We have selected some of our absolute favorite Valentine’s Day preschool activities and know that you will love some of these zany science experiments and candy heart adventures! February is the month we celebrate friendship, love, and kindness. This is the month that we pour our hearts into themed activities that show others how much we care and appreciate them.
Valentine’s Day is such a great holiday for little ones because it’s a time of year to stop and celebrate each other. Many classrooms this month are filled with hearts galore, friendship books, kindness books, and adorable crafts that brighten up our rooms and our hearts.
We searched high and low to find Valentine’s activities that are educational, fun, inexpensive and easy to set up. After Valentine’s Day is over, we have lots of other February preschool theme ideas and winter preschool themes as well! Or plan for the months ahead with our spring preschool themes.
Valentine’s Day Preschool Activities
Valentine’s Day Literacy Activities
Pre-Writing Alphabet Practice with Conversation Hearts – Preschool Inspirations
When you’re brainstorming Valentine’s Day preschool activities, it’slikely that conversation hearts are at the top of the list. Why? Because they’re fun, cute, tasty and just the right size for preschoolers to manipulate and work on their pincer grip. For this fun and easy center, all you need is conversation heart candies and some large cut out letters and voila! You will have a variety of fun ways for some pre-writing practice.
Friendship Letters – Preschool Inspirations
What would a holiday based on love and friendship be without sweet Friendship letters? Incomplete, I would say! This is a spectacular Valentine’s Day preschool activity that encourages writing and friendship in a FUN way! You can easily set up student mailboxes which will be the icing on the cake for these sweet letters! This pairs perfectly with reading some wonderful friendship books too!
A Valentine Name Puzzle – How We Learn
Valentine’s Day activities for preschool are all about hearts, of course. And, preschoolers are all about puzzles. So, why not combine the two? These personalized heart puzzles make for a fun activity that utilizes skills including cutting, letter recognition, name recognition and more! You could even laminate each child’s puzzle for long-lasting use.
Valentine Alphabet Playdough Mats – The Kindergarten Connection
Play dough is a staple in most preschool and kindergarten classrooms, as it should be. Some of its benefits include development of hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills and it can serve as a calming stress-reliever for kiddos. These adorable alphabet play dough mats make a wonderful addition to your Valentine’s Day preschool activities. Click here to learn more and to access your free printable!
Valentine Emergent Readers – Early Learning Ideas
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, these emergent readers are all about what children love. Print these out for free and assemble them for the kids. Your students will have a wonderful literacy experience by engaging with the story, coloring the pictures, and tracing and writing, as they are able. This can be a special, cherished book to take home and share with caregivers.
Valentine Math Activities
Valentine Number Recognition Activity – Preschool Inspirations
Looking for a Valentine-themed counting center? This one only requires two things –a foam number puzzle and acrylic hearts (or any type of small heart-shaped objects or candies). Your kiddos will have fun while they carefully count out hearts to place on their corresponding foam numbers. This activity is also great for the pincer grip, which is so important in early writing development.
Conversation Heart Color Match – Preschool Inspirations
My guess is that you just might have a veggie or fruit tray with divided sections at home (and if you don’t, your local dollar store should). That and conversation hearts are all you need for this cute Valentine-themed math center. Set it out and your preschoolers will know how to work their sorting magic. You likely won’t even have to tell them what to do, most will just start naturally sorting them by color!
Free Printable Valentine Math Games – Fun-A-Day
Dice games make a wonderful addition to your Valentine’s Day preschool activities. These free printable games incorporate several math concepts like number recognition, patterns, and addition/subtraction just to name a few. So much learning and fun with just the roll of a dice!
Pattern Block Valentine Math Fun – Stay at Home Educator
Sometimes, Valentine’s Day activities for preschool are as simple as re-purposing something you already have in your classroom. Since you likely already have pattern blocks and corresponding pattern cards, this heart-shaped pattern block printable easily adds a fun Valentine’s twist to your math centers. Print, laminate, and add this extra element of fun to your February math centers.
Printable Valentine Number Mats 1-10 – Life Over C’s
I simply adore these free printable Valentine’s number mats. Not only are they inviting to the eye, they are versatile for a variety of math skills. Laminate them and you have an instant play dough mat, as well. I call that a win, win!
Valentine’s Day Science Activities for Preschool
Melting Heart Color Exploration and Ice Play – Preschool Inspirations
Do your Valentine’s Day preschool ideas include FROZEN play? It is a winter holiday, after all. Kids love playing with ice and they will delight at heart-shaped colorful ice cubes! Throw in some large spoons, tongs, etc. and you will give them some important fine motor practice. Pro-tip: use liquid watercolor, rather than food coloring to minimize color staining of little hands and clothes!
Candy Heart Fizzing Science Project – Preschool Inspirations
If you’re like me, you got excited at the very name of this Valentine’s Day activity for preschool!! Any science project with “fizzing” is a winner in my book! It’s a heart-filled twist on the ol’ baking soda and vinegar experiments and the fizzing just may last a whole lot longer than you would expect. You will just need to try it to find out!
