Is the traditional Valentine’s Day card exchange in grade schools just a speed bump on the road to completing one’s elementary education, or can it serve as a “teachable moment” in a student’s school life?
Each of us remembers a time when she or he labored over the making of Valentine's Day cards in grade school. Was it nothing more than a chance to show off artistic talent or to enter an unofficial "contest" to see who got the most cards, and then eat cupcakes? Or was it for some the first time to think outside their little paper mailboxes, and focus creative energy on crafting statements about who they were, or wanted to become?
Education.com says making Valentine's Day cards not only gives kids the opportunity to “practice their reading, writing and fine motor skills,” but it also “teaches love.”
Just ask a certain six-year-old, whom we’ll call Sydney. Like so many little girls, she is steeped in big-screen fairytales of princesses and their many suitors. Consequently, she was pondering a purely platonic kid “marriage” to an older guy of eight, or so. Well, they have decided to postpone the vows, but Valentine’s Day is turning out to be the next best thing. On her card, she plans to glue a photo of Mom and Dad on their wedding day. The message will read, “They have always been best friends, and I think we can be the same, too.”
Oh, and Sydney will even get in some computing. She wants to send her oversized creation through the U.S. Mail and calculate the extra postage as part of her homework.
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