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Valentine's Day Activities

Valentine Matisse Inspired Collage

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Have you seen examples of Henri Matisse’s cut paper collages?

They’re fun and whimsical. And, they’re easy to imitate.

We decided to do a Valentine version in red and pink. We each made a Matisse inspired collage, perfect to display in February.

Create beautiful Valentine artwork with this fun Matisse inspired collage that's perfect for Valentine's day but can be adapted for any time of the year.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

This open-ended art project is fun for kids of all ages. And, it’s low on mess! The messiest part was cleaning up our paper scraps.

Supplies Needed:

White paper
Pink and red construction paper
Glue stick
Scissors

How to make a Valentine Matisse inspired collage

Before we began our project, we took a look at some collage examples from Matisse.

Here’s some great information on Matisse written for kids from the Tate Galleries art museums in London.

Once we looked at examples and got some ideas, it was time to start.

Matisse painted the paper that he used for his collages, but we skipped that step and just used red and pink construction paper. You can certainly do this, but it does take more time.

There really is no “right” way to do this project. You can cut out all your shapes at once and arrange on the paper. Or do each shape individually. We did a combination of both.

Since this project was for Valentine’s Day, we included a few heart cut-outs to go along with all of our other shapes.

We cut and arranged. And, once everything was perfect, we glued it all down.

And in the end, we had some awesome collages that we inspired by Matisse. We did our own take and each collage reflected our personalities. Isn’t that the best?

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How to adapt this for younger kids

This art project was perfect for my elementary-aged kids, but you can certainly do this with younger kids.

If your kids are comfortable with scissors (or are working on scissor skills) have them cut various shapes from your pink and red paper. Then, they can arrange them on paper and glue it all down.

If your kids are too young to do the cutting, you can prep this project by cutting the shapes and then let your child do the arranging and gluing.

This Valentine Matisse inspired collage is a great activity choice for a group of mixed age kids!

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You may also like one of these Valentine activities:

Silly Heart Puppets

Paper Plate Valentine Bear Craft

Valentine Watercolor Resist Painting

Cotton Ball Heart Painting from Sunshine Whispers

Our recommended art supplies:

The supplies we used for this Valentine art project are ones that we like to keep on hand. We use them all the time! If you want to stock up on supplies, here are some that I recommend:

Do you want to do more activities with your kids?

Join our fun Facebook community, Creative Family Fun for Busy Families, for daily activities that are great for kids and families. We’ll chat, share, and have fun. It’s a safe and private place to share ideas for family and kids activities.

I’d love for you to join me! Just click the link below, request to join, and answer the questions (they’re easy, I promise). Come join the fun! Join the Creative Family Fun for Busy Families community here.

Paper Plate Valentine Bear Craft

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Paper plates make a great canvas for all sorts of crafts. We’ve used them for almost every holiday!

This time, we turned our paper plate into a cute Valentine bear craft.

This craft is easy to make and is perfect for preschoolers. So, let’s grab some supplies and get started.

This fun paper plate Valentine bear craft is so easy to make with a few simple supplies. It's perfect for preschoolers to make for Valentine's Day.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Before you begin, set up your craft station.

I like to use an old sheet to cover my table and my girls wear an old t-shirt to protect their clothes.

This isn’t that messy of a craft, but anytime we use paint, I like to protect our clothes and table.

This fun paper plate Valentine bear craft is so easy to make with a few simple supplies. It's perfect for preschoolers to make for Valentine's Day.

Supplies Needed

Paper plate
Brown craft paint
Heart doily (6 inch works perfectly)
Googly eyes
Button
Pink or red construction paper
White glue

This fun paper plate Valentine bear craft is so easy to make with a few simple supplies. It's perfect for preschoolers to make for Valentine's Day.

How to make your Valentine bear craft

Start by using your brown craft paint to paint your paper plate for your bear’s head.

Let the paint dry for awhile.

While your paint is drying, cut out two circles from the pink or red construction paper for your bear’s ears.

This fun paper plate Valentine bear craft is so easy to make with a few simple supplies. It's perfect for preschoolers to make for Valentine's Day.

After the paint is dry, glue your heart doily to the center of your plate.

Glue the googly eyes to the upper section of the doily. Then, glue your button to the bottom section.

This fun paper plate Valentine bear craft is so easy to make with a few simple supplies. It's perfect for preschoolers to make for Valentine's Day.

Finally glue your circle ears to the back of your bear so at least half of the circle sticks up to look like a pair of ears.

Let all the glue dry.

If you’d like, you can use glitter glue or marker to make your bear’s mouth. We preferred our bear without a mouth.

This fun Valentine bear craft was so simple to make. It’s perfect for preschoolers and even toddlers could handle it with a little bit of help.

This fun paper plate Valentine bear craft is so easy to make with a few simple supplies. It's perfect for preschoolers to make for Valentine's Day.

