Today we did our annual activity of making valentines for the meeting, which is always a hit for both the makers and the receivers. I bring in a few copies of a sheet with Bible verses about love and tell the children that the only requirement for their valentines is that they need to include one of these verses on each valentine. Some cut out and paste on the printed versions and some copy the verses by hand. (The formatting of the sheets is such that they can be printed on address labels, but I didn't have any on hand this year. Scissors and glue are a fine alternative.) Many children enjoy looking through and choosing verses they like. We've built up a stock of valentine-making supplies over the past several years of doing this project. (Essentials are some colored paper and glue. Other possibilities include tissue paper, pink index cards, colored card stock, stickers, ribbons, doilies, . . . . This year one of the other first day school teachers had used a die cutter at her school to make lots of pre-cut heart shapes, which were a big hit.)
Since our First Day School program meets before meeting for worship, a couple of the children stand outside the meeting room door with a basket full of valentines and hand one to each person who comes in. Today the ministry was heavily influenced by the valentines and when one speaker read aloud the message on her valentine, my daughter leaned over and whispered, "I made that one!" It turned out to be a nice way of having the children feel connected to the ministry.
