Free Printable Valentine Cards for Kids: A Turtle with a Positive Message

Are you looking for a free printable Valentine’s Day card that your child can give out to his or her class, with a positive message? You’ve got it right here! This adorable free printable card has a great character-building message: ‘Love is Patient and Kind’! Keep reading to get started – comes with downloadable cards and treat bag toppers!

Free Printable Valentine’s Day Cards for Kids: A Turtle with a Positive Message

This post may contain affiliate links. See Disclosures for more details.

Jumping on the Free Printable Valentine’s Day Bandwagon

I really had my reservations about all this. I really wasn’t planning on jumping on the Free Printable Valentine’s Day classroom cards bandwagon.

This is a text conversation between me and my sister, who blogs at The Girl Creative:

Yes, I’m probably ‘that mom’ who takes the easy way out and picks up a box of cards at Walmart or Target the night before.

Yes, some schools don’t even allow for the ‘fun cards’ – and I understand why. Too much comparison and keeping up, too much sugar, food allergies and all that.

And for moms, was this just adding more pressure to do something ‘cool’ and ‘fun’ and making more work and frustration for everyone?

WHY I Created This Free Printable Classroom Valentine’s Day Card

So, I’m sure you’re wondering…why DID I jump on this bandwagon, with all these reasons not to?

Well, the story goes like this:

It started when I was updating this post for my Love is Patient and Kind Wall Art free printable, which I also used the same design for a gift tag in this ombre sugar cookie post.

To be honest, in a holiday that markets and commercializes ‘the greatest of these’ – love – I wanted to throw something in the mix that wasn’t commercialized – that focused on the true meaning of love.

Which, of course, 1 Corinthians 13 in the Bible describes:

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy or boast. It is not proud, rude, self-seeking or easily angered. Love keeps no record of wrong. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. Love always protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres. Love never fails.”

Is there anything more profound than love? More true? More meaningful? And of course, only God is the source of a love that perfect.

So, I created the free printable wall art as a reminder, and the gift tag version could also be used as a Valentines’ Day card, if the little hole for the string on the top was snipped off.

But I thought:

“Well, that might be a little ‘advanced’ for most kids giving out Valentine’s Day cards. A lot of words, some pretty deep meaning.”

I wasn’t sure if that would fly as a legitimate card option for kids. Adults maybe, but most adults aren’t really giving out mini-cards (although maybe some give out some co-worker or friends Valentine’s Day gifts – then the tag would be perfect, I think!)

Then I thought:

“You know, it would be really nice if there was an option out there for kids to give out a card that focused on the real meaning of the holiday, the real meaning of love, besides just being a cute Valentine’s Day pun.“

So, with that, I created these “Love is Patient and Kind” Valentine’s Day cards your kids can give out to their classmates.

Teaching Kids About the Real Meaning of Love

I wanted to create something that had a positive message that focuses on character – being patient and kind.

And if you’re a Christian family, it’s a small way to share the truth of God’s love with your child’s classmates, even if they may not realize that that phrase comes from the Bible.

His Word is living and active and reaches beyond even what someone is aware of.

I chose the turtle because I thought he was super-cute, which is super-sweet for the littler ones – and, because turtles are slow, which is sorta symbolic for patience, right?

I also liked the turtle because he is somewhat gender-neutral – your son or daughter can give this out, although the colors might lean more toward ‘boys.’ But I think it’s fine either way.

The card stands alone, if you want your child to give it out as is. You can just print it out, have your child sign his or her name and it’s good to go.

And that’s easy for moms, which is ALWAYS my goal around here.

Treats You Can Give with the Free Printable Turtle Card

If you’re a Pinterest-y mom, you can take it up a few notches in a few ways.

And, by the way, I feel like a Pinterest-y mom gets a bad name sometimes, but there’s nothing wrong if you like to do Pinterest-y things! And nothing wrong if you don’t!

First, you can buy some Turtles candies and put them inside a square snack baggie.

The cards trim down perfectly to fit. You can get a 6.9 oz bag of Turtles Candy, individually wrapped, about 12 in a bag, for about $5 at Walmart, which is what I got.

Or you can get a 17.9 oz bag or other sizes from Amazon.

Or, you can make your own chocolate turtle candy. This is a fast and easy turtle candy recipe you can use.

Or, if you want to go the non-candy route (or if your school discourages candy or there are nut allergies), you can buy some of these cute turtles toys in bulk from Amazon or from Oriental Trading, as a little gift.

It’s your choice to make this as dressed up or as simple as you like. And, if you include a little treat of sorts, I’ve also included a treat bag topper:

“To My ‘Turtley’ Awesome Friend”

Sorry, I was trying to avoid the cutesy Valentine’s Day pun, but this came to mind without even trying, sooo… there you go.

To get the printables, just fill out the box at the end of the post and you’ll be immediately directed to the download link!

More Positive Ways to Teach Your Kids about Love

If you really want to go a step further in impressing on your kids about the real meaning of love, I put together this Valentine’s Day Countdown with Acts of Kindness. Each day, your child can complete a different Act of Kindness.

Free printables are included in this, with 20 activities to choose from, plus some blanks if you want to come up with your own. All the details are in the post!

More Valentine’s Day Inspiration!

If you need more activities to do with kids, these XOXO treats are fun to make, and you can also play Tic Tac Toe with them before you eat! Both cookies and cupcakes in the post as well as a free printable Tic Tac Toe board!