February is coming near! It one of my favorite months – with all the hearts and candy… what is not to love?! Want to bring some of that February Fun into your classroom? I’ve got 8 Valentine Activities that I know your Preschoolers will love (because mine do!).
So, if you are ready to do some February Lesson Planning, take a look through these activities – you might just find a couple you want to try too!
8 Valentine Activities your Preschoolers will L❤️️VE
1. Coffee Filter Hearts
Grab some coffee filters, scissors, markers and a spray bottle. Fold the coffee filter and half and draw half of a heart shape on the coffee filter with a thick black marker. Students cut the folded coffee filter on the black line. After cutting students can open the coffee filter to see their heart shape!
Now, students can take the markers and color all over the heart. I like to explain to children that for this type of art they can scribble with the marker and to try and fill the heart with color the best they can.
After the coffee filter has color, give students a spray bottle to squirt on their heart (placing a paper towel under the heart before spraying helps with the mess). Watch what happens when the water meets the colored heart. Allow the coffee filter to dry. These make fun ‘sun-catchers’ to hang on windows!
2. Cookie Cutter Stamping
Want a more simple process art activity? Grab some heart shaped cookie cutters, paint and paper!
Children dip the cookie cutter into the paint and stamp or drag it onto their paper.
To get the marbling effect you see in the picture, swirl together colored paint and white paint before dipping in cookie cutters.
3. Foil Boats
We LOVE this STEM activity! Grab some foil, a bucket with water and some conversation hearts.
Give each child a piece of foil. Challenge children to create a boat for the hearts to float on using the foil.
Test out the boats by placing the foil boat in the water. Does it sink or float?
Now, add candy hearts one at a time. How many hearts can the boat hold before sinking?
4. Friendship Painting
In February we talk a lot about friendship and kindness. So, we also create some Friendship Paintings! Pair students up and provide one piece of paper, two paintbrushes and paint.
Students work together to make a piece of art. It is amazing to see what children come up with when they work together!
*Note: I like to make sure I am available to help the pair of painters work through any issues that may arise (especially with my more independent little friends).
5. Roll & Fill Chocolate Heart Trays
Collect those chocolate candy heart-shaped trays after you indulge on the chocolate! Grab a dice, some brown puff balls and some pinchers/tweezers.
To play, have students roll a die and fill in that many holes of the chocolate tray with the puff balls. Play until the entire tray is full.
6. Writing Tray
Create a fun Valentine’s Day themed writing tray by coloring some salt and adding heart shaped sprinkles or confetti.
To color salt, all you have to do is add your desired amount of salt to a baggie. Add a drop of food coloring and mix inside the bag. Add more coloring to reach desired color.
We made our salt pink with just a drop of red. Then, added sprinkles.
Pour the mix into a tray with edges and add a paintbrush. Students can use the paintbrush to create shapes, letters and numbers in the mix and then shake the tray gently to ‘erase’.
7. Valentines Tinker Tray
Let your kiddos flex their creativity by providing them with some loose parts! Grab a vegetable tray and collect items that children can manipulate.
On our tray we have small red cups, heart cookie cutters, heart shaped jewels, puff balls and pipe cleaners. As well as a heart tray I found at the Dollar Tree.
8. Doily Stencils
Another Dollar Tree find can make for some fun process art. Grab some of those heart shaped paper doilies that you see around Valentine’s Day. Get some paint, paper and some sponges or paint dabbers (you could actually use dot painters instead if you’d like).
Students place a heart doily on top of a piece of paper. Then, they dot paint or dab paint onto the heart doily. Once they are finished adding paint, pull the paper doily out of the paint see the prints that were left behind.
Which one of these Valentine activities are you going to try this February?
