Valentine’s Day Word Wall Cards for Preschoolers
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I have to confess that I’m not in the classrooms anymore, since the last 10 years I’ve been a Director. That doesn’t mean that I’ve stopped being a teacher. Once a teacher, you’re always a teacher. I promise you. The difference now is that with this position I get the chance to oversee all ages and help my staff with ideas and resources for their classrooms, but it’s easier for me to create activities for the preschoolers like this educational Valentine’s Day Word Wall Cards since that is the younger and last age that I ever worked with. Okay, okay… I still work with them every chance I get. Remember what I said that once a teacher….?
For me, it is very important to switch around in the classroom, and that means library books, decorations, and themes. It keeps preschoolers interested and excited. The activities for this young age are the same, because for them to learn you have to use repetition constantly. However, if you switch around in your classroom children automatically think that you are doing something new. That’s the trick to keep them engaged, along with doing activities that are meaningful to them.
Valentine’s Day Word Wall Cards
Going back to what this post is about, I have to say that in many early childhood programs it is a requirement to use the word wall because it is very important to help your children get familiar with printed words and start developing their emergent literacy skills. With this in mind, I created these Valentine’s Day Word Wall Cards printables that are completely free, and you can get them at the end of this post.
This printable includes two sets of 4 pages each (4 in English and 4 in Spanish). Each set contains 16 cards that include the words heart, key, cupid, potion, arrow, letter, and lock, printed in two different ways: one using only red ink (for Valentine’s Day), and another one using the first letter in red and the rest in black, that way you can use them to teach your children beginning sounds too.
Benefits of These Word Wall Cards
Depending on the activities you choose to do with these cards, they can help your preschoolers develop important skills such as:
- Vocabulary and Language Development – talking about the pictures in the cards.
- One-to-One correspondence – matching magnetic letters with the letters on the words.
- Pre-writing/fine motor development – copying the words with magnetic letters, tracing them with dry-erase markers, and copying them with crayons or pencils.
- Pre-reading skills – when they observe the picture and say its name (word).
- Phonological awareness – sounding out the beginning letter or the syllables in the words.
- Memory – remembering letter names and sounds, and words.
- Set creation skills – matching pictures with words.
How to Prepare the Word Wall Cards
To get these Valentine’s Day Word Wall Cards ready you will need these materials:
- FREE Valentine’s Day Word Wall cards are found at the end of this post.
- White cardstock
- Scissors
- Laminator machine
- Laminator pouches
Begin by printing two sets of each page using white cardstock. Then cut out and laminate each of the cards to protect them and make them last longer. To prepare the matching game take one of the sets and separate the pictures from the written words.
Where to Place the Cards
From the beginning of the school year, you are supposed to have the alphabet displayed horizontally across the wall at student’s eye level.
Once you introduce each word during circle time, place the Valentine’s Day Word Wall cards under the beginning letter of each word, to help your students identify the beginning letter of each word easily, or ask your students to place the cards themselves, as part of the activity.
How to Use Valentine’s Day Words
I don’t like to introduce too many new words with each theme; therefore, I always try to use words that are more relevant and easy to understand, because when the words are meaningful to the children they are more helpful.
In preschool, it is also extremely important that you introduce the word first using the correct picture, as well as the beginning sound. You never ask the children to name the word (or the picture). Remember that preschoolers learn the first sound they hear, and if it is incorrect, it will be very difficult for them to learn it the right way afterward.
Valentine’s Day Word Wall Activities
There are several fun activities you can do using your Valentine’s Day word wall during February.
- During circle time, when you start to introduce the Valentine’s Day theme, present your picture cards to the children, one at a time. Hold up the card in your hand and tell the students what it is. Repeat the name of the picture several times emphasizing the first sound. Call on a volunteer to place the card under the correct letter on the word wall, or do it yourself.
- Use these Valentine’s Day Word Wall cards as a writing activity. Place a set of these cards in the writing center and encourage the children to copy the words using magnetic letters. They can also copy their selected word on a piece of paper using a pencil or a crayon.
- As the children interact with the word wall cards in the different centers, encourage them to repeat the beginning sound of the card they are using. Do this as often as possible during the day as well.
- Prepare a matching game. To do this print a set and separate each picture from the written word cutting it on the line. Invite the children to match the pictures with the correct printed words, creating sets. This activity will not only help them recognize printed words but also will help them develop one-to-one correspondence and creating sets skills.
Other Activities to Complement These Cards
When I introduce a theme I like to combine as many related activities as possible. I have found that when you use this practice and also change the decoration in the classroom, you motivate your preschoolers to stay engaged and interested, avoiding boredom and behavior challenges.
Having said that, these are some suggestions for Valentine’s Day activities and resources you can use in combination with the word wall cards:
- Play Valentine’s Day Memory Game.
- Have them do Valentine’s Day Puzzles.
- Play the Valentine’s Day Bingo.
- Read Valentine’s Day-related books.
- Use Valentine’s Day Décor.
- Have the children do Valentine’s Day-related artwork such as painting, coloring, or doing a collage using the colors red, pink, and white.
- Get them to engage in a cooking activity like preparing a snack with red fruit like strawberries and red berries, and decorating cookies or cupcakes with pink frosting.
- Invite your preschoolers to participate in a simple Science experiment mixing white and red paint to obtain pink paint.
- Have them spell the word wall cards.
- Have a dress-up day with red, pink, and white clothes and have a parade for their classmates.
I get practically everything I need for the school and my own home on Amazon because it has hundreds of materials you can find to do the above activities, with incredibly affordable prices and a variety so extensive, that you won’t need to look anywhere else. These are just a few samples:
The biggest advice I can give you is to have fun. If you are loving what you are doing and are excited about it, chances are that your preschoolers are going to feel the same way.
Valentine’s Day Books
It is very important to read books to your preschoolers every day and have them available in all the centers so they can have constant access to them.
When you read books to your children, you are not only teaching them vocabulary words, and showing them that you read from top to bottom and left to write, the same way you write, but you are also creating the foundation for them to develop skills that will help them learn how to read and write in the future, just to mention some of the benefits reading has.
Since I like to change the library with every theme to keep them interested and motivated, these are some of the books that you can use with the Valentine’s Day theme. You can find books at your local library, at the bookstore, and on Amazon, using the links below.
Valentine’s Day is no different than any other theme or holiday, and it is an excellent opportunity to change the routine by doing something fun but educational with your preschoolers.
Just let your imagination run wild and remember that you can always take advantage of activities used during other holidays, by just using Valentine’s Day colors and pictures to make them appropriate and relevant to the children.
Pin It for Later
If you don’t have time to download your printable but want them for later, just pin it to your Valentine’s Day, Literacy, or any other of your Pinterest boards for later.
By the way, don’t forget to grab your free Valentine’s Day Word Wall Cards printables! Just choose the one that is more appropriate for your particular program (the one in English or the one in Spanish), or simply download both if you have a bilingual classroom, and start using them every day during the entire month of February.
I hope you enjoy these word wall cards that will help you complement your Valentine’s Day printables and activities collection and help you have a memorable and fun Valentine’s Day month with your preschoolers.
Be happy, safe, and creative. I wish you well.
Love,
Love,
P.S. If you would like to see an article about how to make something specific, please let me know and I will try my best to write it for you. My goal is to help you in any way I can and I don’t like anything better than to post something that you might find useful.
