The Buckingham County Lions Club visited the county’s preschool recently to lead children in the time-honored tradition of making valentines — marking the holiday as one many teachers and students will always remember.

Instead of making them for their peers, students made the valentines for their teachers and their aides.

According to Club President Bettie Bass, the club began working with the preschool three years ago, reading to students on Dr. Seuss Day and Read Across America Day.

Each year, the club performs two projects for the students and two to recognize and thank the teachers.

Tana Knott said the Lions decided it was important to recognize the teachers for their hard work.

“The reason we, as a Lions Club, feel that our ‘adoption’ of Buckingham Preschool is worthy is because schools are the backbone of this community and teachers are definitely some of the unsung heroes,” Knott said. “We thought this would be a good way to let them have the opportunity to let the teachers know they are appreciated.”

Karen Schinabeck, Mary Woodson, Roz Goin, Katie Davis and Tana Knott helped 132 students work together to make more than 20 valentines for their respective teachers. Food and other goodies were provided for the teachers while the students made the valentines, Knott said.

The students worked together to make the valentines. Each valentine, shaped like a heart, had a poem glued in it, according to Bass. The students all signed their names on the heart and decorated it. A few of the students from each class would then present the heart to their teacher and teacher’s aide. A magnetic strip was placed on the back of each heart so it could be placed on the teachers’ doors.

Knott explained the original idea was to have the teachers remain outside the classroom while the students worked on the projects. While many of the teachers decided to stay in the room and learned the project was for them, they didn’t view the final result until the valentines were presented to them, according to Knott.

“It was very neat to watch when the students took their final project and walk up and give it to their teacher and their aide,” Knott said. “The teachers seemed to really enjoy that they were being thought of and proudly hung them on their doors.”

Renee Schaeffer, a teacher at the preschool, said the valentines were a nice surprise.

“We weren’t actually aware of what the valentine was for … Once the kids had finished the activity, it was presented to us,” Schaeffer said. “It was a very nice gesture; It was very nice to feel appreciated.”

The Lions Club’s next project is reading at the preschool on March 1 for Dr. Seuss Day.