Teacher’s Favorite February Activities for School
February is a month full of lovely possibilities! From heart-shaped sharing to festive math games, these February activities for school are sure to get your students excited about learning during the shortest month of the year.
Whether you’re planning around Valentine’s Day, Presidents’ Day, or simply trying to beat the winter slump, February is the perfect time to mix a little novelty into your routine. Shorter weeks and chilly days call for activities that feel playful yet purposeful, giving students a reason to stay focused and curious. These ideas balance creativity, collaboration, and core skills, making them easy to slip into your lesson plans without adding extra prep.
So grab your Valentine’s Day candy and prepare for sweet learning fun! Here are some of our teachers’ favorite February activities to keep student engagement fresh and fun.
Focus on Black History Month
February is a great time to celebrate and honor Black History Month in the classroom. With February’s focus on love and connection, it’s the perfect opportunity to explore Black Americans’ history, culture, literature, and art. Teaching students about Black History Month helps foster an inclusive environment where all cultures are respected and celebrated.
Teachers can use so many wonderful activities to engage their students in learning more about this important subject matter. From creating timelines of influential Black Americans to researching civil rights movements, there are plenty of meaningful ways for students to dive into this topic.
Would you like a Free Biography Sorting Activity?
In this Biography Sorting Activity, students can analyze and group historical figures by what makes them memorable. After reading a short statement of each individual, learners determine in which category they should be sorted based on their lasting fame or impact. This set includes 43 people from various backgrounds spanning ten different categories, plus an additional option for creating your own!
Valentine’s Day February Activities for the Classroom
Valentine’s Day is a great time to get creative and engage students in meaningful learning activities. From sharing heartfelt messages of appreciation to exploring Valentine’s Day’s history, there are many ways to make this special holiday educational and fun for your students!
Read books about Friendship and Kindness.
For Valentine’s Day, teachers can share books that focus on love and kindness with their students. These books celebrate the holiday and promote important values that can be incorporated into classroom discussions and activities.
One book to consider is “Love” by Matt de la Peña. In this heartwarming story, a young boy learns about different forms of love through his family and community. The illustrations add depth to the message, making it perfect for discussing diverse families and communities with students.
Another great choice is “Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed” by Emily Pearson. This book tells the story of a girl who starts a chain reaction of kindness after picking blueberries for her neighbor. It teaches children that small acts of kindness can greatly impact others.
Here are a few more read aloud books that your students will LOVE!
- “The Invisible String” by Patrice Karst explores the idea of loved ones being connected even when they are apart.
- “You Are Special” by Max Lucado.
- “Ten Things I Love About You” by Daniel Kirk – create a foldable where students list 10 things they love about another person
Have a heart-shaped sharing session
Invite students to take turns sharing something special with the class in the shape of a heart. It could be an item, a photo, a story, or something they want to share.
Pass out a sheet of construction paper to each student in class with instructions for them to make a heart shape. Ask each student to write one thing they like about themselves, their family, or a friend in their heart.
This is a great way to encourage open communication and foster an environment of acceptance and understanding. It can also allow teachers to discuss topics like emotions, empathy, and kindness in a safe space.
Inspire students to go home and write down their favorite books on paper hearts. Then, create a beautiful bulletin board in the classroom with all of these books for everyone to admire!
FREE I Love that I. . . . Valentine’s Day Activity
While it is nice to focus on spreading kindness for Valentine’s Day, it is also vital to help students focus on themselves. Thankfully, this FREE Valentine’s Day Classroom Activity allows students to focus on three aspects. This includes what they can do, who they are, and their character traits. Then, students transform their brainstorming into a joyful heart.
Valentine’s Day Craft Flap
Celebrate Valentine’s Day with a heart-shaped Flap Book that encourages students to reflect on and describe the unique qualities of the people they care about. This delightful craft is perfect for the week leading up to this heartfelt holiday, allowing for meaningful connections and expressions of love.
The Valentine’s Day Flap Book is perfect for spreading kindness. Specifically, students will reflect on special aspects of their lives, such as friends, family, and school. Students will adore this project!
