Valentine’s Day was the coolest holiday I remember in elementary school. It was so much fun buying cards and then designing your box so it would be the most awesome one in the class. Valentine’s Day parties were incredible because it was when the teacher gave you permission to eat as much candy as you could. Do you think there was any coincidence that the parties always happened at the end of the day just before the teachers sent us home to our parents? I doubt it. My nephew has the added advantage of having his birthday fall the day before Valentine’s Day so his first Valentine’s Day preschool party was quite a blast to him I’m sure. I think most of us reflect back on that time fondly. It was especially nice comparing it to the hormone-induced time we spent in middle school and high school without those Valentine’s Day parties. And they wouldn’t have been appropriate anyway. Can you imagine the fights that would break out when you gave a girl in your eighth grade class a card when she had a boyfriend? Times were simpler in elementary school. I’m glad to see that the schools I work with still honor that Valentine’s Day tradition of partying, passing out cards and designing boxes. Do any of those things have anything to do with the curriculum? It would take a pretty inventive teacher to find a way to tie it in. But that’s not the most important thing. We have to remember to take some time to let kids have fun and make the memories that will stay with them a lifetime. Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope you enjoy it as much as your students do.