January 14, 2021activities for kids

Valentine's Day Activities for Kids

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and you may be wondering, what are some fun Valentine’s Day activities for kids to do? Especially for those of us whose kids are at home, it can be challenging to figure out how to engage our kids during holidays. Here are some Valentine’s Day activities perfect for kids that can be done at home!

“Stained Glass” Valentines

a watercolor painting of a multicolored heart with a set of watercolors next to it

This is a simple and fun Valentine’s Day craft, but it requires a little help from parents. First, you mix enough black acrylic paint in with a bottle of regular school glue to turn the glue black. Then you use the glue to draw out fun Valentine’s Day themed shapes and drawings on white paper. Once those are dry, they’re ready for kids to paint them in with non-toxic kid’s watercolor paints! They look like stained glass!

Valentine Decorations

Painted paper hearts strung across a window

This craft results in a fun bunting to hang across a window as a Valentine’s Day decoration! For this one, you’ll want a pack of heart-shaped paper doilies and some kid’s watercolor paints. Let your little ones paint the heart doilies with the watercolors, and once dry, paint the back of the doily with a thin coat of vegetable oil. The oil will make the paper slightly translucent and the colors more vivid. Then attach the hearts along a string or ribbon and hang it in the window, letting the sunlight shine through. Beautiful!

Hearts Counting Game for Preschoolers

two plastic cups with heart shaped erasers in them, a six sided yellow die in the foreground and more erasers in the background

If you have a few preschool kids, this is a fun way to practice counting! You just need some heart-shaped pieces, like mini erasers, a plastic cup for each child, and a six sided die. The kids take turns rolling the die, and then adding that number of hearts to their cup. Whoever fills up their cup first wins the game!

Heart Punch Valentine’s Day Decorations

a paper heart folded in half, with a hole punch punching holes in the paper

This is a super easy craft for little ones! Help them get started by cutting out some hearts from different colors of construction paper, and then let them unleash their creativity making patterns in the heart with a hole punch! For extra fun, you can get different shapes of hole punch, too! Then, you can hang their Valentine’s Day creations in a window with a little ribbon to show off their artwork!

Love and Kisses Jar

Pink cut out hearts on a pale pink background

For older kids, you can set up a jar in a public area of the home with heart-shaped pieces of paper and a pen or pencil. The kids (and parents) can write down a reason they love another member of the household, and pop it in the jar! Later, these can be read for the family to enjoy the love and warmth of being a family. This can be made easier using a pack of heart-shaped sticky notes!

The Heart Sticker Activity

A toddler placing stickers on a piece of paper with four hearts drawn on it

This activity is great for toddlers, helping them practice sorting and fine motor skills. It’s easy to set up, too! Just paint or draw different colored hearts on a sheet of butcher paper and hang it on the wall with some painter’s tape (it’s wall safe!), and then give your little one some dot stickers the same color as the hearts! The toddler’s goal is to trace over the drawn hearts with the stickers, matching colors as they go. You can remove the white sheet from around the stickers to make it easier for little hands to get the stickers off the backing!

So you see, it’s easy to celebrate Valentine’s Day with kids, keep them engaged, and help them learn and develop skills all at the same time. Try some of these activities, and have a great Valentine’s Day!