, I love to follow up with a writing activity.
This is a great Valentine’s Day Activity because it checks for comprehension and it allows students to hit on several of the Common Core Standards.
Some of the questions I like to as my Primary Students are:
- What was your favorite part of the story? Why?
- What was your least favorite part of the story? Why?
- What do you think will happen next? Why?
- Retell what happened in the story. What happened?
You are welcome to create your virtual writing activity, or you can use mine.
In my Digital Valentine’s Day Activity I made sure to include all of the previous questions and more.
Plus I made sure to differentiate the writing layout. That way my writers who are still dictating through drawing can use it and those who are writing sentences.
I made sure to make these Google Classroom-friendly for your kids. So you can assign them to your students, or print them out!
You can check this resource at my TPT Store by clicking here.
Digital Activities
After my students have read a story with me and wrote about it, I like to have them do Digital Valentine’s Day Activities that relate to what we are learning about in class.
For instance, my students are currently learning how to add and subtract. That’s why I created these adding and subtracting activities.
I also created this Digital Valentine’s Day Activity that works on counting with ten frames. This is great for my students who are still working on their one to one correspondence.
I wanted to create these activities so that they were adaptable to whichever Valentine’s Day Theme I chose, plus they are on Google Slides so I can assign them to my virtual students.
I also have some reading ones you are also welcome to check out. There were also some other awesome Teachers Pay Teachers Resources that you are more than welcome to check out.
Science Experiments
As many of you know, the next thing I like to do is science experiments. My Students LOVE Science.
Particularly the explosion or gooey ones.
In fact, they now expect a science experiment and get upset when I don’t do one.
True story!
So this Valentine’s Day season I decided to focus on two different science experiments that were Virtual or Distance Learning Friendly.
The first one is to make Valentine’s Day Slime.
Valentine’s Day Slime
I found this Valentine’s Day Slime Activity from thebestideasforkids.com.
What I love about it is that all you need is:
- Glitter Elmer’s Glue
- Water
- Glitter
- Baking Soda
- Contact Lens Solution
My thoughts on how to do this virtually are to put the slime in mason jars as they recommend. Next, I would do a demonstration of making the slime.
After the demonstration, students could take out their slime and play with it.
(Classroom Management Tip: I recommend doing this at the end of the day. Because once they get their slime, they are going to lose it.)
I love how I can just put them in jars and send them home in their packets! They also come with free labels if you go to TheBestIdeasForKids.com.
- Fantastic Primary Activities Inspired by “The Bad Seed”
- Fantastic Valentine’s Day Activities for Distance Learning
- Top 10 Amazing Teacher Hacks For Teaching Virtually in 2021
Rainbow Heart
The next experiment I wanted to do, I wanted to make sure my students could do it with me or on their own.
That’s why I love this dissolving heart experiment by TheBestIdeasForKids.com.
All students need is:
- A bag of Skittles
- Water
- A Dish
Students put the Skittles in the shape of a heart and then watch the rainbow heart emerge.
I am so excited to do this with my kids!
Plus I want to send them home with a bag of Skittles so they can show their families.
Overview
Thank you so much for reading my Top Valentine’s Day Activities for Distance or Virtual Learning.
I am so glad that we can still make school fun, even with all the craziness!
I hope this post was helpful and gave you some ideas to make your Valentine’s Day a little bit easier.
If you try any of these activities, or you have your go-to favorites please be sure to share them down below!
Because:
“Together we are stronger!”
Happy Teaching!
