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Valentine’s Day is a special holiday that provides an opportunity to teach preschoolers about the concepts of love and friendship.
These themes are important for young children to learn as they help to foster positive relationships, build self-esteem, and create a sense of belonging.

Incorporate love and friendship themes into preschool Valentine’s Day activities through reading books like “The Giving Tree” and “Love Monster,” and making Valentine’s Day cards to enhance fine motor skills and creativity.
Games that encourage teamwork and cooperation, such as “red light, green light” and building a tower with foam blocks, also teach preschoolers about love and friendship.
Here are a few additional ideas for teaching preschoolers about love and friendship
Preschoolers learn best through play, so incorporate activities and games that encourage them to practice showing love and friendship.
For example, you can have them act out scenarios where they show kindness or support to a friend.
Use stories and examples from your own life or from books to illustrate what love and friendship look like. You can discuss how friends support each other, how we show love to our family members, and other ways that love and friendship are expressed.
Help preschoolers learn to express their emotions and communicate their feelings of love and friendship. This can involve activities like drawing, writing, or acting out feelings through play.
Help preschoolers understand the feelings of others by encouraging them to practice empathy and compassion. You can do this by talking about how others might be feeling and encouraging preschoolers to consider those feelings when interacting with others.
Encourage preschoolers to engage in positive social interactions with their peers and practice showing kindness, compassion, and support. This can involve activities like sharing, taking turns, and being helpful to others.

These activities help preschoolers learn about love and friendship, essential concepts in life.
Along with modeling positive behavior, encourage kindness and emotional expression. Valentine’s Day is an excellent occasion to teach these skills through activities and reading books.
This creates a strong foundation for their social and emotional development.
Valentine’s Day is a special holiday that provides an opportunity to teach preschoolers about the concepts of love and friendship.
These themes are important for young children to learn as they help to foster positive relationships, build self-esteem, and create a sense of belonging.

Incorporate love and friendship themes into preschool Valentine’s Day activities through reading books like “The Giving Tree” and “Love Monster,” and making Valentine’s Day cards to enhance fine motor skills and creativity.
Games that encourage teamwork and cooperation, such as “red light, green light” and building a tower with foam blocks, also teach preschoolers about love and friendship.
Here are a few additional ideas for teaching preschoolers about love and friendship
Preschoolers learn best through play, so incorporate activities and games that encourage them to practice showing love and friendship.
For example, you can have them act out scenarios where they show kindness or support to a friend.
Use stories and examples from your own life or from books to illustrate what love and friendship look like. You can discuss how friends support each other, how we show love to our family members, and other ways that love and friendship are expressed.
Help preschoolers learn to express their emotions and communicate their feelings of love and friendship. This can involve activities like drawing, writing, or acting out feelings through play.
Help preschoolers understand the feelings of others by encouraging them to practice empathy and compassion. You can do this by talking about how others might be feeling and encouraging preschoolers to consider those feelings when interacting with others.
Encourage preschoolers to engage in positive social interactions with their peers and practice showing kindness, compassion, and support. This can involve activities like sharing, taking turns, and being helpful to others.

These activities help preschoolers learn about love and friendship, essential concepts in life.
Along with modeling positive behavior, encourage kindness and emotional expression. Valentine’s Day is an excellent occasion to teach these skills through activities and reading books.
This creates a strong foundation for their social and emotional development.

Tamar Andrews
Director of ECE @ American Jewish University
Tamar Andrews, EdD, is an Associate Professor at UCLA's Graduate School of Education and Information Studies and Director of the Early Childhood Education Department at American Jewish University. With 30+ years in early childhood as a teacher and director, she led Temple Isaiah Preschool from 2003 to 2023, where she earned NAEYC accreditation and built an award-winning STEM program. Her work inspired her son Daniel to build Playground. She also teaches at UCLA Extension and Santa Monica College and speaks internationally on early childhood education.
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The Weston School
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