Afterschool students at Sanger Unified’s Jefferson Elementary School thought they were simply doing Valentine’s Day art projects in preparation for the February 14 holiday. Little did they know they were learning language, science, cultural relevancy and nutrition in the process.

Central Valley Afterschool Foundation developed a series of afterschool Valentine’s Day lessons for several Sanger Unified School district elementary schools. Program leaders recognize the need to deliver engaging enrichment activities afterschool, while concurrently reinforcing and connecting learning concepts from the regular school day.

While there is a plethora of educational curriculum available, much of it is expensive, designed for regular school day needs and requires staff training. Preparing lessons requires time that most afterschool personnel just do not have. Program staff express the need to have afterschool curriculum where new lessons are available, are easy to follow, aligned to essential grade level standards, include key vocabulary words and offer extension activities that relate to such California Department of Education areas of focus as STEM, cultural relevancy and health/nutrition. 

Jefferson site coordinator Lorrie Kimbler acknowledges the time constraints. “I do all the lesson planning for the afterschool activities. Resources like this are so helpful for me,” she said.

We had the chance to observe the lessons being taught at Jefferson’s afterschool program. Students were observed making Valentine's bags, reviewing idioms using heart phrases, practicing math skills using candy hearts, learning elements of the human heart, and working in teams to do idiom charades. One instructor commented at the end of the day, "When I become a teacher I want to lay out my lessons in this exact same way. I knew exactly what I needed to do. I had activities ready for them to do once they finished their art work. It was great."

CVAF is embarking on a variety of similar “integrated learning” curriculum development projects in the arts, STEM learning, health and nutrition, literacy, cultural awareness, and youth leadership development for K-12 afterschool and summer school. For more information contact Dr. Kimberly Boyer at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Sample Afterschool Valentine’s Day Curriculum for Elementary Students:

Valentine's Post Cards Lesson #1
Valentine's Flower Bouquets Lesson #2
Valentine's Hearts and Idioms Lesson #3
Valentine's Day Bags Lesson #4
Valentine's Heart Collage Lesson #5