STORY:
The Dreaded Card Exchange At School
Edited by Kristen Machut

How kids can go beyond the depths of embarrassment

Ever since the tradition began back in England, generations of children have metaphorically died of embarrassment and/or loneliness every February, thanks to the tradition of the elementary-school Valentine's Day card exchange.

If you give one, you run the risk of gossip going out that you like a certain someone. If you don't get one, you get branded as the least popular kid in the class. But there are many other ways to help kids celebrate the Valentine's Day; because there are many kinds of love other than that "icky boy-meets-girl" kind.

Most schools take the trauma out by simply not playing favorites. All the girls give Valentines to all the boys and vice versa. They can be those little bulk-box cartoon character cards, or the class could design and print out their own (maybe with PC clip art programs). This way everyone is given a Valentine from everyone else and no one is outcasted.

An even more hands-on approach can be to use Valentine's Day as a good excuse for a craft day. There are plenty of ideas online for kids of different age groups to design and make their own fancy Valentines.

Some ideas follow:

• Valentine paper chains
• Lace hearts
• Potato Print Valentines
• Valentine fish
• Clay Dough Necklaces
• Heart Sun Catchers

Potato Print Valentines
Cut a potato in half and cut a heart shape on one end of the cut ends. Paint the heart shape red and press it onto white paper. 
Children can make all different pictures from the "Valentine Potatoes."

Valentine Fish
Each child will need one very large heart, one large heart, three middle sized hearts, and one little one. The very large heart  becomes the body. The large heart becomes the tail. The middle sized hearts become the fins on top of the very large heart.  The little heart becomes the lips of the fish. These "Valentine Fish" make a great  classroom display. 

Clay Dough Necklace
Mix a batch of clay dough. Children will shape their dough using cookie cutters. Bake the clay at 225 degrees for 2 hours, rotating during and after baking them. Shellac can be applied when the hearts are finished. 
They make great necklaces for students to exchange.

Heart Sun Catchers
Cut two large hearts out of waxed paper for each child. Make "corn syrup paint" by mixing red food coloring into the corn syrup. 
Give the children old paintbrushes because the mixture is very messy. Children will paint one of the hearts. When they are done
painting, children will put the other heart on top of the painted heart. Let the creations dry for a couple of days and then hang them in the window.

The kids can then present a personally-made treasure to a parent or teacher. Offer to make Valentines for a local elderly home or engage in a school exchange with another local elementary school.

The class may even agree that they will exchange Valentine gifts instead of paper Valentines. If both parties seem prepared to take the stress, a student just might consider handing it off to that freckled redhead in the back row!

For more great ideas, please consider Songs4Teachers.com