Whether you celebrate Valentine’s Day on the actual day or the nearest Friday, there’s no doubt that it is a special day that can be filled with fun!  Doing “regular” academic work might not be in your students’ best interest on this day as they might not be fully engaged with all of the excitement going on, so here are some functional ideas for lesson plans that day!

Cooking

Bake and decorate cookies, heart-shaped pb & js, or chocolate-dipped strawberries!  There are tons of Valentine’s themed recipe ideas on Pinterest or with a quick Google Search for your students to vote on.

In addition to all of the basic life skills you can teach through a cooking lesson, follow up your cooking lesson with a recipe comprehension activity.

Would You Rather

Great age-appropriate activity for practicing voting, self-advocacy and a fun class discussion starter.

CBI (Community Based Instruction)

Make a shopping list of the recipe you end up deciding on, then take a trip to the grocery store to shop for the supplies.  Students can work on many skills like shopping etiquette, finding items on a shopping list/identifying aisles, comparison shopping, making a transaction and more!

Follow up your community trip with a reflection.

Party Plan

As a group, set up decorations in your classroom (this is also something you can shop for during your CBI), and decide on an itinerary or party agenda.  Set estimated times for when you will cook, eat, do a craft, have a dance party …etc.

Flower Arrangements

Students can get a sense of what it’s like to be a florist by fulfilling these visual and simplified bouquet orders. A fun way to practice vocational and functional skills for special education students.

Valentine’s Cards

Hand make Valentine’s cards to give to classmates, friends or family.  Another thing you can shop for while out in the community.  The possibilities are endless, another think you can search Pinterest or Google for ideas!

Color by Code

Are your students motivated by coloring and decoding puzzles? Here’s a fun Vday themed activity to practice identifying prices and the Next Dollar Over method featuring gifts, hearts, love letters, chocolates, balloons, kisses and more!

Candy Grams

If you have a student business or want to do a one-day fundraiser – have your students make and sell candy grams!  You can either make this a month-long activity by taking orders ahead of time and delivering the grams on Valentine’s Day (to student/staff classrooms), or you can have a booth the day of for people to purchase and deliver on their own.  As with any activity that generates/handles money, be sure to get admin approval before you implement.

Comparison Shop

Using simplified store ads with the same items (in different spots) for easy comparison between two department stores selling Valentine’s gifts – Students will compare each item to determine where it costs less, add the grand total and compare the total shopping trip prices.

Food Orders

Valentine’s Day-themed activity to practice fulfilling chocolate gift box orders! Features a box with room for a dozen chocolates, chocolate liners, and an assortment of 10 different chocolates!

Get Valentine’s Themed resources in a money saving bundle here:

Thanks for reading!