Viscosity Valentine Science Experiment – Little Bins for Little Hands
Viscosity- preschoolers might not remember the word, but they will remember the scientific fun! You and your budding scientists will experimentwith a variety of liquids to compare how viscous they are. Add an extra element in with a Valentine’s twist by seeing if plastic hearts will sink or float in your liquids!
Dancing Conversation Hearts – Playdough to Plato
Did you know that conversation hearts can dance? All in the name of science, of course! Your kiddos will delight in this engaging experiment and will learn about chemical reactions in the process!
Valentine Science Experiment: Fizzy Exploding Hearts – Preschool Powol Packets
Fizzy, exploding hearts? Yes, please. As a mom of three boys, all I have to do is say the name of this fun science experiment and they are fully invested! Such a fun way to study chemical reactions. This is a must add to your Valentine’s Day preschool projects.
Valentine’s Day Preschool Art and Crafts
Puppy Love Preschool Valentine Craft – Preschool Inspirations
And they called it puppy love! Many preschoolers love puppies and they will certainly delight in this adorable Valentine’s Day preschool craft. With minimal prep and supplies you probably already have on hand, teachers and caregivers will delight in this, as well. This canine craft is an adorable way to teach symmetry and decorate your classroom!
Conversation Heart Photo Frame – Preschool Inspirations
I absolutely adore home-made picture frames because the kiddos get to be the “star” of their own craft. This special Valentine’s Day preschool craft only requires large craft sticks, conversation hearts (or other heart objects, if preferred) and a good adhesive such as Mod-podge. Not only will the kids have fun making these, their caregivers will be so excited to receive them!
Silly Heart Puppet Valentine Craft – Creative Family Fun
Isn’t it amazing when you can do crafts with items you already have around the house or classroom? That will probably be the case with these silly heart puppets. Fun, simple, and your kiddos can decorate them with any craft goodies you want! So easy and fun… I bet you won’t stop at just one!
Heart Symmetry Painting – Artful Parent
I just love when art and math organically collide, which is the case with this easy Valentine’s Day preschool art project. Symmetry painting or “squish painting” is a great way to get some beautiful hearts to help decorate your classroom. Because it’s quick and easy, your students could complete multiple hearts and compare and contrast how they turn out. Happy squishing!
Rainbow Heart Sun Catchers – Fireflies and Mudpies
Don’t you love when the kids get to decorate not only the walls of your classroom, but your windows, as well? These colorful sun catcher hearts will make your windows sparkle with joyful innocence! As a developmental bonus, the kids can help cut out the tissue paper squares, which will be great cutting and fine motor practice!
Fingerprint Love Bug Craft – Rhythms of Play
Thumb-buggy loves you- I can’t even handle this adorable play on words. Are you with me? Such a fun adaptation to the adorable thumb-print pictures motif! Add this to your Valentine’s Day preschool art plans and all your parents will have “thumbthing” to smile about for sure!
Valentine’s Day Sensory Bins and Activities
Colorful Heart Sensory Bin – Preschool Inspirations
Sensory bins serve a variety of purposes, and this one hits the fine-motor jackpot! Any timekids get to use kid-friendly tweezers to find and sort items, you know they are working on that important fine-motor development. Your preschoolers will love diving into this adorable bin that is a must for your Valentine’s Day preschool projects list!
Heart Glitter Sensory Bottle – Fun-a-Day
When you hear “glitter” does it conjure up images of little sparkly flakes ALL over your classroom? How about a fantastic no-mess glittery sensorial alternative?! I bet you just said, sign me up! These heart glitter sensory bottles are beautiful, mesmerizing and educational, without the mess! They’re great for year-round use as well, in your science or sensory centers.
Valentine Water Sensory Play – Things to Share and Remember
Water always makes for a wonderful sensorial experience for preschoolers! For this sensory bin, you can use just a little pink or red food coloring in your water and it shouldn’t stain hands. Then, you just add a variety of heart-shaped items and small cups, scoops, etc. The best part is that most of these can be found at your local dollar store.
Cinnamon Heart Cloud Dough – And Next Comes L
There is nothing better than delicious scents in the classroom! The aroma of cinnamon wafting from a sensory bin is a party for the senses. That’s what you get when you make this easy heart cloud dough. Throw in some heart-shaped cookie cutters and anything else of your liking, and your kids will be ready to dive into some Valentine’s fun!
We hope these Valentine’s day activities hit the mark and are perfect for celebrating the season of love and friendship with your little ones.
Done-For-You Valentine’s Day Resources
Spend less time lesson planning with done-for-you lesson plans and unit studies! Click on the image below to learn more about each lesson plan. They pair perfectly with the activities shared above!
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Editor
This was made by the combined efforts of the Preschool Inspirations team!
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