Work on Language at Home While Making Valentine’s Day cards

Making a Valentine’s Day card with your child can provide opportunities to use tons of language concepts, social skills and vocabulary! Introduce the meaning of valentine's day and that it is a day to share cards and sometimes gifts with people we love and appreciate. Provide examples of people in your life who you love and appreciate, help your child come up with people in their lives who they love as well.

Begin making a valentine’s card by letting your child select which color paper to use. Provide them with choices, “Pink, red, or white?” (or any other colors of course!) Depending on your child’s language ability, allow them to make their selection either by pointing, labeling the color or using a modeled sentence, “I want red paper”. After choosing a color, show your child which way to fold the paper to make a card. Try to let your child do this step as independently as possible, as it is great practice of following directions and sequencing!

Depending on the age and ability of your child, help them to create a message to write in their card. If your child isn’t able to write independently but can copy written work, draft the message together, write it on a separate piece of paper and have your child copy it onto the card. If this is too advanced for your child, have them dictate the message to you. Talk about how we begin letters with “dear” and discuss kind messages to include in their card. Let your child come up with ideas! Once you have finished your message, explain how we end letters with “love, yours truly, from”.

Time for decorating! Use anything you already have at home, cut material (paper, cardboard, newspaper, etc) into hearts of various sizes, textures, and colors. If you have stickers, glitter, or any other art supplies- use them! Depending on your child’s language ability, have them select which hearts they would like for their card either by pointing, labeling, or using sentences. You can encourage use of many attributes: big, little, small, red, white, pink, glittery. Model sentences such as: “Can I have the big, shiny, red heart?” Continue to make this a language-rich activity by holding onto the glue so your child has to ask for it each time he/she needs it.

When you’re done with your card, introduce vocabulary words like: envelope, stamp, address, post office (even if you’re not planning on mailing the card!)

Blog written by: Mazal Karan, MS, SLP-CF