Valentine’s Day at Nursery: Learning About Love, Feelings and Friendship
- Orsolya Majoros
- 7 hours ago
- 2 min read
This week at nursery, we enjoyed celebrating Valentine’s Day at nursery, using the occasion as a gentle and meaningful way to explore love, kindness, and relationships.
The origin of the celebration
Valentine’s Day has its origins in ancient Rome and is linked to Saint Valentine, who is believed to have supported couples and acts of kindness. Over time, the celebration spread across Europe and became popular in the UK, where traditions now include giving cards, flowers, and small gifts to show appreciation and care. At nursery, we focus less on romance and more on love in its widest sense — family, friendship, and kindness towards others 💛.
Valentine's Day at Nursery
The children made beautiful Valentine’s Day cards for their loved ones, carefully cutting, sticking, drawing and decorating. These activities supported hand–eye coordination, fine motor development, and early mark-making skills, linking closely to the EYFS areas of Physical Development and Literacy.
Many of the children talked proudly about who their cards were for — mums, dads, siblings, grandparents, and even pets. We had thoughtful discussions about who we love and why. The children shared ideas about family members, friends, and the people who help them feel safe and happy. These conversations supported Personal, Social and Emotional Development, helping children strengthen their understanding of relationships, emotions, and belonging.
The theme was also explored through sensory experiences. The older children enjoyed rice and gem sensory trays, scooping, pouring, and searching for hidden treasures.
The younger children had a lovely sensory box, filled with Valentine themed objects: colourful scarves, rose scented bath bombs, pink sugar paper, flowers.
They also explored rose-coloured, scented bubbly water filled with petals, encouraging calm exploration and curiosity. These activities supported sensory development and Understanding the World 🌹.
In the garden, our preschoolers created “love potions”, carefully mixing red-coloured water with rose petals using different sized bottles, containers, pipettes, and tiny perfume jars. This playful activity supported early mathematical concepts such as size, capacity, and comparison, alongside imaginative play and cooperation.
Our babies explored colour mixing using shaving foam and paint, spreading and blending colours on large paper love hearts. This hands-on exploration encouraged creativity, early scientific thinking, and sensory discovery ❤️.
Throughout the week, the focus remained on kindness, connection, and positive relationships. By celebrating Valentine’s Day at nursery in an age-appropriate way, we helped children understand that love can be expressed through friendship, family, care, and thoughtful actions.
😍😍😍