Download these coloring pages to help kids celebrate Valentine’s Day this Sunday! If your church is meeting virtually, share the pages with families via email.
Fun Friday: Valentine’s Day Coloring Pages
Fun Friday: Valentine’s Day Volunteer Appreciation
Print out the tag below and attach to an oatmeal cookie or oatmeal breakfast bar. Hand out the treats to volunteers at church or drop off on volunteers’ porches if your church is meeting virtually.
February Teacher Appreciation
I come from a very talented family of crafters and artists. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a lot of the talent, but I did get the desire to make things with my hands. We even have a secret facebook group where someone in our family challenges us to make something. This month, I took that challenge and turned it into a teacher appreciation idea for Valentines Day.
- Start with a sheet of red copy paper. Trim the paper to make a square.
- Fold the square in half to form a triangle. Crease well.
- Fold the triangle in half again to make a smaller triangle. Crease well.
- Fold the triangle in half one last time to make a smaller triangle. Crease well.
- Unfold the paper to the original triangle made in step 2.
- Place the triangle on a table with the longest side facing you.
- Take the left corner and fold it up to the top corner. Do the same with the right corner forming a diamond shape. Tape the seams together with a small piece of clear tape.
- Flip the paper over to the untaped side. Fold the top point of the diamond down a little above the two outside corners.
- Flip the paper over to the taped side. Take the left point and fold down to make a small triangle point. Do the same with the right side.
- Flip over. You should have a heart shaped pocket.
You can dog-ear the corners back a little to give it more of a heart shape, but I don’t think that is necessary. Also, since I’m not a purist, I used small pieces of tape to hold down any paper that wanted to flap up.
Inside you can place a giftcard and write a catchy saying on the outside.
I used a Starbucks® giftcard and a Chick-fil-a® giftcard for my samples.
Starbucks: Thanks a “latte”
Chick-fil-a: Thanks for being a part of our herd.
Burger King: Thanks for doing it God’s Way!
If budget is an issue, you can stuff the pocket with candies.
Sweetarts: You’re a sweetart!
M&Ms: Thanks for melting hearts for Jesus!
Party-favor size Play-Doh: You help mold hearts for God.
Jeff Land loves Life! That’s pretty great, because his job here at Lifeway is the Team Leader for Bible Studies for Life: Kids. Jeff loves his life which is so blessed by his amazing wife, Abbey, and their four sons, Reed, Nash, Will, and Tuck. A natural encourager and fun-lover, look for Jeff’s posts about teacher appreciation and game ideas. When not serving at work, Jeff serves 2nd graders at his church, First Baptist Church, Joelton, TN.
Get Your Valentine’s Day Cards!
As all of you know, Valentine’s Day is just 2 days away. If you haven’t picked up cards yet, you’re in luck. Check out and download the cards below to speak love through Scripture.
Happy Valentine’s Day from Lifeway Kids!
Jeffrey Reed serves as the Director of Kids Ministry for Lifeway. He came to Lifeway with a wide variety of ministry experiences including worship leader, director of children’s ministry, and executive leadership in several growing congregations. Jeffrey’s posts will give your heart and brain a workout, just like the fitness Boot Camp he leads in the mornings for Lifeway employees. Jeffrey and his wife Katherine have 4 kids.
Valentine’s Day Coloring Pages
How do I love thee? Let me color the ways!
I love Valentine’s Day! For one thing, it means Spring is not far behind! But the main reason is that it offers the opportunity of making people around us aware of our love for them.
As you prepare for Valentine’s parties and the like, here is a link to some great coloring pages to help your kids not only express their love for others, but will also be a reminder of God’s love for them and their friends.
To make the page even more personal, encourage the kids to either list reasons for their love or add their own drawing on the back. Enjoy!
Coloring Pages for Valentine’s Day
- Jesus Loves You!
- Out of This World
- A Friend Loves at All Times
- I Will Sing of the Lord’s Great Love Forever
Klista Storts is a Kids Ministry Specialist at Lifeway Christian Resources. Before coming to Lifeway, she served as the Weekday and Preschool Specialist at the Tennessee Baptist Convention and as Director of Preschool Ministries at churches in Oklahoma and Tennessee. Klista has a passion for equipping leaders to share the love of Christ and lay foundations for conversion in the lives of kids.
Valentine’s Day Labels: Show Love to Your Kids Ministry Leaders
Use these free Valentine’s labels to tell your kids ministry volunteers that you appreciate them. Download all seven pages of labels for free! Show your kids ministry volunteers how much they mean to you and your church.
Pastor Michael, the kids pastor at my church, is great at showing appreciation for his kids ministry leaders. With notes on our Facebook wall, friendly texts, and even small gifts, he communicates that he appreciates us working with kids.
Here are five ideas that will help you tell your kids ministry volunteers how much they mean to you. (Oh, and did I mention that we’re giving you some awesome Valentine’s labels to use to make this task even more doable?)
1. Thanks a BILLION for teaching the kids at our church!
Walgreens has these great 1,000,000,000 candy bars for $.99 in their Valentine’s Day section (prices may vary). Print the label and voila — instant teacher appreciation.
Thanks a Billion (PDF)
Print these labels on Avery 8163 labels.
2. OWL always thank God for you!
This “Cuddly Cuties” chocolate owl was available at Walgreens 3 for $2.00 (prices may vary). Hurry now and pick them up. They had dog, monkeys, and kittens.
Print this label for the owl chocolate on Avery 8163 labels.
Some other ideas:
- You’re a DOGgone good Sunday School teacher!
- I’d go bananas without you teaching our kids!