You may also like one of these Valentine crafts:

Heart Stamped Valentine Cards

Coffee Filter Valentine Suncatcher

Valentine Crafts for Preschoolers

Paper Plate Valentine’s Day Unicorn at Red Ted Art

Our favorite Valentine craft resources

This easy craft uses supplies that you probably already have at home. But, if you need to restock, here are some of our recommended resources:

Do more activities with your kids!

Join our fun Facebook community, Creative Family Fun for Busy Families, for daily activities that are great for kids and families. We’ll chat, share, and have fun. It’s a safe and private place to share ideas for family and kids activities.

I’d love for you to join me! Just click the link below, request to join, and answer the questions (they’re easy, I promise). Come join the fun! Join the Creative Family Fun for Busy Families community here.

Valentine Crafts for Preschoolers

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We love to make crafts for Valentine’s day! Do you?

Here are some fun Valentine crafts for preschoolers that will be perfect for your little ones.

These ideas are fun and open-ended and allow your kids to get creative. They’ll be so proud of their finished products! And you’ll love to display them all over the house.

Keep reading for these fun ideas.

Your kids will love creating for Valentine's Day with this selection of Valentine Crafts for Preschoolers that are so much fun to make.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Fun Valentine Crafts for Preschoolers

Your kids will love creating for Valentine's Day with this selection of Valentine Crafts for Preschoolers that are so much fun to make.

Below you’ll find a lot of fun Valentine crafts from collages to puppets to fun gifts to give. Or, maybe you want to make a wiggly armed heart.

No matter what you choose, your kids will have so much fun.

Grab some supplies and let’s get started! You won’t need anything complicated and you probably already have most of the supplies you need. You can even find some of the supplies in the recycle bin.

I can’t wait to have some fun with these Valentine ideas!

Valentine Crafts for Preschoolers

The best, most cutest Valentine crafts for preschoolers
Heart Collage Valentines Cards

Heart Collage Valentines Cards

Turn a simple collage into a pretty heart card.

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Silly Heart Puppet Valentine Craft

Silly Heart Puppet Valentine Craft

Make and then play with these awesome Silly Heart Puppets.

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Coffee Filter Valentine Heart Suncatcher

Coffee Filter Valentine Heart Suncatcher

Decorate your windows with these beautiful heart suncatchers.

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Stained Glass Window Valentines

Stained Glass Window Valentines

Send a beautiful stained-glass window Valentine to your family and friends.

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Dip-Dyed Valentine Banner

Dip-Dyed Valentine Banner

Make a banner with pretty dip-dyed heart doilies.

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Heart-Stamped Valentines

Heart-Stamped Valentines

Photo Credit: creativefamilyfun.net

Use cardboard tube stamps to make a pretty Valentine card.

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Valentine's Day Heart Craft for Kids - The Resourceful Mama

Valentine's Day Heart Craft for Kids - The Resourceful Mama

Photo Credit: www.theresourcefulmama.com

Creative a fun and silly wiggly-armed heart person.

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Love Bug Name Craft for Preschoolers

Love Bug Name Craft for Preschoolers

Photo Credit: fromabcstoacts.com

Practice your name with this fun love bug craft.

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Popsicle Stick Valentine Frames

Popsicle Stick Valentine Frames

Photo Credit: www.craftymorning.com

Use these awesome Valentine frames to display your handprint.

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Conversation Heart Photo Frame

Conversation Heart Photo Frame

Photo Credit: preschoolinspirations.com

Make fun frames with conversation hearts for a fun gift for friends and family.

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Super Fun Craft Stick Love Bugs!

Super Fun Craft Stick Love Bugs!

Photo Credit: www.sunshinewhispers.com

These simple love bugs are fun to make and fun to play with.

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Tin Foil Heart Valentine's Day Craft

Tin Foil Heart Valentine's Day Craft

Photo Credit: iheartcraftythings.com

Make beautiful hearts using tin foil as your canvas.

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Homemade Valentine Cards Using Celery as a Rose Stamp

Homemade Valentine Cards Using Celery as a Rose Stamp

Photo Credit: crystalandcomp.com

Use celery to make roses to decorate your Valentine cards.

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Hole-Punched Heart Craft

Hole-Punched Heart Craft

Photo Credit: www.notimeforflashcards.com

Decorate with these fun fine motor Valentine craft.

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Easy Mosaic Heart Craft

Easy Mosaic Heart Craft

Photo Credit: www.craftsonsea.co.uk

Create mosaics to make a beautiful heart craft.

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Salt Dough Hearts

Salt Dough Hearts

Photo Credit: www.thebestideasforkids.com

These salt dough hearts would make a wonderful Valentine's gift.

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Simple Kid Made Owl Valentines

Simple Kid Made Owl Valentines

Photo Credit: www.kitchencounterchronicle.com

Hoot! Hoot! Who wouldn't love the cute cardboard tube Valentine owls.

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Did you see an idea that you like? Which of these fun Valentine crafts for preschoolers do you want to try?

It’s too hard to decide on just one. You may have to make a few!

