Seeing Red

Blood red knitting - test knit - more to come . . .

It's Valentine's Day here in the States.   We had a mother from England come in with her child's Valentine card for the class.  She did not understand that there were to be Valentine cards for the class - one for each child.  She looked boggled until I explained that you could make little heart shaped cards or stop by the grocery store and pick up 30 premade cards for $3.00.  This got me thinking.  I took for granted that this minor little holiday was known around the rest of the globe, but I was mistaken.

So here's the deal (preschool style):

our cute little students

Little kiddos wear red and pink to school and bring Valentines for all their friends.  These can be store bought mini-cards or you can make cards at home.  There is usually a small piece of candy attached to the Valentine.  

We put up a few decorations in the room to make it more fun and festive.

That's a red velvet donut hole.  Breakfast of champions.

Our classroom mascot.

Each child decorates a bag or a box either in school or at home (teachers choice) and brings their creation to school on Valentine's Day.  There are usually cookies and games.  Each child then delivers his or her Valentine's to the boxes and voila, your child comes home with a months supply of chocolate and lollipops. 

This was my stash - sort of like Halloween but a lot less work and I don't have to dress up and go begging for my chocolate.  It's literally dropped into my bag.  Nice, huh?   We, of course, like to participate and drop little surprises into their little bags, too.  This year we choose bubbles and stickers.

My 9 year old made her box at home.  I am really quite impressed with her work.

 The older kids will often make Valentines, but around 5th and 6th grade (11-12 years old), the idea of handing out Valentines to boys, or boys giving Valentines to girls, is just too embarrassing for the average pre-teen and they end up having skating or sledding parties at school instead. 

I hope that sheds some light on our little corner of the world.

And may I say,
Happy Valentine's Day!!!!