- You make the PURRfect Bible study leader!
3. You’re A SWEETHEART for teaching our kids!
Who doesn’t love sweethearts candies? You can find these almost anywhere and usually for about $.33 each (prices may vary).
Sweetheart 1 and Sweetheart 2 (PDF)
Print these labels on Avery 8163 labels.
4. You Deserve HUGS and KISSES for teaching our church’s children!
I found this acrylic heart at Walgreens for $.50 and a bag of Hershey’s HUGS KISSES for $3.49 (prices may vary). You can fill several hearts with one bag of KISSES or if you need to be more cost effective, consider putting several kisses in a ziplock bag and placing one of the labels on it.
Hugs and Kisses (PDF)
Print these labels on Avery 8163 labels.
5. I’m Glad You <3 Kids Ministry!
The chocolate-filled heart Valentines are probably the most recognized Valentine candy around (besides maybe conversation hearts!). Most stores offer a small box of Valentines for around $1.00 (prices may vary).
I’m Glad You <3 Kids Ministry (PDF)
Print these labels on Avery 8163 labels.
Jeff Land Jeff loves Life! That’s pretty great, because his job here at Lifeway is the Team Leader for Bible Studies for Life: Kids. Jeff loves his life which is so blessed by his amazing wife, Abbey, and their four sons, Reed, Nash, Will, and Tuck. A natural encourager and fun-lover, look for Jeff’s posts about teacher appreciation and game ideas. When not serving at work, Jeff serves 2nd graders at his church, First Baptist Church, Joelton, TN.
We LOVE you!
Happy Valentine’s Day to our readers! In order to show you how much we love you, I thought it would be fun to do a little giveaway today. Be sure to enter to win!
Valentine’s Day Games Your Kids (and Teachers) Will Love!
Hey All. It’s getting close to that time of year when the whole universe seems to go gaga over cardboard hearts filled with chocolates, heart-shaped mylar balloons with cutesy messages, stuffed animals, and of course, the unforgettable conversation hearts.
Valentine’s Day stands out in my mind not because I was a big “celebrator” of the holiday growing up, but because I worked at a pharmacy/gift shop during high school and I remember how insane it was working on Valentine’s Day. I do know, though, how excited my almost four and almost three-year-olds were recently when their Uncle Bill bought them some valentines.
Kids get excited about Valentine’s Day because they may have a school party, will most likely be getting some sort of treat from their parents, and they get to exchange fun-themed Valentine’s Day cards. I sure wish that the cards they had when I was a kid had candy attached like the ones have today!
So, if you are planning a special Valentine’s event for your kids at church or just want to add a few fun games to your Wednesday night before Valentine’s Day lineup, I’ve come up with a few games that your kids are sure to enjoy.
[googlemaps https://maps.google.com/images?q=conversation+heart&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=tMNGTfT1CM7PgAew_OzxAQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=2&ved=0CDwQsAQwAQ&biw=1304&bih=794″>conversation heart into different containers. Attach 4-8 disposable bowls to a table using tape. Form the same number teams of kids as colors of conversation hearts you have and assign each team a color. Place a boundary line about 4 feet from the bowl-topped table. Tell teams they have 1 minute to try to get as many of their team-colored hearts into the bowls as possible. Add up the number of hearts each team got into the bowls and declare a winner. Variations: make it relay style for each team instead of “free for all,” or assign point values to each bowl.
Conversational Speed Stack
Place all conversation hearts in the center of a table. Invite kids to gather around. Explain that on “Go” each kid will attempt to build the tallest tower of conversation hearts. Caution kids to not touch the table with their bodies. Variation: After 1 minute narrow the group down to the top five, after 30 seconds more narrow the group to the top 2, allow 10 more seconds and declare a winner. Use larger conversation hearts for small kids who have less developed fine motor skills.
Spoonful of Hearts Relay
Place conversation hearts in two bowls on a table and form two teams of kids. Place two empty bowls on another table at the opposite side of the room. Give each kid a plastic spoon. Explain that teams will compete to fill the empty bowls with hearts by scooping hearts into their spoons and carrying them across the room relay style.
Chocolate Hearts
Choco-Chopstix
Show the kids the two hearts filled with chocolates. Tell them to study the compartment in which each chocolate is placed. Form two teams of kids and then assign each kid a partner. Explain that they should lock arms with their partners. Tell teams they will take turns coming to the heart and refilling it in the correct order. The catch is that each partner has one chopstick and he has to work with his partner to lift the chocolate into the correct compartment. Give teams 20 second intervals to work to keep the game fast-moving. Keep playing until one team has completed the task.
Quick Organize
Sort of “cup stack” style have two kids compete against one another to be the first to refill their chocolate hearts in the correct order.
vbsvday from Jeff Land on Vimeo.
(The above video was made during our recent VBS Preview event here in Nashville, TN.)
Marshmallow Catapult
Form two teams and give each team member a plastic spoon. Place two bowls on a table in another part of the room. Give each team a bag of heart-shaped marshmallows. I found mine at Target. Tell kids they have to catapult the marshmallows across the room and into the bowls. Note: This game shouldn’t be played on carpet! Variation: Allow a team member to hold his team’s bowl and catch the marshmallows.
Heart Stopping Creations
Give kids a selection of marshmallow hearts and pretzel sticks. Tell kids to make their own Valentine’s Day sculpture by using the marshmallow hearts to connect the pretzel sticks.
Please use good judgment when playing games. Always make safety a priority. Have fun and enjoy watching your kids laugh and play.
Since I’ve already started thinking about Valentine’s Day, I guess there is no excuse for me not to get my wife an awesome present!
