Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, so it only make sense to tackle the best tips and tricks for prepping for your child’s preschool valentines party. In this post we are going to review 5 main areas that every parent should focus on. They are school/classroom policies, allergy list requirements, gift and treat ideas, who to share with, and teaching your child about what valentines day really means. So let’s jump right in!
1. Find out Whats Allowed in Your Child’s School. Be Diligent!
When planning something for your child’s class, it is important to discuss school and classroom policies with your child’s teacher first. Every school has a different policy regarding school celebrations, types of food, what can be brought in, etc. It’s much better to ask questions first to make sure you plan and prep the best items for the classroom party.
This is not specific to just Valentines day either. You should be doing this for any in school celebration just to preempt any possible mishaps. Could you imagine, cooking, baking, and gluing all night long, just to hear in the morning that whatever item you brought isn’t permitted? That would be the worst, and you don’t want to see the disappoint on your child’s face either. That will lead to some serious mom guilt for the next few days. So let’s try and avoid shall we?
Be sure to check the policies with your child’s school.
2. Does Your Child’s Classroom Have an Allergy List?
Another big area to focus on is the type of classroom your child is in. For example, is it a classroom that accepts all kinds of treats? Or is it a nut-free room? Etc. This may seem like over kill, but with the rise of allergies in children, there have been stricter rules on what is permitted, and rightly fully so. This year alone, we have four children requiring an epipen on hand at all times. Some schools have specific nut -free rooms, and some schools make the entire school a nut-free environment.
In addition, nuts aren’t the only allergies on the rise. We’ve had students react to eggs, sesame oil, and citrus fruits. We even had a child who exhibited reactions to flax seed, so do not rule anything out. Better safe than sorry.
If the teachers have a list of the class’ allergies try and get a copy. Make sure you know exactly what ingredients you are including, and it might be a good idea to list it on the card description so the other parents are aware too. Again, it might sound like overkill, but if your child had an allergy, you would want to know exactly what was included in the Valentines treats. So go the extra step! 🙂
3. Decide on What You Would Like to Make or Give
Now this is the fun part! After all the logistics are out of the way, and you made sure you have all the classrooms notes in place, its time to decide on what you and your little one would like to bring for the valentines day bash! The first thing you can decide is if you would like to bring some sweet treats, or if you’d rather give out a small gift and valentines card. You could also ask your child’s teacher about common practices in the past.
These are some hits we’ve had in prior years:
Small Pocket Sized Themed Valentines Cards:
What I mean by this is getting valentines cards with the current most popular tv characters on them. For us at the preschool this would mean Frozen, Paw Patrol, Baby Shark, and PJ Mask. Now, this is not to say that regular valentines with the traditional hearts and nice phrases wouldn’t be welcomed, they just wouldn’t give the children too much to talk about.
Trust me, if you’re going the valentines card route, go with one of the popular tv shows and you’ll be the hit of the party.
Hand made Valentines Cards:
I know I just said that if you are going to be buying cards to purchase popular themed ones, however you can never really go wrong with hand made crafts. You really can’t. It is such a sweet and genuine gesture that you and your little one took the time to sit down and create these loving cards for their classmates. They would be a tear jerker for all the parents, teaching staff, and the kiddos always love a good craft as well.
Sweet Treats:
If you decide to go the sweet treats route you can either make them or purchase depending again on what your school allows. It honestly doesn’t matter too much coming from a preschool point of view, but it will impact your time schedule. If you want to take the time to make something, wonderful! If you don’t have the time but can purchase some goodies, wonderful! No mom guilt or mom shaming here. All is great!
But I would again, refer to the allergy list.
Also, depending on your child’s classroom, if they are having a party they may have the treats in school, but I know with our class, we don’t do that. We simply send them home at dismissal so each parent can decide how they want to go about it and check the ingredients one more time in case they have a child with allergies or sensitivities.
Gifts:
This will obviously also be a purchase that you can make. I would think about this somewhat strategically though. Do not spend too much money on valentines gifts. You will most likely be getting it for the entire class, so if you choose something too expensive, it will burn a hole in your pocket a bit. That is super unnecessary.
The next thing to consider, is that it has to be small enough for you to carry to school. It has to be easy enough for the teachers to pass out to everyone, and it also has to be convenient enough for everyone to take home at the end of the day.
And to be honest, because so many students bring items to pass out on valentines day, there are ultimately a few left behind in cubbies, on teacher desks, on the floor, etc. So definitely do not break the bank when finding some thing for your child’s class if you go this route.
Some suggestions could be like a heart eraser, yoyo, bouncy ball, etc. You get the picture, something easy and petite.
4. Be Kind and Bring Enough
This is actually quite important and something you’d think we wouldn’t have to actually talk about but it is necessary.
If you are bringing any of the above mentioned items, or anything else for that matter, you absolutely need to make sure you bring one for everyone. Valentines Day is not a popularity contest and you don’t want to teach your child this. There is nothing worse than a parent who brings cards and gifts for a handful of students when the class has 25 kids. Or that more than one parent does this and than a particular handful of students are continuously left out. We absolutely do not want that happening ever.
We have put in a new policy at our school that if you are bringing something, you are bringing something for everyone. Do not be that parent, do not teach your child how to ostracize other children. Be the positive example and lead by kindness and generosity please.
5. Teach Generosity, Love, and Kindness
Valentines Day is a wonderful time to help teach your child what it means to be kind, generous, and loving! After all it is the holiday of love! So chat with your little one about this. Talk about what it means to show love and kindness. Maybe you can read some special books about it before you sit down to make your valentines class gifts. Remind them that we are kind to everyone, we want to make everyone smile, and doing little things like this can help do that.
It may seem unnecessary, but honestly its the perfect teaching moment. We talk about these things every day in preschool hoping to mold wonderful kind loving beings. So extend the conversation at home. You’ll be happy you did!
*Summary
We have reached the end! You have all the basics you need to rock your child’s classroom valentines party. But let’s review one more time:
1. Check School/Classroom Policy
2. Check for allergies
3.Pick a gift that won’t break the bank!
4. Make sure there’s enough
5. Use this day as a teaching moment!
Remember valentines is all about sharing the love, so keep it light and keep it happy :). Do not focus on the weight of what you bring, just that you bring something for everyone and have a good time with your kids. #NoMomGuiltHere
If you follow the steps above, you’ll be sure to put a smile on everyone’s face, especially your little one.
And as always, If you have any questions, comments, or ideas please share them in the comments section below with your fellow parents! And definitely subscribe to the newsletter for updates and ongoing happenings at TylekTeaches.com. The subscription link is just on the right hand side of this post. See you there!
Lesley Gangi says
Hi, the Prep for the Best Valentine’s Day at Your Kids Preschool article it
is well written, it’s very informative.
Give Your Child the Most Important Skill in Life – Reading.
I found the Most Effective Method to Teach my Children to Read: http://bit.ly/Teach-Your-Child-to-Read
Your child deserves the best education! 🙂 Kiss you
All!