Be My Valentine

My Valentine's Day memories are full of things like;

• construction paper hearts glued together in pinks and reds
• wondering whether the person who stuck the conversation hearts in the flimsy little envelope read them first and if it was a message for me
• those little red heart suckers
  
• the sappy card and chocolate from Mom

Valentine's day is traditionally thought of as a time for couples in love, but really it's a celebration of love itself and a perfect opportunity for a mom to teach and express genuine love for her kids.

My niece wrote about her memories of Valentine's Day on her blog, Musings of Foreign Hearts. Check it out. Her mom puts me to shame with individual poems for her children and a feast ending with individual heart shaped cakes for each of her five children. Actually though, it inspires me to want to make a special effort this year to let each of my kids know how much I love them and cherish them as individuals. I haven't decided yet exactly how that will play out, but let me know if you have any great inspirational ideas!

In the meantime, make some glittery Valentine's boxes with the kids, do some baking, read about St. Valentine, or just go to the store and buy some boxed Valentines. I am putting together some little heart things with pixie sticks shooting through them for my students. There are some great ideas at The Homeschoolmom.com and a reading list of Valentine's Day books at Apples for the Teacher. Let me know how you show love and teach your kids about real love by leaving a comment.