Here are some Valentine’s Day activities that will help teach your children I Love You in different languages!
I’ve lived on 3 continents, in 5 different countries, and speak 3 languages. 4 including pig latin which, I’ll be honest, I’m very fluent at and have been since childhood.
I thought it’d be fun to put together some activities that will help children get exposed to other languages.
What's in this post...
Why expose children to other languages?
Not only is learning a new language fun, it is beneficial in many ways.
- Acquisition of a second language can help delay the onset of many brain related diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia (source)
- Learning a new language increases cognitive performance in general (source)
- It’s positively correlated to divergent thinking in figural tasks, basically the ability to depart from traditional problem-solving approaches (source)
- Even relates to higher IQ in those with second language skills compared to those without (study done in France)
- … and it’s good fun!
I Love You In Different Languages
Puzzles
To teach your children how to say “I love you” in English, French, Spanish, and German, here are some printable puzzles.
Learn pronunciation
This post tells you how to say “I love you” in Russian, Portuguese, Mandarin, Hindi, and many more along with links to videos that teach proper pronunciation.
Matching
After you’ve learned a few phrases, use this printable to match up the languages to their country of origin. It was created as a bridal shower game, but sshh… we won’t tell the kids. ;)
You can do all these activities in one good sitting so hopefully in the lead up to Valentine’s Day you can use that opportunity to expose your children to other languages and some culture from around the world.
And you never know… they might grow up and put those phrases to good use ;)
Valentine's Day Crafts & Activities Teaching "I Love You"
Here are some awesome "I love you" crafts that you'll have fun doing with your little one.
Handprint Valentine + Printable: "I Hand You My Heart"
These hand print crafts are lovely and sentimental. They're good for grandparent valentine's too!
Eye Heart You: Easy Homemade Valentine
Homemade Valentine you can do with the kids for their classmates or for daddy or grandparents. I love you in 'eye heart you'! :)
6 Ways to Letter “I Love You”
I love you lettering sheets. 6 different ways to write I love you, great for kids practicing cursive or who love artistic and creative script.
"I love you because" List and Craft Tutorial
Super sweet Valentine. This is also a great homeschool activity.
Fingerprint Heart Poem Keepsake
A lovely heart poem that can be used as a keepsake for the kids. You can even put this in a frame to keep in your Valentine's Day seasonal decorations.
Tiny Folded Heart Envelopes
These envelopes will be perfect for little letters, love notes, gifts cards, etc. on Valentine's Day.
Paper love heart tree
A sweet tree you can make and hang up to keep in your home for Valentine's Day decor. With sweet little messages. Kids can practice handwriting as well with these.
How To Teach Kids About Love
A fun little activity with kids to teach them about love, what it means, and how to live it out.
Valentine's Day Thaumatropes for Kids!
These is a fun Valentine's Day activity that also teaches your little ones about STEM.
[Free Printable] Celebrate Valentine’s Day with a Kindness Jar
Here's a great interactive thing to do with kids that celebrates love and kindness on Valentine's Day!
What a fun idea! My 6-year-old knows “je t’aime” but I’ll need to teach her these others. :-)
I like the kid video too… I used to play foreign language videos with my first, but fell off that wagon ;)