Vday question

[Wiped Out]

Interested in your opinion:

This year our students are not being allowed to bring in store bought or home-made Valentine Day cards. The principal decided that everything should focus on friendship and if any cards are done they are done at school in connection with an academic lesson. Part of her reasoning is that not all kids can afford V-day cards. However, all of as teachers always give students the option to do them at school and we buy them for them. We have always told students Valentine's cards are optional but if you bring one, then you bring one for everyone. For some of our students (mostly special need students), this is the only time during the year they get something like this from others and it is very exciting for them. They take those little store bought Valentine cards to heart and feel like a million bucks.

What I did this year is have my students randomly pick 6 names and make cards with caring compliments in them. I think it has really worked nice. Each child will get 6 nice cards that someone took the time to write to them a special note.

While I thinks the kids will be happy enough, I still would prefer to do it the other way. Kids have fun handing them out, they enjoy reading all of the funny jokes, and I could still do this other activity, maybe at another time.

Curious to know what others think...

 

[TerryJ2]

The principal decided? What about individual teachers? That's all I have to say ...

 

[InsaneCdn]

For us? Vday was a disaster from Grade 1.
It didn't matter that the teachers insisted that if you brought cards you brought for everyone... they didn't. OR, worse, they picked the geekiest, ugliest, inappropriate cards for difficult child and made him the laughing stock of the class for the rest of the year.

Then there was the year that K2 got bullied because the ones she brought were home-made, and everybody else had store-bought (which we couldn't afford).

I like your principal's approach better.

 

[tiredmommy]

I think your principal's heart is in the right place but it takes away a lot from the kids as they either pick out or make their cards at home. Duckie was in a 3 classroom multiage program with a 6:1:1 class attached. Those teachers sent home a group list of first names by each home base (classroom). Participation was voluntary and a family could opt to do just their child's home base or all four. Of course, parents were encouraged to contact the school if finances were in the way of a child's participation. I would buy clearance valentines for the teachers to "share" as needed the following year as did other parents. Most families opted to do all classes because it was so much fun (and many volunteered to help at the party). Duckie made a big deal out of the students in the 6:1:1 because, to her, it was one of the times these kids got to be just regular kids.

 

[HaoZi]

I think your idea sounds like a wonderful idea!

 

[susiestar]

Duckie is a very special, very loving young lady. I think in many ways she 'get it' about those in life who are different,

WO, I don't really like that policy. The celebration could be handled in many more child friendly ways, in my opinion. I think either the indiv teacher or the group of teachers teaching a grade should decide for the students. Of course if they want something crazy, like a kiissng contest or whatever, then yes, time for cooler admin heads to prevail, but who wuould think of that? Oops, have I jinxed Vday with kissing booths? Oh well, you all Know what I mean?, I think.

Is there maybe a way to have all the kids make valentintes at school? there are all kinds of lessons you can put into making them, esp if they are in elem. Kids get some basic guidelines and prntables and craft supplies, they are told how many to make,and that if they are mean to anyone in their card (as IC's kids experienced) or don't give a card, then they cannot give any others OR particpate in the party. I would ask parents to provide some themed snacks (or not themed, not a super huge crisis if the cake isn't heart shaped or whatever) and have a party.

After elem school? not sure would do anything. Mostly because having mom around spoils everything. When thank you has a party, he wants chips. And sometimes bean dip, which he does NOT need or get, none of his teachers is bad enough to deal wth a whole class of 13yo's who just ate a bunch of bean dip, Know what I mean?? That is the reserve ammo.

So it is trcky if you are past elem school, but for the most part, I always thought it was sweet, though I rarely got carts after third gr when they stopped making you give them to everyone.

If you watch after Vday, and you go to thrift stores, you can find a lot of unopened boxes of vday cards. If you can store them to next year, it makes things easy. (If you are not like me and you can fnd them, lol.)

 

[tiredmommy]

Something to think about for next year: classes could "adopt" a local nursing home or VA hospital making valentines for residents in the days and weeks leading up to the holiday. It could be billed as character education incorporating ELA and art.

 

[InsaneCdn]

TM - getting away from the reciprocal card exchange, and using Vday as a way to reach out to seniors and the less able... THAT would have worked, even for my kids.

 

[DammitJanet]

I wasnt even much liked and I loved Vday because we painted up the mailbox and kids either bought the store cards or made them and I couldnt wait to get those cards. Yeah some years I didnt get as many as other kids and it hurt a little bit but oh well. I always made my boys give cards to every kid in their class.

I think teachers should still either spend a part of the day..do you still have art class? making cards...or sending home those lists of names for cards. You can get those cards at the dollar store most everywhere these days. I was just in my local dollar tree and I saw boxes of them. Now of course they arent the fanciest ones but they will do. Little kids only write their name on them anyway..if that. With a boy you are going to be lucky if you can tie them down long enough to make them do this chore! Girls...Cooties...ewww!

 

[1905]

I have a great idea. Have each child decorate their own "compliment bag". On V-day, have everyone write down on a little piece of paper some compliment for every student in the class! They can be 2 words long, one sentence long, whatever. Set all bags on a table and have the kids distribute the ones they made in their classmates bags. This way each child will leave with a bag of 20 compliments just for them!!! They will love this!!

 

[1905]

But really, we have snack every day and parents donate and send things in any day of the year. On V-day, so... its a fun extra special snack day. I don't agree with doing nothing. Those corny Valentines could maybe go, but a day where everyone wears red and has fun snacks is good for the kids, especially if everyone has snack anyway on any given day. I made chocolate covered pretzels for my kids and tied them up with a pretty ribbon and put a corny Valetine on each one. Of course you have to go with what the administration wants, but please, thats over the top.