Valentine's Day preschool lesson plans

Books

Valentine School Parties: What Do I Do?
The Great Valentine Mystery
All New Crafts For Valentines
Valentine Boxes: What Do I Do?
175 Easy-To-Do Valentine Crafts
Peanuts Valentine Craft Kit

Art Activities

Valentines and Variations
Well, there are so many kinds of Valentines, I almost do not know where to start. First I will start with materials you can use to make any of these Valentines:

Possible Materials
Glitter, Crayons, Pens, Colored Pencils, Markers, Paint, Lace, String, Yarn, Ribbon, Paper Doilies, Tissue Paper, Torn Paper, Heart Shaped Paper, The Holes from a hole punch, Stickers, Sand, Twine, Old Puzzle Pieces, Buttons, Colored Glue, Colored Tape, Chalk, Wet Chalk, Wrapping Paper, Stamps, Aluminum Foil, Heart Shaped Confetti, Glue on Candy Confections, Heart Shaped Sponge Painting, Pasta or rice colored with red food coloring.

Possible Variations
Make the Valentine Heart Shaped
Cut the Edges with special scissors that have a funny shape. (If you have a pair you know what I'm talking about)
Make a Valentines Card
Have pre-written poems for the children to glue on their Valentine, let the children choose the poem they like the best.
Make the card out of the paper doily, heart shaped.
Let the children write a poem for the inside.
Let the children write a special message, or have the child tell you what to write.
Use bleeding tissue paper on white paper. Have the children place small pieces of tissue paper on the paper. Have them add water with a paint brush. Allow to dry, and peel off the paper.
Make Valentine Cookies with a Sugar Cookie recipe.

Poems you may use for the cards:
Roses are Red,
Violets are Blue,
Sugar is sweet,
and so are you.

I think you are nice
I think you are fine,
Won't you please be my
Valentine

Love Somebody,
Yes I do,
Love Somebody,
Can you guess who?

I love you (fill in the black)
Yes I do
I will love you this year,
And next year too.

Heart Hands Pyramid
click here to see an image of this project
Paint the child's hand white, and place three hand prints on the bottom of the page. Paint the other hand red and place one hand print at the top. Then have the child mix the paint on their hands and make two pink hand prints in the middle.

Glue Hearts
click here to see an image of this project
Place glue on a piece of paper in a heart shape. Have the children place glitter, colored rice (shown on left) or Koolaid (on right) on the glue.

Popsicle Heart Frame
click here to see an image of this project
Have the children glue four Popsicle sticks together to form a rectangle. Add foam accents or decorate as desired.

Heart Punch Collage
Buy the Punches!!
We used a heart punch to make many different colored hearts for the children to glue to different colors of construction paper. We punched wall paper and construction paper.

Contact Paper Art
click here to see an image of this project
You will need a picture of a heart or the letter "v". A reverse image is needed if the letter or picture can be backwards, such as the letter "E". Place the image on the table and place a piece of contact paper, sticky side up over the image. Supply the children with scraps of construction paper to tissue paper. (Pieces of a plastic lei were used for the photo of this project) Children use the scraps to create the image on the contact paper.

Cotton Heart
click here to see an image of this project
Place glue on a piece of paper in a heart shape. Have the children place cotton balls on the paper.

Heart Hands
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Paint the child's hands pink (and/or) red. Have the children make a heart shape as shown with their hands.

Wooden Heart
click here to see an image of the back of this project
click here to see an image of the front of this project
Have the children decorate a wooden heart shape with felt or paint.

Red, Pink and White Art
Let children make pictures using, the colors listed above with markers, crayons or paint.

Heart Fun
Have the children cut out heart shapes and write cute little sayings on them, like "I Love You" or "Be Mine"

Heart Rubbings
Cut heart shapes from paper doilies or sandpaper. Tape these hearts to the table. Have the children place a piece of thin white paper over the hearts and rub a crayon over the heart.

Valentine Mailboxes
Have the children supply a small shoe box for this project. Cut a small slit in the top for the Valentines to go in. Then have the children decorate the box with some of the items that are listed above in the materials section.

