This post is all about SEL Valentine’s Day Activities

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Valentine’s Day is another great excuse to nurture social-emotional learning (SEL) in the classroom. With carefully planned SEL Valentine’s Day activities, you can help your students practice kindness, develop empathy, and build stronger connections with their peers. Below, you’ll find engaging activities, ready-to-use resources, and helpful tools to make Valentine’s Day meaningful and fun for your students.

Why Incorporate SEL Into Valentine’s Day?

Valentine’s Day naturally lends itself to themes of kindness, gratitude, and connection, which are foundational to social-emotional learning. By teaching SEL into your Valentine’s Day lesson plans, you can:

Foster a positive classroom environment.
Teach students to express appreciation and empathy.
Help students practise essential SEL skills like relationship-building and responsible decision-making.

SEL Valentine’s Day Activities for Your Classroom

Here are some simple yet impactful SEL Valentine’s Day activities to get started:

1. Kindness Bingo

My Kindness Bingo resource is a perfect Valentine’s Day activity! Students complete acts of kindness, such as giving a compliment or helping a friend, and mark them off on their bingo sheet. It’s a fun way to spread kindness throughout the day while reinforcing SEL skills like empathy and cooperation.

You can download this Kindness Bingo freebie below.

2. Gratitude Jar Activity

Create a gratitude jar where students can write notes of appreciation for their classmates, their favourite thing about their day or something they are grateful for. Provide colourful paper for them to write their messages, then read the notes aloud at the end of the day. This activity promotes positive relationships and a sense of belonging.

3. SEL-Themed Crafts

Valentine’s crafts can double as SEL tools! Encourage students to create “Kindness Chains,” where they write acts of kindness on paper strips and link them together to form a class chain.

Another idea is making “Compliment Cards” for their peers, focusing on non-physical traits like helpfulness, creativity, or teamwork.

4. SEL Read-Aloud and Discussion

Choose a heartwarming picture book to read aloud, then discuss its themes of kindness, empathy, or friendship. This activity builds emotional awareness and communication skills.

SEL Book Recommendations

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5. Heart-to-Heart Partner Talk

Pair up students for a guided “Heart-to-Heart” discussion. This activity encourages students to build stronger connections with their peers while practising active listening and thoughtful communication. Before beginning, have a class discussion to explain the importance of showing respect by listening without interrupting and making eye contact.

Provide prompts to guide their conversations, such as:

“What’s one thing you admire about your friend?”
“How can you show kindness to others?”
“Describe a time someone was kind to you. How did it make you feel?”
“What does being a good friend mean to you?”

To wrap up, ask students to share one insight they learned about their partner with the class. This reflective step reinforces the importance of listening and helps foster empathy among the group. You could go a step further and create an anchor chart of all your student’s ideas.

Pinterest-Inspired SEL Valentine’s Day Activities

If you’re looking for more ideas, Pinterest is a treasure trove of inspiration! Some activities to explore:

DIY kindness mailboxes for students to exchange positive notes

Valentine’s Day SEL worksheets that combine reflection with creative fun.

Collaborative art projects, like a class kindness tree where each student adds a heart with a kind act written on it.

Tips for a Meaningful Valentine’s Day Celebration

Keep it inclusive: Focus on themes of kindness and gratitude to ensure all students feel included.
Model empathy: Share examples of kind words or actions to inspire your students.
Reflect and debrief: After activities, guide a discussion about how kindness and connection made them feel.

Bring SEL Into Your Valentine’s Day Classroom Today!

Incorporating SEL Valentine’s Day activities doesn’t just make the day more meaningful—it fosters skills that will benefit your students for a lifetime. Whether it’s through Kindness Bingo, heartfelt crafts, or reflective conversations, your class can spread kindness and build connections that go far beyond February 14th.

Don’t forget to check out my Kindness Bingo freebie here

Please note that I am not endorsed by any of the creators or sources linked in this blog post. The ideas, activities, and resources shared here are based on my personal experience and research. All opinions and recommendations are my own. My goal is to share valuable and creative social emotional learning (SEL) content to inspire and support teachers in the classroom.

Have more SEL Valentine’s Day ideas? Share them in the comments below!