Valentine Reminder

Valentine’s Day is one week and one day away.  If you haven’t gotten the class valentines yet, now’s the time.

It’s important for your child to participate in these classroom activities because it helps them to be viewed as part of the classroom community. Even if you just buy the cheapest ones available at Walmart (in a theme your child likes), just send one for each kid in their regular ed classroom and send extras for his special ed room. 

Because of privacy issues, you may not know the names of the kids in his special ed classroom…just send some that say To My Pal so everyone can be included. Your child may not be able to tell you all the names of their friends, but the kids will know that they got a valentine from your child. You can write them for your child and the aide at school will help your kiddo pass them out to friends.

Prepare for the Worst

Gather some cards to have waiting for your child when they get home from school next Wednesday. In our house, Mikey would always have one waiting from Will, one from me and Dave and one from the dog(s). If grandparents or other relatives send cards, save them for the actual day so it will look like a bigger pile. Maybe you can manage to buy them a small gift: a coloring book or a Valentine candy…just in case they don’t get a valentine from anyone at school.  My heart hurts even typing those words, but we know it can happen so just have something for them to remind them they are loved.

Hope for the Best

You can reach out to your child’s teacher if you’re concerned he won’t get valentines from his classmates. Just let the teacher know. It’s likely the class has already been told that if they want to bring Valentines, they’ll need one for everyone in the class…but it can’t hurt to check. Also, opening the lines of dialogue about social inclusion is never a waste of time.

If you are struggling financially and can’t purchase Valentines, the teacher or school social worker may be able to help with that too. They may be able to send home some extra school supplies like construction paper and scissors and you can help your child cut some simple hearts this weekend.