Make Valentine’s Day Cards or Compliment Cards
Students can make their own Valentine’s Day cards for their classmates. This is a great way to get them thinking creatively and using their imaginations.
Making these cards with classmates is always a fun February activity! Students can get creative designing cards for their friends, whether using construction paper, markers, crayons, stickers, or other arts and crafts materials.
This is a great way to help boost the classroom atmosphere with meaningful gestures of friendship and appreciation. Allowing students to make their own cards allows them to express themselves and connect with their imaginations. Such an activity helps unite everyone as they share messages of love and kindness through cute DIY cards!
Take it one step further and have students write a compliment on the card for each student or have students create compliment cards for the teachers and staff throughout the school. Or create cards for a local senior center.
Make Valentine Boxes
Inspire your students to think outside the box this Valentine’s Day with What Can You Do With a Box?
Get creative and have them craft unique boxes for their valentines, making it an extra special day!
Involve Parents in the Love of Valentine’s Day
Send home a blank heart to your students’ parents and request them to decorate it without their child’s knowledge. Ask that they include illustrations, colors, objects, etc., that best describe the child. On Valentine’s Day, reveal the hearts for all to see and have each student guess which one came from their family! It will be an exciting day of surprises full of love – who can resist such meaningful fun?
Fun Valentine’s Day Writing Prompts
Infuse the love of writing throughout February with these writing prompts. These February writing prompts are perfect for third through fifth-grade students. Included are 42 writing prompts that span all writing domains: opinion writing, narrative writing, and informational writing. All these writing prompts are on one page with a graphic organizer and writing space!
February Themed Cloze Reading Activities
These Cloze Reading Passages for February prompt students to utilize context clues and make inferences to identify the appropriate word or phrase within a sentence. The passages revolve around President’s Day, Groundhog Day, Rosa Parks, Games, Friendship, and Kindness, fostering engagement and comprehension.
Math Games with a Valentine’s Day Twist
Graphing and sorting conversation hearts is a fun Valentine’s Day math activity that students of all ages can enjoy. It helps them practice their graphing, sorting, and counting skills while getting into the festive spirit and making math learning fun. This activity is one of my go-to math activities I add to my Valentine’s Day lesson plans.
You can engage your students in an educational yet enjoyable task with colorful conversation hearts and simple prompts. Students can begin with a box of conversation hearts. Students sort them into color categories. They will then create a graph to record the number of each type of heart found in their collection.
This exercise teaches important mathematical concepts such as data analysis, organizing information visually using graphs, recognizing patterns within given data sets, and more! As an added bonus, it’s also quite tasty!
Would you like a FREE February Conversation Heart Sorting and Graphing Sheet?
Valentine’s Day Art Projects
Often, students love art projects! Honestly, it is so important for students to develop their creativity. Luckily, the Valentine’s Day Art Activities has several amazing projects for students to bring happiness and art projects together.
Valentine’s Day Activities for Distance Learning
While Valentine’s Day is such a fun time, it is also during a germ-filled season. Therefore, it is essential to have Valentine’s Day Activities for Distance Learning! There are activities for students to work on that relate to every content area! For instance, students will learn about the heart and the story of Cupid. Best of all, these activities also work great for in-person learning.
Valentine’s Day Science Activities
While love may be in the air, students will learn about the love of science! They will do this through 14 Valentine’s Day Science Activities. The Scientific Method will help guide students as they all have a hands-on role in learning about exciting topics. This includes oil and water and a color-changing flower. Hearts will go pitter-patter with these projects!
Have a Class Valentine’s Day Party!
If you’re having a Valentine’s Day party, you might also want to play some games at the party. If you’re looking for some games to play, I’ve got a post all about them!
Valentine’s Party Games
Need more ideas for the end of the day? Check out these routines to make that day just a bit calmer.
Informational Articles about Valentine’s Day
This Valentine’s Day, unlock the secrets of this romantic holiday through three awesome reading passages! From learning about chocolate history to discovering how Valentine’s Day is celebrated worldwide, you’re sure to make your students fall in love with close-reading activities. So show some love and spread knowledge while having a blast on February 14th!