Creating The Color Pink
Ask the children what colors you need to make pink. Then supply them with red and white paint and white paper. Ask the children to mix the colors to get their favorite shade of pink. Discuss how all the colors of pink are a little different.

Heart Shapes
You can show older children how to make hearts by folding a piece of paper in half and drawing an ice cream cone along the folded edge and cutting it out. Let the children try cutting hearts out of pink, white and red paper.

Shaving Cream Art
Add a drop of red food coloring to a baseball sized pile of shaving cream. Mix this with a paint brush. Have the children be very careful, and use smocks because the food coloring will stain their clothing and hands. Have the children paint the shaving cream on a white piece of paper.

Heart Shaped Potato Prints
Cut a large potato in half. You will need a heart shaped cookie cutter that will fit on the potato half. Press the cookie cutter into the flat side of the potato. Then, using a knife, cut the potato around the outside of the cookie cutter, leaving a heart shaped potato stamp. Supply the children with the potato stamps, different colored paints, and paper. Have the children dip the potatoes in the paint and press them firmly onto the paper. If the potatoes are not cut evenly the shapes will not appear clearly.

Heart Fish
You will need to supply each child with one very large heart shape for the fishes body, one large heart shape for the tail two or three heart shapes for the fins, and one tiny heart shape for the mouth. Have the children glue the extra large and large heart together by the points, and then add the fins to the body, then the tiny heart is the mouth.

Heart Necklaces
Supply the children with heart shaped beads and yarn. You child also have the children cut out heart shapes from construction paper. Then, have them use a hole punch to make a hole, so they can thread them onto a piece of yarn.

Heart Door Hang
click here to see an image of this project
Supply the children with a foam door hanger. Let the children decorate with foam hearts.

Tin Foil Valentine
Mix white glue and dry red tempera paint. Cover a small piece (about 3 or four inches square) of card stock with tin foil. Allow the child to paint a Valentine picture on the foil with the glue.

Valentine Spaghetti
Cook spaghetti noodles, drain and cool. Fill a gallon Ziplock bag one quarter of the way with water. Add red food coloring to the water. Add cooked spaghetti and mix around in the Ziplock bag until noodles change color. Drain. Children can take one noodle at a time, dip it in glue and place it on a piece of paper in the shape of a heart.

ed Colored Rice
You'll need:
uncooked white rice
red food coloring
white vinegar
non-toxic glue
cardboard or paper

Place 1/2 cup rice into a clean bowl (either glass or one that you don't care about). Add 5 drops of red food coloring and 1/2 tsp. vinegar to set the color. Mix around until the rice has absorbed the color. Spread rice evenly onto a baking sheet and cover with foil. Bake at 200 degrees for 45 minutes, this dries the rice. After the rice has dried and cooled, place in a ziplock bag and seal.

Rice Art
Supply the children with a piece of card stock cut out in the shape of a heart. Have the children glue the rice onto the heart shape.

Kool Aid Art:
Click here to see an example
Sprinkle a little dry red Kool aid mix onto a piece of paper cut out in the shape of a heart. Have your child spray water from a spray bottle onto the paper. For added adventure, you may choose to take your children out into the rain with a piece of paper that has Kool-aid on it.

Eye Dropper Art:
Set out three cups, half filled with water. Add different amounts of red food coloring to each cup of water. Have your child use an eye dropped to drop the colored water onto a piece of paper towel. Notice how the water evaporates, leaving the color behind.

Bubble Art:
Add a little red food coloring to bubble mix. Go outside and blow some bubbles. Have your child catch the bubbles on a piece of paper to create bubble art!!

Bubble Art II:
Click here to see an example
Supply the children with a bowl with bubble mix in it and a straw with a hole near the top to prevent children from sucking the soap up. Have the children blow into the straw while it is in the bowl creating bubbles. Then, have the child place a drop of red food coloring on the top of the bubbles and quickly press a piece of paper on the top of the bubbles to create bubble prints.

Blow art:
Click here to see an example
You will need: watered down non-toxic paint, paper, pipettes and straws. Supply each child with a straw and a piece of paper. Allow the children to use the pipette (or medicine dropper NOT GLASS) to place a small amount of red, pink and purple paint onto a piece of paper. Then, have them use the straw to blow the paint around their picture.

