Valentines Day Archives - KidMinspiration

4 Fun Valentine’s Day Games Kids Will Love!

02/07/201502/07/2015 Kathie Phillips

Newsflash: kids LOVE to play games! The beauty of children’s games is that they don’t have to be fancy or complicated, just fun!

I’ve scoured Pinterest and found a few Valentine’s Day games that would be great to use in your ministry before service, between services or as an extra-time activity. Of course, these games would also work for academic classrooms, homeschooling environments or Valentine’s parties.

Here are a few of my favorites:

From childrens-ministry-deals.com

Minute to Win It games are always a hit! The games are usually high energy (because you only have 60 seconds) and easy to prepare, as the supplies are usually ones you already have on hand. What I love about these is that you can set up several different games in a large, open space and have the kids rotate through them. And the good news is that these 10 games are absolutely FREE to download! You can also find other minute to win it ideas here.

From teachmama.com

This game is awesome for several reasons. (1) It is very easy to set up. You can use foam hearts (as mentioned in the post) or you can cut large hearts from cardstock or construction paper and laminate them for durability. (2) You can adapt it for toddlers, preschoolers, or elementary-age children.

The hearts can include active movements (as mentioned in the post), reflective actions (i.e. “Name someone you could say, ‘God loves you and so do I?'”), Bible story/verse review questions, or icebreaker questions. There are many options.

From Seven Thirty Three

Who doesn’t love the classic game of Tic Tac Toe? Playing it with x’s and o’s is good but playing with chocolate candies is even better! If food allergies are a concern, you could also play with red and pink Starbursts© or Skittles©.

From childrens-ministry-deals.com

Another classic game – BINGO! Again, you can download the free game boards here or be creative and make your own and adapt them for preschoolers & non-readers or include Bible verse words, names of people God loves…the possibilities are endless.

For more fun ideas, be sure to check out my Valentine’s Pinterest Board!

What fun games do you have planned for Valentine’s Day? Let me know by leaving a comment below or on our Facebook page!

Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas for Your Volunteers

02/04/201502/04/2015 Kathie Phillips

Wise kidmin leaders know that volunteers are the heartbeat of our ministries. We simply cannot do ministry without them. Celebrating these faithful servants should happen regularly throughout the year but Valentine’s Day is a great time to shower them with love.

This year, our team selected this flip book from Christian Tools of Affirmation (CTA) to show our volunteers how much we appreciate them. We’ll have them available each week throughout the month of February (some of our volunteers only serve once a month, so we didn’t want to overlook anyone.)

In addition, we will do other special appreciation gestures such as special sweet treats and a hot chocolate bar throughout the month of February.

If you’re undecided on how to honor your ministry volunteers this Valentine’s Day, you still have time to pull together a small token of appreciation. Pinterest is a great place to find ideas. To help you out, here are a few of my favorite ideas from the popular website. Most are relatively inexpensive and easy to assemble.

From iheartnaptime

From Orange Blogs

From gift cards, to plants, to food & candy, these 10 ideas are easy, heartfelt and budget-friendly.

Additional ideas from Orange can be round here.

From LifeWay Kids Ministry 101

Five free printable labels to accompany various pre-packaged candies.

From Love The Day

If your volunteers love donut holes as much as ours do, you’ll definitely want this printable to attach to the sweet treats.

From hersheys.com

Who doesn’t love chocolate from Valentine’s Day? Collect small fabric bags with ribbon drawstrings. Let your students fill each bag with chocolate Hershey Hearts and pull the drawstring (or tie the bag with a ribbon). Have the children make small cards that say, “Hugs to you, our wonderful volunteer.” Punch a hole in the corner of each card. Help the child tie the card to the ribbon. Present the candy bags to your volunteers with a word of thanks.

From Group Publishing

This keepsake book for volunteers and teachers weaves encouragement, uplifting Scripture, real stories, and more into a gift that’ll warm their souls—and help keep their enthusiasm for introducing kids to Jesus going strong.

For even more ideas, be sure to check out my Valentine’s Pinterest Board!

How are you celebrating your volunteers for Valentine’s Day? Let me know by leaving a comment below or on our Facebook page!

My 6 Favorite Pinterest-Inspired Valentine’s Crafts for Kids

02/03/201502/03/2015 Kathie Phillips

Valentine’s Day crafts are some of the cutest crafts that children will ever make! Here are 6 of my favorite Pinterest-inspired Valentine’s Day crafts for kids of all ages:

For Babies & Toddlers

From The Educators’ Spin On It

Have fun with your babies & toddlers this Valentine’s Day! This site has some great, hands-on ideas using items that you likely already have on hand. My favorites are:

Heart Cookie Cutters
Felt Hearts
Heart Scribbles Art
Heart Prints

From Second Grade Sparkle

I absolutely adore this heart mosaic craft. I hope to have our younger elementary children do this activity. You can adapt it for preschoolers by tracing a heart shape from contact paper and have preschoolers add pieces of tissue paper to make a stain-glass mosaic.

From Bible Wise

Preschoolers will love this simple heart mobile. And it’s easy prep for you – you’ll need scissors, crayons, hole punch and yarn.

From Preschool Crafts for Kids

Another craft your preschoolers and 1st graders will love. And the supply list is quite short.

Valentine Crafts - Heart Necklace — Heart Necklace

From Kinderart.com

Another heart mosaic craft but this is geared more toward elementary children and preteens because it provides a challenge for them. I think even boys might like the challenge.

From Smart Savvy Living

Who doesn’t love the classic coupon book? What a great way for kids to show their loved ones how much they care.

You can also find inexpensive, prepackaged craft options from Oriental Trading and Guildcraft.

For more fun ideas, be sure to check out my Valentine’s Pinterest Board!

What Valentine’s Day Crafts do you have planned for this year?

6 Deliciously Easy Valentine’s Day Snack Ideas for Kids

02/02/201502/02/2015 Kathie Phillips

As a girl, I enjoyed Valentine’s Day in our house. My mom always made it special with decorations, candy, cards and a red & white dinner (i.e. spaghetti, lasagna, etc.). I have tried to make new traditions with my family for Valentine’s Day and one thing we all enjoy are sweet treats.

If you’re looking for sweet treats for your own children or children at your church, check out six (6) of my favorites, courtesy of Pinterest.

From Pillsbury.com

Kids can stick wooden sticks into fresh-from-the-oven sugar cookies and then decorate the cookies with icing and all kinds of fun sprinkles and candies. Great for preschoolers & school-age children.

From Hatter and Hare Events

This snack features fruit, but you can use that heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut many foods – apples, pineapple, mango, kiwi, bananas, strawberries, cheese, bread, brownies, cookies. Great for toddlers, preschoolers and school-age children.