Countdown to Valentine's Day and Spread Kindness

Inside: Countdown to Valentine’s Day and focus on kindness at the same time by using this Kindness Countdown to Valentine’s Day Paper Chain.

With the festivity of Christmas behind us, we can now get excited for the next major holiday: Valentine’s Day.

It tends to be the beacon during the dreary winter months as we all wait for warmer weather and more sunshine.

To lean into winter, we love connecting winter with kindness and social emotional learning.

We can also use our Winter Kindness Challenge, our I am Kind in Winter Emergent Reader, our January Volunteer Challenge, and our February Volunteer Challenge.

Because winter is a great time to focus on kindness towards others, while we wait for Valentine’s Day to come.

And to help countdown to Valentine’s Day and spread acts of kindness at the same time, we use our Valentine’s Day Kindness Paper Chain Countdown Calendar.

How to Focus on Kindness During Winter

Winter is the perfect time to focus on kindness and giving to others so we can also start focusing on social-emotional learning and kindness with our students.

And since winter is full of holidays, it’s easy to spread kindness during each of the holidays. We start with our Winter Kindness Notes we can pass out to friends and neighbors.

And we use this Winter kindness Bucket List

We can also play Kindness Games like these Snowman Kind or Unkind Sort, these Hot Cocoa Kind or Unkind Sort, and these Mittens Kind or Unkind sort.

In January, we can spread kindness on New Year’s Eve with our Kindness Resolutions. And we focus on Dr. King with this Birthday Wish for Martin and this I Dream of Kindness Emergent Reader.

In February, we can practice kindness leading up to Valentine’s Day with our Kindness Hearts Kind or Unkind Sort.

We can spread kindness with these printable Valentine cards perfect for classmates and school staff.

Or we can use these Conversation Heart kindness Printable Valentine Cards for classmates.

We can also make these paper plate hearts and give them away as a gift of kindness during Valentine’s Day.

We can practice being kind with these Valentine’s Day kindness Role Playing cards.

And we can spread kindness to kids in hospitals by sending these digital Valentine Cards to them. Our kids can do this in seconds!

We also use this I Show Love and Kindness Emergent Reader to focus on all the ways be can be kind and show we care on Valentine’s Day.

But we can also spread kindness every day as we countdown to Valentine’s Day.

Each day as we speak and act with kindness and freely giveaway our kindness to others, we’ll focus a little less on ourselves and more on others.

Daily kindness reminders like this make kindness more of a habit and less of a one-time, big grand gesture.

And it sets them up to want to be kind more often, setting winter on the right foot…on a kinder foot.

Supplies Needed for the Countdown to Valentine’s Day Paper Chain

1 ½-inch by 11-inch construction paper strips (the number of strips you need will be dependent on the number of days your kids have left until Valentine’s Day) We used pin, purple, and red paper.
Stapler
Glue stick
Printable countdown activities (download it below).

How to Use the Kindness Paper Chain Countdown to Valentine’s Day

1. Download and print the paper chain countdown printables (download it below).

2. Cut each of the activities. Choose the best ones for you and the number you need depending on when you start and how many days are left until Valentine’s Day.

3. Glue each of the activities on one strip of the construction paper.

4. Loop the strip into a circle, with the activity facing in, and carefully staple the ends together.

5. Make another kindness activity strip. Put it through the first circle, loop it into its own circle, and then staple the ends together.

6. Continue with each construction paper strip, gluing the kindness activities down, and linking them all together.

The last strip in the link will be their last day before Valentine’s Day!

7. Hang up the countdown to Valentine’s Day calendar where it can be easily seen so it’s a visual representation of how many days left until the holiday.

8. Each day, rip off the top loop, do the kindness activity and celebrate them for focusing on kindness.

As the strip gets shorter and shorter, so will the days to candy, Valentine’s Day cards and a class party.

So when your kids ask, “How many days until Valentine’s Day ?” you can point to the paper chain and count the links left on your countdown chain.

And after focusing on spreading kindness, you’ll know you’re almost there!

And once you make it to Valentine’s Day, you’re super close to Spring break!