Heart Shaped Sponge Print
You can find heart shaped sponges at most art and craft stores or you can make your own. Have your child dip the sponges into pink or red paint and press on a piece of paper.

Valentine's Headbands
Measure your child's head, and cut a piece of construction paper long enough to create a headband. Glue the paper together so the headband fits snugly on your child's head but is loose enough to take off easily. Have the child glue the pink and red feathers to the headband.

Valentine's Headbands 2
Measure your child's head, and cut a piece of construction paper long enough to create a headband. Glue the paper together so the headband fits snugly on your child's head but is loose enough to take off easily. Have the child glue the pink and red heart shapes to the headband.

Valentine Headbands 3
Measure your child's head, and cut a piece of construction paper long enough to create a headband. Glue the paper together so the headband fits snugly on your child's head but is loose enough to take off easily. Glue the red or pink yarn, paper, ribbons, or other various art materials to the headband.

Valentine Necklaces
Have the children cut out heart shapes from pink or red construction paper. Then, have them use a hole punch to make a hole, so they can thread them onto a piece of yarn. Add pink and/or red colored noodles to the necklace.

Valentine Necklaces 2
Have the children string red pink and purple colored noodles onto yarn to create a necklace.

Cookie Cutter Painting
Place a small amount of pink, red and white tempera paint in a large shallow container. (A pie tin works well) Show your child how to dip a heart shaped cookie cutter in the paint and press onto a piece of paper to create a print.

Feather Painting
Provide each child with a feather, red, pink and white paint and paper. Ask the children paint a picture using the feather as a paint brush.

Balloon Prints
In a pie tin, place three to five teaspoon sized portions of different shades of red tempera paint evenly spaced about the area. Inflate a small balloon to a size which will easily fit in the palm of your child's hand. Show your child how to "dip" the balloon in the paint and press firmly onto a piece of paper. Let your child mix the colors, or use one color at a time. This is messy, but the results are wonderful.

Sticker Art
For a very simple art project, supply the children with a piece of paper and Valentine's stickers. For younger children this provides an excellent fine motor activity.

Valentine's Place mat
Have the children cut out pictures of red or pink items from magazines. Have the children glue the pictures onto a piece of paper. Laminate the paper and use for a place mat.

Yarn Art
Set out a piece of yarn and a shallow container of red paint . Have the child dip the yarn in one color of paint, and run it across the paper. Use a new piece of string for a different shade of red.

Heart Paper
Cut out a heart shape from a big piece of paper. Have your child decorate the balloon with a variety of red or pink items.

Lego Prints
In a pie tin, place 3 to 5 teaspoon sized portions of different shades of red paint evenly spaced about the area. Supply the children with a variety of Duplo blocks to dip in the paint and press onto the paper to make prints.

The oh so popular MESS FREE Marble Painting
First you need a large plastic container with a lid. (I used a shallow peanut butter container.) Next cut out paper that will fit in the lid of the container. Place a few drops of red , pink and purple paint into the container with a few marbles (be sure to observe carefully as marbles are a choking hazard) then place a very small amount of paint on the lid and pre-cut paper on the paint. (I use the paint to make the paper stick to the lid.) Place the lid on the container, flip and have the children shake. When finished, remove paper and allow to dry, and place a clean piece of paper in the lid for the next child.
For extra Valentine's Day flair, use paper shaped like a heart.

Fingerprint Heart
http://123child.com/images/fingerprints/1/heart.jpg

Inkblot Pictures
Fold a piece of paper in half. Open the paper and have your child paint on one side of the paper with red, pink and white paint. Have the child fold the paper in half again, with the paint inside and press the halves together. Open the paper to see the identical pictures.

Paper Bag Vests
Take a paper bag, and cut a straight line in the middle of the front from the top to the bottom. The bottom of the bag will be the top of the vest. Cut out the neck and holes for your child's arms. Let your child decorate with pink and red hearts, and wear.