Valentine’s Day Reading Passages
Discover the history of chocolate, the origins of Valentine’s Day, and how the holiday is celebrated around the world. These fun and engaging close-reading resources are perfect for sparking interest in reading and learning about Valentine’s Day.
President’s Day Activities for Elementary Students
President’s Day is a great opportunity to teach students about the presidents serving our country. There are tons of activities that can be done to help bring these lessons to life.
Students can read a biography about one or more presidents and then write a report about the person.
Or consider taking a virtual trip to Mt. Rushmore and the White House. Virtually explore these two iconic landmarks from your computer or other device, learning about the history of each place and the people who made them famous. You could try to find hidden historical facts about each location and take a virtual tour around the area, taking in all of its breathtaking views.
Learning about the US Presidents at Mt Rushmore would be especially interesting, and you could even learn the secrets behind some of their most famous quotes. Exploring the White House grounds would also provide a unique insight into American politics and culture. The virtual field trip would surely be an enlightening experience you’ll never forget.
If I Were President for a Day
Have students write what they would do if they were president for a day. It’s incredible to hear the ambitions of our students; they are determined to make a positive impact, expressing their desires and bringing them to life. Their determination is awe-inspiring as they strive towards changing the world!
February is a great month for classroom celebrations! No matter how you choose to celebrate, these February activities will help your classroom feel festive while providing an opportunity for learning about love, kindness, and friendship. There are many more ideas below! Do you have some favorite February activities? Share them with us in the comments below!
I enjoy using the book “Ten Things I Love About You” by Daniel Kirk. I read it to the students and then they create a foldable for someone in their family telling the 10 things they love about that person. They are very creative and it helps them to realize that there can be many things we love about people. It is a good opportunity to notice things that might seem ordinary but that remind us of something special about that person.
February is a month full of themes and books! I love to share books and create activities connected to peace, love, and kindness. Women’s History and Black History Moments are also celebrated through students’ reading and hearing books that are mirrors, windows, and sliding doors.
I enjoy working on Valentine’s Day activities and the 100th day of school with my kids. Crafts that can be kept as keepsakes are enjoyed by all; students, parents and teachers!
My favorite activities to do during February are Black History projects with my students. We read books and watch videos about influential African Americans. My students create posters and banners. It is a month filled with lots of fun and learning new information. This year I would like to have them help me create a display for our door.
So many themes and activities for February. My favorites, which always make a comeback each February are: learning how to give and receive compliments, writing poetry about what we love about ourselves and others? What character traits do we see in those we love? Black history month; I read Night John to my older students. A lot of discussion on diversity.
So many themes and activities for February. My favorites, which always make a comeback each February are: learning how to give and receive compliments, writing poetry about what we love about ourselves and others? What character traits do we see in those we love? Black history month; I read Night John to my older students. A lot of discussion on diversity.
I love doing our groundhog day prediction activity with our little groundhog craft, putting it on the sunny or cloudy side.
I teach 5th grade math. In February, I rotate between Valentine and Mardi Gras themed activities because Mardi Gras is almost always in February in New Orleans!
In February, I like to do graphing with Valentine sweethearts. I teach math and my students love to do this activity and eat them afterwards.
During my counseling sessions we focus on self love during the month of February. My favorite is a craft involving hearts within hearts and the kids write about what they keep close their heart (favorite places, people, hobbies, items, etc).
We do a few fun things in February. We always do a Valentine’s party complete with decorated boxes and a contest. Also, we do a research project for Black History Month. Students choose a person to research and then write their own biographies.
My class makes huge Valentines for every teacher and staff member, writes them a cute note and then tapes the valentine on their door letting them know how awesome they are.. The students love, love, love doing this.
I love to teach groundhogs and weather. I would really love to see groundhogs in your Animal Article Collection! 🙂
February = Black History Month with bulletin board and displaying students’ writing
We read about Harriet Tubman and talk about the importance of quilts and the telling of family stories in ways other than writing them down. After studying Faith Ringgold, we make a quilt. The students learn to sew and each does a little bit of work. Each panel depicts a different symbol representing part of Harriet Tubman’s life. It always turns out amazing, and the kids learn a great life skill!
