In the ECE field, preschoolers are often described as “little scientists” because of their natural curiosity and eagerness to explore. Young children love to ask questions to better understand the world they live in, and one of the many things that children wonder about is their body and how it works. Valentine’s Day offers a great opportunity to learn about a favorite body part, the heart. In this article, you’ll find fun, heart-filled STEM learning activities.
Many children already have some familiarity with their heart and where it is located in their body. Some might even have noticed their heart beating. This awareness makes the heart a great introductory subject for learning about the human body and many other concepts in biology.
You might begin with a simple conversation about the heart during circle time, morning meeting, or any other time that you typically engage the children in group discussion. Here’s one example of a heart conversation-starter:
A special holiday called Valentine’s Day is coming up/was celebrated this week. Valentine’s Day is celebrated with lots of hearts, like heart decorations and heart art activities. This makes me think about the hearts in our bodies…Does anyone know where their heart is?
During this conversation, ask questions to get an idea of what the children know and what they want to know, such as…“What do you know about your heart?” “Why do we have hearts?” “What do you think a heart does?” “Does everyone have a heart?” “What about animals, do they have hearts?” You might share with children a picture of an anatomical heart, so that they can see it and look at the different parts of the heart.
One of the best ways to facilitate STEM exploration is to let children lead the way. Be flexible with your plans for the heart activities described below, and allow children’s questions and ideas to set the pace.
When children ask questions, try not to offer answers too quickly. Instead, you might respond by saying something like “That’s an interesting question! How can we figure that out?”
This type of response encourages questioning and curiosity, and invites children to hypothesize and experiment with their own ideas. You might also engage the children’s curiosity during the activity by asking: “What will happen if I try this?” “What kinds of things can we try next?”
At the end of the activity, follow up with another brief discussion to give children a chance to reflect on what they learned, share their ideas, and maybe even think about what kinds of activities to try next!
This hands-on experiment requires no materials or set-up. To help children learn about their hearts, have them stand up and put their hands on their hearts to see if they can feel their heart beating. Then, have children do some kind of physical activity in place to get their heart rates up. This might be jumping up and down, running in place, hopping on one foot, dancing, or whatever movement they enjoy.
Once they’ve moved around, ask children to place their hands on their chest to see how their heart rate has increased. Ask questions about any differences in the way their bodies feel after exercise, when their heart is pumping so quickly.
This activity is a great hands-on way for children to explore and understand the way the heart works to pump blood through our bodies. You’ll be creating a model of the human heart, with a few materials that are easily accessible. While the activity looks impressive, it is actually quick-and-easy to set up! Click here for the full instructions.
Materials Needed:
Small jar or glass
2 Bendy straws
Balloon
Tape/Glue
Water
Red food coloring (not required but helps to give the activity a more realistic look)
It’s best to do this activity in a large bin, a container, or somewhere in your classroom that can get wet, as children might get excited by the pumping and cause the water to splash. Invite the children to take turns pumping the model heart, as you explain that the simple pump represents the way that our heart pumps blood through our bodies!
To see other ways that this activity can be organized, check out the following links: Pumping Heart Model from Mom Brite and Heart Pumping Human Body Science Experiment.
This activity allows children to create their own heart and demonstrate how our hearts make our blood flow. And, it requires only a few materials and very little set-up!
Materials Needed:
A Ziploc bag
Two straws (one red and one blue)
Two pipe cleaners (one red and one blue)
A large red marker to marker
A hot glue gun
To create the heart, children will color one side of the ziploc bag red and the other side blue. Then, with your help, they will cut the pipe cleaners into different lengths and glue the pipe cleaners to the bag to represent one blue cardiac vein and one red coronary artery. (Having a picture of an actual heart nearby might help the children visualize the parts of the heart.) Then, insert a blue and red straw and zip the bag. Have the child gently blow into the straw and watch as the heart beats.
Click here for the full, detailed instructions to set this activity up, and a diagram of the heart.
This link will take you to free, colored organ clip-art printables of various human organs, including the heart. The website requires you to create an account, but signing up is free, and the images are free to download.
This free booklet contains simple images of different systems of the human body. The images can be easily stapled together to create small books that children can use for coloring and exploration. These sheets can also be laminated if you’d like them to stay in your classroom.
Thump-Thump: Learning About Your Heart
Written by Pamela Hill Nettleton and illustrated by Becky Shipe
This simple story describes the heart in a way that is developmentally appropriate for preschoolers. The book is great for reading aloud, or for leaving in your classroom library for children to explore on their own.
Me and My Amazing Body
Written by Joan Sweeney and illustrated by Ed Miller
This book explores general anatomy throughout the body, including a look at the heart. The book has bright, detailed illustrations with information about how the body works.
You might also enjoy… the Valentine’s Day art activities for infants, toddlers, and preschool/pre-k in this article from G2K!
And… inspired by Valentine’s Day, but perfect for any time of the year: Books and Songs of Love, Friendship and Community
Summer STEAM Activities for Creativity and Exploration 
Science Tip Sheet for ECE Professionals from Stanford’s FIND-PD Program
Webinar: Playful Math-Teaching Essential Concepts with Games