Paper Plate Shaker
Take two sturdy paper plates. (The stronger the better)Place some beans on one of the plates and place the other plate on top of the first so that both eating surface areas are facing each other. Use masking tape to seal the plates together. Have your child decorate with red or pink markers, glitter, construction paper, or ribbons. When dry, shake. Shake to music, shake it each time you take a step. Shake, Shake Shake!!!

Valentine's Day themed preschool lesson plans. Arts and crafts, games, math, science, group time activities, songs and snack ideas.

Group Time

Love Somebody
Love Somebody, yes I do
Love Somebody, yes I do
Love Somebody, yes I do
Love Somebody but I won't tell who.

Love Song
by chicky-ma-ma
Love my Mommy,
Yes I do,
Love my Mommy,
Yes I do,
Love my Mommy,
Yes I do,
Love my Mommy,
And I love you!
Replace mommy with other family members or children's names.

Valentine's Day
by Chicky-ma-ma
sung to "Frere Jacques"
Valentine's Day,
Valentine's Day,
coming soon,
coming soon,
I will make a card and,
send it to my friend,
I love you,
I love you.

Pink Song
by chicky-ma-ma
sung to "If you are happy and you know it"
If you mix red and white it makes pink
If you mix red and white it makes pink
If you mix red and white,
naturally, you will will see,
If you mix red and white it makes pink

If I had a Valentine
by chicky-ma-ma
sung to "Mary had a Little Lamb"
If I had a Valentine
I'd love them true,
Love them true,
Love them true,
If I had a Valentine
I'd love them true.

I love you
by chicky-ma-ma
song to "Londen Bridge"
Mary, Mary, I love you
I love you,
I love you,
Mary, Mary, I love you
Do you love me too?
Substitute Mary for another child's name

If you love me and you know it
by chicky-ma-ma
sung to "If you're happy and you know it"
If you love me and you know it clap your hands
(clap clap)
If you love me and you know it clap your hands
(clap clap)
If you love me and you know it then your face will surely show it,
If you love me and you know it clap your hands
(clap clap)
Substitute "clap your hands" for
tap your head,
stomp your feet,
shout "I love you"
blow a kiss

Games, Math and Science

Heart Match
click here to see an image of this project
Cut out many different hearts from different colors. Have the children find the matching heart.

Valentine Match Up
There are many ways to set this up depending on the skill level or the particular skill you wish to work on. Try these different set ups:

Cut out heart shapes from different colors of paper. Give each child one heart. Ask the children to find one person with the same color heart.

Cut out heart shapes from different colors of paper. Cut the hearts in half using a puzzle type cut, like zig zag or interlocking pieces. Give each child one half of a heart, and ask them to find the person with the other half. Or Give the children two pieces and have the children make a circle, with one child that has one match on one side and the other match on the other side. You may end up with 2 or more circles depending on how the heart pieces are distributed.

Cut out heart shapes from one color of paper. Cut the hearts in half using a puzzle type cut, like zig zag or interlocking pieces. Give each child one half of a heart, and ask them to find the person with the other half. Or Give the children two pieces and have the children make a circle, with one child that has one match on one side and the other match on the other side. You may end up with 2 or more circles depending on how the heart pieces are distributed.

Cut the heart shapes from one color of paper. Label one set of hearts with numbers, i.e. if you have 20 children, label the hearts with the numbers one to ten. The other half, draw one dot on one, two on another, and so on until ten. Give each child one heart and have them find the child with their match.

Cut the heart shapes from one color of paper. Place matching stickers on two hearts. Give each child one heart and have them find the child with their match.

Cut the heart shapes from one color of paper. Cut the hearts in half using a puzzle type cut, like zig zag or interlocking pieces. Place matching stickers on each half of a heart. Give each child one heart half and have them find the child with their match.

Place matching heart stickers on separate index cards. Give each child a card and ask them to find the child with their match.

Try all the above, but in a file folder format. Glue one part of the heart to the file folder and laminate it's match.

Bean Bag Toss
Obtain a large piece of cardboard. A large, unfolded box works well. Cut One or two heart shapes out of the cardboard. Paint the cardboard pink, white and red. When dry let the children throw bean bags through the heart shaped holes.

