“Who wants to come to play a game with hearts and rainbows?” – I had them at hello. Once my boys heard rainbows and hearts, they both came running. Bummer, I thought. I should have made more. Not a bad problem to have because you can whip this up in minutes. Try this rainbow Valentine’s heart craft and create a handful more for classmates. It makes a terrific winter activity for all ages.
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What makes these Valentine’s hearts great
When my boys wake up, I like to keep a simple preschool activity on the table for them to tinker with. I use these ideas to spark play; they are an excellent tool to pivot away from morning TV. I call them Breakfast Invitations!
Breakfast Invitations are easy morning activities and do not need to be complicated to set up. The trick is to pick one or two topics leading to Kindergarten Readiness and watch it unfold.
Since we are in February and have Valentine’s Day activities in our minds, I decided this rainbow heart craft is the perfect start to our day.
What your child learns
Oftentimes, fun ideas for kids come with a few essential skills to practice. With this heart-stacking craft, my children are:
- following a color sequence
- holding a steady hand for careful placement
- stacking hearts from largest to smallest
- strengthening fine motor skills
- using a glue stick
Most art activities for kids share these skills listed. Art allows a child to self-express and learn in a risk-free environment that allows them to take chances. I enjoyed reading about the benefits of arts for kids from the Artful Parent.
RELATED: Throwing Valentine’s Day party? You’ll want to see this Valentine’s Day pancake party.
Supplies
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These art supplies are typically kept in our art cart. This is a place for my children to revisit new ideas during independent playtime.
Construction Paper
The funny thing about construction paper is that sometimes it leaves out purple! This pack has everything you need to make Valentine’s hearts.
Glue Sticks
Purple glue sticks are an excellent way for toddlers to see what they are gluing.
How to set up this Valentine’s Heart Craft
- Cut the smallest heart first using purple paper.
- Place the cut purple heart on top of the blue paper.
- Outline a new heart on the blue paper slightly larger than the purple.
- Cut out the blue heart.
- Place the blue heart on the green paper.
- Repeat steps 3-4 until you reach the final red heart.
Note: Your red heart should be the largest, and the purple heart will be the smallest.
Tips as you work
Encourage your child to place the hearts in the correct size order before gluing.
Sometimes when kids see the glue stick first, they are SUPER ambitious to get started. They can be so focused on gluing that they ignore the correct order.
Conversations to have with your child
- Which heart is the smallest? What color is it?
- Which heart is the largest? What color is it?
- Higher Level: Which heart is larger than the yellow heart but smaller than the red heart?
Is everyone enjoying this Valentine’s craft? Make a large handful to share with friends and family. They take a little longer to prep but are worth the giant smile upon delivery.
Kickstart your morning routine with play.
PDF Startup Guide – A road map for executing mornings anchored in play, discovery, and learning.
PDF Activity Cards Set One and Two – Breakfast Invitations are play-based, hands-on, and designed with an intentional introduction to learning through play.
FAQ
These 40+ Valentine’s Day activities for kids is a great place to begin. Here you will find Valentine’s Day games, crafts, cards, sensory bins, and sweet treats for children to enjoy.
Spending time together is a great way to show children you love them. Have a make-your-own pizza station, create a fort to read Valentine’s Day books, turn the kitchen table into Valentine’s crafting station, cut out hearts and write sweet messages for your kids to wake up to on their bedroom door.
Goodness no. I have a low tolerance for glitter. Alternatives to decorate the hearts are glitter glue, markers, and peel-and-stick gems.
I have the most random question, but was going to do this with my daughter’s preschool class! Need to order more construction paper, and would love to do with your link, but not sure they have purple (from pic on Amazon)? Would love to get in the added lesson of ROYGBIV…. Do you know if this paper set includes it? Thank you!
Wow! You are right. The pictures to the left showed purple but it does not come in the pack. I just updated it now to make sure it has ROYGBIV. Thanks for catching that. I appreciate your help.