Heart-themed Activities to Celebrate Valentine’s Day with Young Children

Hearts seem to be everywhere, reminding us that it’s February, and Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. A fun way to celebrate Valentine’s Day with the children in your care is by creating heart-themed activities and art projects that can be used to decorate your classroom or as gifts that children can give to family and friends. In this article, we share a few of our favorite heart-themed crafts.

Celery Heart Stamps

You’ll need just three items for this activity:  celery sticks, construction paper, and paint. To set up, cut the celery into several pieces for young children to use as stamps (make sure that the ends of the pieces that you’ve cut are heart shaped,  because some celery sticks are less heart-shaped than others). Older children might enjoy helping cut the celery pieces, while younger children will need them to be pre-cut. 

Offer the children sheets of construction paper and paints (especially pink, purple, and red, in keeping with the Valentine’s Day theme). Encourage the children to dip the ends of the celery pieces into each of the colored paint,  and then stamp the painted, heart-shaped edges onto their paper. This activity can be enjoyed by children of all ages.  

Sparkly Slime with Confetti Hearts

Children can help create this easy-to-make slime, and then enjoy a fun, sensory experience! For this recipe, you will need: clear Elmer’s glue, Borax, heart confetti glitter, pink (or red or purple) ultra-fine glitter, and water, and two bowls to mix the items together. Young children can help by stirring and kneading the slime mixture in the bowls to combine the ingredients.  

Once the slime is ready,  set it out on trays and encourage children to enjoy the squishy, slimy, sensory experience. This activity can be enjoyed by preschoolers and children in pre-k. Toddlers will also enjoy the sensory experience, but should be monitored, as this recipe is not safe for tasting.  ​

Heart-shaped Sun Catchers

This colorful activity uses markers, coffee filters, and spray bottles filled with water to make beautiful suncatchers that look almost as though they were tie-dyed. Start by offering the children several markers (especially in Valentine’s Day colors like red, orange, pink, and purple) and coffee filters. Encourage them to color their coffee filters in any way they would like. Next, use the spray bottles to spray the filters, which will make the colors run together slightly to create interesting and unique designs. 

Once they are dry, cut each coffee filter out into a heart shape (older children will be able to cut their own hearts, while younger children will need assistance). Hang the completed hearts in the window to see how the sun shines through the different colors.

Blot Art Hearts: Symmetry Painting

This simple craft is a great way to introduce basic concepts in mathematics, specifically geometry, as young children learn about patterns and symmetry. Start by preparing several cut-out paper hearts (if you work with older children who have more advanced scissor skills, they can help with this step). Then, set out the hearts with paints of different colors and encourage children to paint only on one half of the shape. Before the paint dries, fold the heart in half to blot the paint on both sides and reveal a symmetrical painted heart! This activity is well- suited for children in preschool and pre-k, who will be able to keep their artwork on a single side of the heart and who can grasp the concept of symmetry.

Sensory Sticky Wall

This is a fun activity for infants and toddlers who enjoy sensory opportunities to explore different textures and colors. Start by cutting out a large piece of contact paper and placing it on a wall (at the child’s height) with the sticky side exposed. 

Collect a small basket of Valentine’s day-themed items, such as red and pink pom-poms, feathers, felt hearts, small pieces of tissue paper, and anything else you have available. Set the basket next to the sticky wall and encourage children to place the items on the paper to create a colorful collage.

And…  for more heart and love-themed early learning ideas, take a look at these G2K articles:  Books and Songs of Love, Friendship and Community, and Valentine’s Day Inspired STEM Activities for Learning about the Human Heart.