Whose ES Still Celebrate Valentine's Day?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How did your classroom celebrations go this week?

Can't lie here--I'm a kindergarten teacher and I friggin love Valentine's Day at school with kids. It's a day to celebrate love and kindness and all the things and people we love. We spend about a week before the day talking it up, and it's always impressive to me how much the students buy in and want to show their classmates how much they love them. It's really sweet, and while we always have an ice cream party in the afternoon, the kids are actually more excited to give out their Valentines and goody bags than to eat the party snacks.

This year was no exception. Kids rolled up with their shopping bags full of Dollar Tree goodies to hand out, dressed in their fancy pink and red clothes, and left at dismissal declaring it the best day ever. It's okay to let go and just allow children to have their childlike wonder and fun.

Love this PP. Our MCPS ES does Halloween and Valentine's but I don't even want to name it and attract attention. I went to my 2nd grader's party and they were so excited just to hand out all their cards to each other, it's sweet at this age and very inclusive, walking around making sure they got everyone. And just excited to have something different and a "party." One kid was fishing at the decorations which were probably like $15 total.

I almost wonder if you were out K teacher, she was so bubbly and positive!

[Anonymous]

I'm an elementary teacher, and our school still has Valentine's Day! I love it- kids can just be kids. It's only an hour of time, but I get to see the real personalities of the kids without the academic pressures. Candy and fun on one day will not harm the kids, but the camaraderie and fun will definitely help them bond and have good memories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow this makes me sad how many schools don’t celebrate. Our ES goes all out. Every class has a valentines party organized by the room parents for an hour at the end of the day. They exchange valentines earlier in the day and then the party is food (yes candy and sugar) and games and crafts. The fifth graders have a huge grade wide party in the cafeteria with a DJ and games and drinks and food and prizes. We do the same for Halloween with a school wide parade all the parents attend. A few of the room moms coordinated it all. Childhood is short. Let them have these moments.

where are you getting this data that "many schools don't celebrate"? We've had kids in 3 different ES (due to immersion and local school/CES) and they all had some form of card exchange/treats/candy etc. for Valentine's day. Usually a party at the end of the day. The only "rule" is always that kids who bring cards make sure they have them for every student, so the room parents usually circulate a list of kids' names.

+1. My kid had a Valentine’s Day party in ES. Some people sound like they just want to complain without having any evidence of their complaint being widespread.

Oh, people definitely just want to complain that their home school is just too "woke" for the holiday parties that they (allegedly) used to enjoy as kids. This is a regular feature on DCUM. Already looking forward to the Halloween 2026 "why can't they celebrate Halloween at school??!" thread, which I'm sure will be just as enlightening as the Halloween 2025 thread and the ones before that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow this makes me sad how many schools don’t celebrate. Our ES goes all out. Every class has a valentines party organized by the room parents for an hour at the end of the day. They exchange valentines earlier in the day and then the party is food (yes candy and sugar) and games and crafts. The fifth graders have a huge grade wide party in the cafeteria with a DJ and games and drinks and food and prizes. We do the same for Halloween with a school wide parade all the parents attend. A few of the room moms coordinated it all. Childhood is short. Let them have these moments.

where are you getting this data that "many schools don't celebrate"? We've had kids in 3 different ES (due to immersion and local school/CES) and they all had some form of card exchange/treats/candy etc. for Valentine's day. Usually a party at the end of the day. The only "rule" is always that kids who bring cards make sure they have them for every student, so the room parents usually circulate a list of kids' names.

+1. My kid had a Valentine’s Day party in ES. Some people sound like they just want to complain without having any evidence of their complaint being widespread.

Oh, people definitely just want to complain that their home school is just too "woke" for the holiday parties that they (allegedly) used to enjoy as kids. This is a regular feature on DCUM. Already looking forward to the Halloween 2026 "why can't they celebrate Halloween at school??!" thread, which I'm sure will be just as enlightening as the Halloween 2025 thread and the ones before that.

Good to know you enjoy reading those threads