Heart Hop
Cut out large heart shapes from colored paper. Laminate them and cut them out. Place them on the floor and ask the children to hop from one heart to another. These may also be used at seat markers for group time.

What is a Real Heart?
Discuss with your children the purpose of our heart. Our heart is like a pump, that pushes our blood to our cells and lungs. Show the children where in their body it is. Show the children how to take their pulse.

Where is your Valentine?
Played like "Doggie Doggie where's your bone?"
Have one child sit in the middle of the circle, and hide their eyes. Give another child a Valentine to hide behind their back. Have all the other children put their hands behind their back. Chant the following song:
Valentine, Valentine,
Where's your match?
Wake up quick,
And find them Fast.
The child in the middle gets three guesses. Then the child who had the Valentine goes into the middle.

What time is it Mr. Valentine?
This is a fun game to play outside. You can change the name to suit any theme. The children all line up against a wall or fence. And one child, (Mr. Valentine) or the teacher faces away from the children, a good distance away from the children. The children yell, what time is it "Mr. Valentine", Mr. Valentine answers 1 o'clock, and the children all take one step toward Mr Valentine. The children yell again, what time is it "Mr. Valentine", Mr. Valentine answers (fill in the blank) o'clock, and the children all take same number of step toward Mr Valentine. This continues until all the children are very close to Mr. Valentine, then Mr. Valentine will answer it's midnight, and chases the children back to the fence or wall that they started at. The first person Mr. Valentine touches will be the new Mr. Valentine.

Valentine Hide and Seek
Have all the children hide their eyes while you "hide" a valentine in the room. (It should be placed in plain view) Tell the children to find the Valentine, but not touch it. Once they spot it they should sit back down in their spot. The first one to sit down again will get to hide the valentine.

Valentine Hide and Seek
Play the game the same as above, except hide the valentine. Then tell the children individually whether they are "hot" or "cold" to the relation of the heart. Allow the other children to have a change to hide the Valentine, and tell children whether they are "hot or cold". It may be a good idea to discuss the meaning of hot and cold before you play this game.

Valentine Fishing Game
Tie 3 feet of string to a wooden spoon. Attach a magnet to the end of the string. Cut and laminate many different colored, and sized hearts from construction paper (not too big though). Attach a paper clip to each heart. Spread the heart shapes on the floor and let your child try to catch the hearts. Have them try to catch the red heart.. or the biggest heart. For a twist, label the hearts with letters or numbers. Ask the children to catch a specific heart, or ask them which heart they caught.

Heart Card Match
Remove the heart card from a deck of old playing cards. Cut the cards in half so one number or letter is on each half. Ask the children to pick one card, then find it's other half.

Heart Shaped Games
The following games require you to cut out many different heart shapes from construction paper. You may choose to laminate these hearts so they last longer.

Heart Sizing
Cut out many different sized hearts. Ask the children to line up the hearts from largest to smallest.

Heart Numbers
Cut out ten heart shapes. Number them one to ten. Ask the children to line up the hearts from one to ten.

Heart Colors
Ask the children to sort the hearts by color.

Heart Sort
Ask the children to sort the hearts by size.

Post Office
You will need: Cardboard mailbox, stamped envelopes, wagon, bag, stickers for stamps, used mail, file boxes, pens, pencils, paper, and junk mail. Let the children use the material to pretend they work for a post office. the children can write letters, address the envelope, buy stamps, put the letters in the mail, deliver the mail and receive mail.

Heart Bubbles
click here to see an image of this project
Bend a red coat hanger in the shape of a heart to use as a bubble maker.

Streamers
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Make a streamers with red ribbon, streamer or a plastic lei and a popsicle stick. Have the children dance and move with the streamer.

Cling Wrap Science
Place red or pink cling wrap on a window so the children can look outside through it. You could also make toilet paper binoculars with red or pink cling wrap on the ends.

Connect Four
You can place heart stickers on the piece of a "Connect Four" game. Play the game according to the traditional rules.

Stamping Patterns
Use rubber stamps with red, pink or purple ink to create a simple pattern on the top half of a piece of paper. Ask your child to help you recreate the pattern on the bottom half of the paper. Tip: Start with one stamp, and have your child pick which stamp you used. Start slowly and work your way up to more complicated patterns.

