Are you struggling to find a way to make Valentine’s Day special in your classroom without sending the little ones on a sugar rush and spinning into chaos?

After much trial and error, I finally found a happy balance and my first graders have LOVED it!

Drumroll please…

And the perfect no-candy Valentine's Day student gift is…

HIGHLIGHTERS!

My first graders are obsessed with highlighters.

Knowing that I'll be giving out highlighters on Valentine's Day, I build up to it each time we use highlighters.

If they take proper care of the classroom highlighters, then one day they’ll get their OWN TO KEEP!

And so when the day finally arrives, it's always an Oprah moment:

YOU get a highlighter!

YOU get a highlighter!

EVERYBODY Gets A HIGHLIGHTER! 

Watching Oprah give car to the entire audience never gets old.

At least it’s a LOT cheaper to surprise first graders :) No car keys needed here. 

Highlighter Student Gifts

When I purchased these Arteza highlighters from Amazon, I didn’t realize they came in 2 sizes but it worked out well.

I gave my first graders the choice and they loved them!

The colors were vibrant and they stood up well even with their excitement.

No Pencils Required!

Trying to get kiddos to focus after a Valentine exchange can be exhausting.

That's what makes the highlighters an even better idea!

They're motivated to use their new highlighters to work on their Valentine’s Day activity packets since all activities can be completed with highlighters.

No pencils required!

Valentine's Day Activity Packet

The Valentine's Day activities cover a range of literacy and math skills for Kindergarten and First Grade.

If you think this might be a good way to harness the Valentine's Day energy in your classroom, check out the video below to see everything that’s included!

Ready to start prepping your Valentine’s fun now?! Click below to purchase the Valentine's Day Cards & Activity Packet!

I hope you all enjoy a LOVEly Valentine’s Day with your kiddos and loved ones 🖤