💞 Valentine's Day... or not... Your Call

Hey Reader!

Valentine’s Day may or may not be your cuppa tea.

That’s okay.

Maybe you loved the school parties and want to recreate some of that fun.
Maybe you’d rather skip the glitter and sugar overload entirely.

Either way — here are some easy, unschooling-aligned ways to nod to the tradition without turning it into a production.

Even a → FREE PDF if you need a little help seeing the learning in all this fun!

Want to chat over coffee with me?

Here's the next best thing! If you’d rather just talk it through with me, I made a short video where I walk through the ideas and share a few stories. Press play and lt's chat over coffee!

Fun Ideas

❤️ Start with the real history
The origins aren’t quite as sweet as we were told. Lupercalia. A priest named Valentine. A few darker twists. Some kids love that kind of backstory. (Parents may want to preview first.) I linked a few solid videos — plus the story behind candy hearts and card-giving.

😆 Lean into the jokes
Valen-teeny cards.
“You can count on me.” (calculator joke!)
“I love ewe.”
You’d be amazed how long kids will giggle over simple cheesy wordplay. Text them throughout the day!
Or write a riddle on the bathroom mirror with a dry erase pen....
What did the pickle say to its Valentine? You mean a great dill to me! (but don't write the answer on the mirror - make them guess!)

🧪 STEM with marshmallows
Heart marshmallows + toothpicks = engineering. We were doing this decades before anyone called it STEM.

🍩 Last-minute mom win? Pink Sprinkle Donuts.
Valentine breakfast —handled.

🍓 Food makes everything festive
Heart-shaped watermelon, pizza pepperoni, rice krispie treats with Valentine sprinkles.
Cookie cutters for all of these!

🎲 Games without prep stress
Candy Heart Minute-to-Win-It games.
Heart hopscotch.
Red & pink tic-tac-toe.

🏠 Repurpose that gingerbread house kit
Turn it into a Valentine house. (Apparently those kits last a year — who knew?)

💌 The unschooling favorite: Heart Attack the Door
Write what you love about your child on paper hearts and cover their door while they sleep. Or use post-its on the bathroom mirror. Simple. Powerful. Memorable.

🩷 Bonus: Love Languages
This is actually such a sweet one. Have the kids take a Love Language quiz. Compare answers. Talk about what makes each of you feel loved. That conversation alone is worth the holiday.