Valentine's Day Jar
For older children. Fill a small jar with small heart candies. Ask each child to guess how many candies are in the jar. For younger children, limit the number of candies to less than ten. Record each child's guess. Count the candies.

Valentine's Day Jar 2
Provide three identical jars with pre-counted heart shaped candies items of 20, 30, and 40. Label these jars 20, 30 and 40. Place 20 to 40 red items in a fourth identical jar. Allow the children to examine all four jars before they guess. Record the children's approximations. Count the candies.

Valentine's Feelie Box
Place different red objects in a feelie box such as felt, silk, cotton fabric, card stock etc.

Valentine's Wave Bottle
Fill a bottle halfway up with water. Add a couple of drops of red fool coloring and seal with hot glue.

Valentine's Wave Bottle 2
Funnel about a tablespoon of glitter into a bottle, then fill with water leaving a little bit of room. Add a couple of drops of red fool coloring and seal with hot glue.

Valentine's Wave Bottle 3
Funnel foil heart confetti into a bottle, then fill with water leaving a little bit of room. Add a couple of drops of red fool coloring and seal with hot glue.

Water Play
Add a couple of drops of red food coloring to your water in the water table.

Red Colored Rice
You'll need:
uncooked white rice
red food coloring
white vinegar
non-toxic glue
cardboard or paper

Place 1/2 cup rice into a clean bowl (either glass or one that you don't care about). Add 5 drops of red food coloring and 1/2 tsp. vinegar to set the color. Mix around until the rice has absorbed the color. Spread rice evenly onto a baking sheet and cover with foil. Bake at 200 degrees for 45 minutes, this dries the rice. After the rice has dried and cooled, place in a ziplock bag and seal.

Rice Play
Place the colored rice in your sand/water table. Let the children explore the rice using measuring cups, containers, funnels, and other items.

Heart Memory
Find Valentine's Day stickers. Place 2 identical stickers on the left and right sides of an index card. Cut the index in half, cut the index card in half. You can use these cards to play memory.

Lacing Cards
Cut red poster board into heart shapes and punch holes around the edges. Then let your child lace yarn or a shoestring into the cards.

Red Play Doh
Have the children make a variety of items with red play doh. Provide the children with heart shaped cookie cutters to make hearts.

Heart Bowling
Obtain 10 half gallon milk cartons, or 2 liter bottles. Fill the bottles about 1/8 full with water and seal the lid. Then, decorate the bottles with red hearts. Set the bottles up like they were bowling pins and have the children roll a ball to try to knock them over. If they don't knock over easily, remove some of the water.

Foods and Snacks

Valentine's Day Tablecloth
click here to see an image of this project
Decorate a plain tablecloth with paper hearts or heart stickers

Heart Cookies
Use your favorite sugar cookie recipe and a heart shaped cookie cutter. When the cookies are cool, let the children decorate their hearts.

Kool Aid
Serve red or pink cool aid.

Pink or Red Milk
Add a few drops of red food coloring to the milk and serve pink or red milk.

Valentine's Day Ice Cream
Add a few drops of red food coloring to vanilla ice cream. Both are great with red sprinkles. You can also make your own ice cream.

Red Foods
Serve different types of red foods, such as strawberries, tomatoes and watermelon. Serve in heart shaped dishes (optional).

Make it Red or Pink
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You can add red food coloring to whipped cream, sprite, milk, white grape juice, cream cheese, sugar cookie dough, muffin or bread dough to add a little excitement to the Valentine's Day snacks.

Heart Shaped Sandwiches
Use cookie cutters to cut out hearts from bread. Make your favorite sandwich with your heart shaped bread.

Jello Hearts
Make your favorite flavor of red or purple jello. Be sure to use less water so that the jello is firmer. When the jello is set use heart shaped cookie cutters to cut out the jello. Alternate, use heart shaped molds specifically designed for jello or chocolate.

Find the latest Halloween Costumes at Pure Costumes. They have all the Holiday costumes and Valentine's Day costumes online.