Words

• Adding holiday themed wording to your Valentine’s Day classroom door display will provide a special message to guests while reinforcing literacy development in your students. Enlist the students to help choose a special phrase. Brainstorm ideas and jot them down on a large piece of paper or dry erase board. Choose a simple statement such as, “Happy Valentine’s Day” or go for a more specific one that includes the classroom number or the teacher’s name. This may read something like, “Miss Smith’s Class Welcomes Our Friends” or, “Room 202 Says Happy Valentine’s Day.” Keep the wording decorative and use bubble letter stencils and bright holiday themed papers in reds and pinks.
  
  

Hearts

• Although Valentine’s Day is the overriding theme for your door decor, there are many different sub-themes you can choose. One popular way to decorate for this loving holiday is the traditional heart symbol. Go for a heart theme by using different sizes and colors of the shape that the kids create on their own. Use a heart stencil or template with younger kids and let older children free draw their own shapes. Add some interest to the hearts, and the project as a whole, and invite the students to paint the hearts with temperas, add glitter or sequins with glue or color in the shapes with markers and crayons. Hang the hearts in a staggered pattern on your classroom door along with a special Valentine’s Day message.
  
  

Friends

• One of the primary messages of Valentine’s Day is the value of a friend's love. Reinforce social skills, emotional development and positive peer relationships with your door decor. Decorate the entryway with pre-made posters or images of friends helping each other. Another option is to ask the kids to create their own friend decorations. Give each student a piece of holiday colored construction paper in white, purple, pink or red. Ask the children to draw a picture of a friend or themselves helping a friend. This does not have to be a friend in the class but can be expanded to friends from the neighborhood, a summer camp or even relatives. Hang the drawings on the door with double sided tape for the whole school to see.
  
  

Colors

• Create a Valentine’s Day color scheme to decorate your classroom holiday door. Wrap the entire side of the door in a sheet of red or pink roll paper. If the paper doesn’t fit to size, cut and tape a few pieces together to cover the entire area. Add extra color by twisting holiday streamers together and winding from the top to the bottom of the door. Secure at each end with a piece of tape. Use a brush of glitter glue for a special Valentine’s Day sparkle.