Celebrating Valentine’s Day with Nanny Kids
I love celebrating holidays with my nanny kids! Sharing traditions, learning about different festivities, enjoying new foods, music, and stories – holidays are such a fun, special break in the routine, and many kids & families love to share those holiday moments with their nannies. One of my favorite holidays to celebrate with nanny kids is Valentine’s Day!
Valentine’s Day may be more representative of romantic love for some people, but I think it’s an awesome time to connect with my nanny kids, start conversations around consent and touch, and to celebrate platonic friendships, kindness, and LOVE. I know some adults who call it “Love Day” or “Friend Day” instead of Valentine’s – I think that’s a great sentiment.

Making Valentine’s
Perhaps the core of Valentine’s Day is . . . making Valentines! Who doesn’t love receiving or giving a valentine that was made with love? Process art is more developmentally appropriate for kiddos, so I love bringing lots of supplies (think doilies, glitter, gems, paint, glitter glue, beads, etc.) and letting them go crazy. Those special cards that were made with so much love and effort are often kept forever.
However, while I do appreciate the process, the preschool teacher in me needs to send something cutesy home with a little handprint on it, so I typically end up with a product art piece as well. There are so many cute ideas online – I love these bee Valentines. This balloon image has been a hit for me, and these LOVE canvases are so simple & great for all ages! Instead of leaning only on process art or product art, why not offer opportunities for both?
Who else can you make a Valentine for? Neighbors, friends, schoolmates, extended family, teachers, babysitters, community helpers like delivery people or the dentist – everyone is happy to receive a special Valentine that was made with love!
Valentine’s Treats & Traditions
One of my all-time favorite Valentine’s Day traditions with nanny kids is to cut out paper hearts, write encouraging messages on them, and then the parents and I will add these hearts to the kiddo’s bedroom doors from Feb 1-14th. On the 14th, their doors are covered in reminders of why we love them and what awesome kiddos they are. This is also a great chance to practice encouragement over praise. Try this one out! The pay-off to the prep-work here is excellent.
Valentine’s Day is also an awesome chance to try some baking! I love cooking with my nanny kiddos, even though I’m not very good at it (what a great chance for me to model that growth mindset). The more the kiddos can do themselves, the more ownership & pride they’ll have, so I always try to choose something do-able over something incredibly impressive. Sometimes, for me, that’s just boxed cake mix, and everyone always still loves it! Last year we baked Valentine’s cupcakes, decorated, and dropped them off to the other family from our previous nanny share. There’s just something about baking and sharing something with others that feels great. Some other fun ideas: heart-shaped pizzas or pancakes, sugar cookies with Valentine’s sprinkles, or a fun holiday-themed snack mix.
There are Valentine’s Day activities for anything you want to work on with your NKs – if you’re looking to do messy play, you can make some slime or a sensory play bin. If you’re looking for ways to develop stronger fine motor skills, do some lacing work or make a necklace. If you’re working on gross motor, go on a walk and do a scavenger hunt for Valentine’s Day decorations in your neighborhood. If you just want to play & connect – have a dance party!
Valentine’s Day Books
There are so many amazing books about love & friendship for kiddos, and it’s hard for me to choose just a few favorites to highlight here. Will Ladybug Hug? is a great board book for young readers that touches on consent and a gentle reminder that even though we may love giving hugs, not everybody wants one. The Night Before Valentine’s Day is a realistic story about celebrating Valentine’s Day at school. This is an awesome book to share with a kiddo to go over what might happen and to set expectations around Valentine’s Day. Love Grows Everywhere isn’t necessarily a Valentine’s Day-themed book, but the love, the gorgeous illustrations, and celebration of diversity can certainly fit in. Similarly, Love is Powerful is actually about a Women’s March, not Valentine’s Day, but leaves your heart feeling full with a reminder of how powerful love is, even when it feels like our individual efforts may not be making much of a difference. I’ll end on a funny one: A Crankenstein Valentine is a silly, lighthearted story for kiddos who may be reluctant or “grossed out” by all the lovey-dovey Valentine’s stuff and want to laugh it off.
What are some of your favorite traditions when it comes to Valentine’s Day? Did I forget your favorite Valentine’s Day book? What do you and your charges enjoy doing together? Please share!
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