I will have the following themes: bears,red,pink,and friends
February brings President’s Day activities and Valentine’s activities.
I also usually work with an all day 100th Day Celebration!
In February I love to have students write their names on a crumpled up piece of paper and then throw it into the center of the room. Each student picks one snowball up and they have to give a heartfelt compliment to the student who they chose. It’s a snowball compliment.
My favorite activities are celebrating the 100th day of school, Valentine Day projects, and President’s Day!
Google slide scavenger hunts of 3 women from Movie Hidden Figures and others that worked for NASA as computers. View movie “Hidden Figures”
President’s Day and Black History
I really enjoy giving students time to make compliment cards or notes for each other. Then, they all pass them out during our Valentine’s Day celebration. That way, everyone has something to pass out, whether or not they were able to bring something form home! And the kids love reading the compliments 🙂
I enjoy teaching about Ruby Bridges and Rosa Parks. I typically will read a book on both ladies, we have a discussion and do writing and directive draw.
I send home blank hearts for our Bulletin Board entitled “That’s What I Love About You!” Students write what they love about their family on a red heart and families write what they love about their student on the pink heart.
We also enjoy reading 28 Days Moments in Black History That Changed the World. Each student is assigned a different day to record the main idea and details and we put each day up on another bulletin board.
My favorite activity is reading the book Somebody Loves You Me. Hatch and we make Valentine’s Day cards to send to veterans.
February is such a busy month! I love teaching and celebrating Groundhog Day, 100th Day, Valentine’s Day and our month long theme, kindness! The last week is our February break which is also a lot of fun! :o)
I love celebrating Mardi Gras. I am from Louisiana but live in Texas. Most of my students have never heard of Mardi Gras, so I enjoy teaching them about it, complete with beads, purple, green, and gold decorations, and King Cake!
I really enjoy celebrating Day 100. It usually hits at the beginning of February. The different 100 Days activities are a nice change of pace and the students have a lot of fun!
I have Valentine’s Cupcake Project that I love to do. The kids always enjoy it too!
In February, we always have the100th day of school. I love doing activities around that- if you had $100… writing and math lessons.
Since one side of my family is originally from an area close to Punxsutawney, PA teaching my students about Groundhog’s Day is extra special to me. And Valentine’s Day…so much fun with friendship-themed reading, math, and art activities.
We love doing friendship activities and celebrating Black History Month.
I teach the students in a self-contained classroom. They really love to do Valentine’s day crafts. We have a Valentine day themed day where we do crafts and bake Valentine’s goodies. They requested caramel apples and chocolate-covered strawberries this year which we are pretty excited about. We are going to attempt to make the strawberries look like hearts.
Each year we talk about presidents day and take a virtual trip to Mt. Rushmore & The White House!
I like to spend time working on Valentine’s Day art projects with my students. We also celebrate the 100th day of school in February, so we always include something to go along with that as well!
I like to talk about feelings: for themselves and for others. February is a month that lends to that well.
Oh my! It is hard to choose a favorite! I would have to say I love doing Presidents reports and seeing the kids light up when they learn something new. I always tie in a whole biography unit with it, too!
There are a lot of fun activities I love to do with my class in February. One of the things I love to do is, I love to read books about friendship. Another fun activity that I love to do with my class is, I love to do graphing and sorting with conversation hearts. I love to have my students make a prediction on which color they think they will have more of, and to have them see if their prediction was correct.
My favorite classroom activities to do during February is learning about friendship and kindness. We do a class card exchange and celebrate friendship.
My favorite thing to do in February is to celebrate the 100th day of school. The kids love dressing up, participating in special 100th day centers and counting to 100 by 1s and 10s. Parents come in to volunteer as well. Our school is Pre K-2. Our K starts school on the second day (the first day of school is our orientation) therefore, we celebrate the 100th day of school for two days. The whole school dresses as they would if they were 100 years old on the first day, and we do some special activities and centers on the second day. I love acknowledging this accomplishment!!! So much fun and learning all rolled into one!