Valentine’s Day is coming soon and if you haven’t heard about it from your child’s Kindergarten teacher, you will soon. Kindergarten children will have a chance to exchange Valentine’s Day cards with each other and they have so much fun doing so. Some sort of a bag or box will be decorated with anticipation of all of the cards that will fill it. Children usually prepare their cards at home and bring them in to pass out to all of their classmates. For some reason every year about half of the parents in my room sign their child’s cards, put them in envelopes and then give the completed cards to their child to distribute. Parents, please buy, or make your cards NOW so that your child has plenty of time to write his/her own name on the cards. This whole card process is a learning experience and your child should be involved every step of the way.
- Your child should be with you when you buy the cards or the materials to make the cards
- Your child should definitely sign his/her own name on EVERY card
- It takes time to write your name on so many cards so a good idea is to do a few every evening until they are all done…but you should start early and not wait until the last minute
- Parents should not sign their child’s name….especially not in cursive, what 5 year old can read that?
- Your child should bring the cards to school when directed to do so
- And lastly your child should NOT bring an unopened box of cards to school and expect the teacher to sit with him/her and open the box and tear apart all of the cards and help your child sign the cards (This happens every year, but maybe with this blog, it won’t happen this year!)
Get those cards early before the selection is gone and have your child start now signing those cards. Better to be done early than waiting to the last minute.
Thoughts from a Kindergarten Teacher - Now a First Grade Teacher 
I was wonder what you take is on candy or stickers attached to these cards. The last two years my daughter had valentine exchanges at her pre-school. Usually I just sent the cards and was done with it, But I noticed when the bag of card came home every 3 out of 4 cards she received would have a piece of candy taped to it – I few had stickers.
I don’t want my daughter to be singled out for being “the one” that didn’t give out candy, (and believe me, there was talk among the 3 and 4 year olds about who did and who did not give candy). But truly why? Who was the over zealous parent that first decided that cards needed candy attached, or stickers or whatever. I don’t remember this happening in the 80’s when I was in elementary, but some where along the way, it became bigger and better.
From a social stand point do you see if it really matters?
Hi Erin,
You are right about things being taken out of control and some parents trying to make it bigger and better. About 1/2 of the children come with some kind of candy attached to it…ugh! some cards now come with tatoos, what’s with that? In my class, the children are allowed to open all cards and save the candy for home where they can talk with their parents about what they can and cannot have. I don’t see any discrimination against children (ages 5 and 6) for the type of cards that they bring. The whole experience is fun, and as children they just like opening all of the cards, but it can be the parents who want a bigger experience for their child who is happy with the cards. I don’t see any way out of it though because we teachers ask for specifics when there is a classroom celebration and some parents don’t think that the guidelines apply to them. Good Luck and thanks for reading the blog. Please send my site to all of your friends who have preschoolers or kindergartners.
Claire