Bullying is an all-too-common affliction in our modern society and that it can have serious effects on it victims. It’s time to do all we can to help put a stop to it, and Valentine’s Day seems like a good opportunity to fight it. Therefore, I have designed another valentine pertaining to bullying, this one to help kids determine never to be someone who participates in bullying and encourage their friends to make the same commitment. It contains the sender’s promise not to bully. It also has a brief story to help kids think about how it feels to be bullied and how they might show kindness to a victim of bullying. I believe these valentines would be well suited to kids in third through fifth grades.
Making these valentines will take a little more effort than running to the store and buying some cute valentines off
the shelf, but I think it’s worth the effort. It could save a child from the torturous effects of bullying. I believe bullying is a form of oppression. Isaiah 1:17 says, “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” [NIV]
The making of these valentines will be a good mental exercise in following directions. Remember, if you don’t have a printer, you can make copies of a computer file at many office products stores and also libraries. Or maybe you could pay a friend or relative for use of their printer with cookies.
Instructions for making “Say no to bullying” Valentines:
(1) Make as many copies of the valentine as you need for your classmates, with an extra copy or two in case of mistakes. (If you have access to colored paper, copy on the color of your choice. Or you could add a touch of color by signing your name and addressing the envelopes with a colored pen or pencil. Another option would be to put glitter glue around the edges of the front of each valentine, after you have folded them.) Download below.
(2) Make one copy of the “Envelope Seals” page (the same color as your valentines or a color that looks good with them). If you have more than 40 classmates, you will need more than one copy. Download below
(3) Get a piece of 8 ½ x 11 white all-purpose or copy paper for each valentine, to be folded as an envelope.
(4) Make marks on opposite edges of the short width of one of the envelope papers, 2” from one end. Using the marks as a guide, fold the long end of the paper up to the 2” marks. Do the same with all the other envelope papers.
(5) Using a ruler about 1 ¼” inches wide, draw a line about 1 ¼” from one end of an envelope. Trim off the extra width indicated by the line, cutting just inside the line so it won’t show. Do the same for all the other envelopes.
(6) Unfold each envelope and use a glue stick to glue the sides together, close to the edges.
(7) Fold over the tops of all the envelopes, making sure the sides of the paper line up evenly.
(8) Fold the valentines in half one way, then the other way, in the way that they open the right way.
(9) Write the name of a classmate on the outside of each envelope. (Don’t forget to include a last name or last initial if more than one classmate have the same first name.)
(10)Sign a valentine for each envelope and place them inside the envelopes. (Don’t forget to include your last name or initial if another classmate has the same first name.)
(11)Cut out as many seals as you have envelopes. Use a glue stick to generously put glue on the back of each seal and place each one on an envelope to seal the flap.
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