There are 12 different animals that represent the Zodiac. In Chinese astrology the animals are assigned to a year with the idea that if you are born that year you will have certain characteristics. 

How were the animals chosen?  The tale usually begins with the Jade Emperor, or Buddha. He summoned all the animals of the universe for a race. The 12 animals of the zodiac all headed to the palace. The order that they came in determined the order of the zodiac. 

During the journey, the animals got involved in everything from high jinx to heroism. For example the rat, who won the race, only did so through naughtiness and trickery: it jumped onto the back of the ox and won by a nose. The snake, apparently also a little sneaky, hid on the hoof of a horse in order to cross a river. When they got to the other side, it scared the horse and beat it in the contest. The dragon, however, proved to be honorable and altruistic. By all accounts, the dragon would have won the race as it could fly, but it had stopped to help villagers caught in a flooding river. Check out the list to see what animal you are:

2010-02-14 Tiger

2011-02-03 Rabbit

2012-01-23 Dragon 

2013-02-10 Snake 

2014-01-31 Horse 

2015-02-19 Goat 

2016-02-08 Monkey 

2017-01-28 Rooster 

2018-02-16 Dog 

2019-02-05 Pig 

2020-01-25 Rat

2021-02-12 Ox

As the story goes, Emperor Claudius II of Rome—who reigned from the year 268 A.D. to 270 A.D.—banned marriage because he thought unmarried men made better soldiers. Valentine thought this was unfair and decided to break the rules and perform marriages anyway. He kept the ceremonies quiet, but he was eventually caught and later killed on February 14 of the year 270 for defying the emperor. Right before he died, Valentine supposedly wrote the first-ever “valentine” to his jailer’s daughter, with whom he’d fallen in love. Later, in the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I declared the day of his death as St. Valentine’s Day. 

Directions for Building Paper Hearts

1. Take a strip of paper.

2. Fold it in half to form the bottom point of the heart.

3. Take the top two ends and bend them towards each other to form the top of the heart. Hold the ends in place with a glue stick or glue dot. 

4. Make as many hearts as you want using various sizes and colors.

Using the Paper Hearts as a STEAM Challenge

Give the kids one or more of these different challenges using their paper hearts:

• Build a structure that can stand on its own.

• Build the tallest structure you can.

• Build the widest structure you can.

• Build a triangular shape that can stand on its own.