Your kids will love creating for Valentine's Day with this selection of Valentine Crafts for Preschoolers that are so much fun to make.

You may also like one of these Valentine activities:

Valentine Nonstandard Measurement Activity

Valentine Sensory Bags for Toddlers

Recycled Valentine Crafts for Kids

Fun Valentine Math Activities

Our favorite Valentine craft resources:

In order to have fun creating our crafts, we like to have resources on hand.

From simple construction paper and glue to more fun Valentine’s items like heart stickers.

Here are some things we recommend keeping on hand for a successful Valentine craft session:

Do you want to do more activities with your kids?

Join our fun Facebook community, Creative Family Fun for Busy Families, for daily activities that are great for kids and families. We’ll chat, share, and have fun. It’s a safe and private place to share ideas for family and kids activities.

I’d love for you to join me! Just click the link below, request to join, and answer the questions (they’re easy, I promise). Come join the fun! Join the Creative Family Fun for Busy Families community here.

Valentine Nonstandard Measurement Activity

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A couple of weeks ago, I walked into a craft store. I walked out with a couple of different sizes of heart doilies (and – ahem- several other things).

I had an idea for a Valentine’s reading game, but that was it. What else could I use them for?

Measuring, of course!

Grab those heart doilies and find a few things to measure. We’re going to have fun with a Valentine Nonstandard Measurement activity.

Use heart doilies for a fun hands-on way to practice measuring with this fun Valentine Nonstandard Measurement activity for kids.

What is measuring with nonstandard units?

Most of the measuring we do is with standard units, such as inches, feet, and centimeters. But, before we start using these standard units, the concept of measurement is introduced with nonstandard units. This is anything that is used to show a comparison in size. In this Valentine nonstandard measurement activity, we’re going to use small heart doilies.

Use heart doilies for a fun hands-on way to practice measuring with this fun Valentine Nonstandard Measurement activity for kids.

Valentine Nonstandard Measurement

This activity is so simple and requires no set-up. All you need is a package of small heart doilies. The doilies stick together, so make sure to pull them all apart before beginning.

You can set up the learning by asking a simple question: How can we measure using these hearts?

Encourage your kids to line the hearts up to see how long different things are.

You can measure anything that is larger than the heart doily.

Measure body parts, like feet, arm length, or even full body length.

Or you can measure furniture.

Measure the length of a room.

Or measure your toys.

Use heart doilies for a fun hands-on way to practice measuring with this fun Valentine Nonstandard Measurement activity for kids.

Extend the fun

Add more depth to this activity by recording your measurements.

Write down the object and how long it was.

When you’re done, look at your data. Which item was biggest? Which was smallest? Order everything from smallest to largest.

Talk through your data and make observations.

Measure something smaller than our heart. 

For example, take a paperclip. How many paperclips do you need to be the same length as the heart?

Find some other smaller objects you can use to measure your heart doily.

Use heart doilies for a fun hands-on way to practice measuring with this fun Valentine Nonstandard Measurement activity for kids.

Translate your nonstandard units into standard units. 

This is a great way to extend the fun for kids who have moved beyond simply measuring with nonstandard units.

First, measure one heart and record the measurement.

Next, take your measurement recordings. If my book is four hearts long, how many inches is it?

It’s time to use your addition skills, or multiplication skills, to find out.

Our hearts were 3.25 inches. Get out your calculator if you need to, or round down to 3 inches to make the calculations easier.

Use heart doilies for a fun hands-on way to practice measuring with this fun Valentine Nonstandard Measurement activity for kids.

Measuring with nonstandard units is always a fun activity and it was a great way to use those extra heart doilies.

Use heart doilies for a fun hands-on way to practice measuring with this fun Valentine Nonstandard Measurement activity for kids.

You may also like one of these math activities:

Fun Valentine Math Activities for Kids

Backyard Measurement Scavenger Hunt

Fun Nonstandard Measurement Games

Ruler Game – Measuring in Farm Units at JDaniel4’s Mom

Our favorite math resources:

We love using games to practice our math. It definitely makes learning fun. Here are some great ones you’ll love playing.

Do you want to do more activities with your family?

Join our fun Facebook community, Creative Family Fun for Busy Families, for daily activities that are great for kids and families. We’ll chat, share, and have fun. It’s a safe and private place to share ideas for family and kids activities.

I’d love for you to join me! Just click the link below, request to join, and answer the questions (they’re easy, I promise). Come join the fun! Join the Creative Family Fun for Busy Families community here.

Heart Collage Valentines Cards

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Valentine’s Day always brings out the crafter in us.

We love to get out the red and pink paper, scissors, glue, doilies, stickers, and every odd and end imaginable.

Sometimes the result is just a lot of fun time creating.

And, sometimes the result is a pretty Valentine’s Day card we can send to family and friends like these Heart Collage Valentines.

Make beautiful Valentines cards out of textured collages with this Heart Collage Valentines craft for kids. They're so much fun to make!

For this craft, we used our scrap bits and pieces to make some amazing collages, which we then transformed into simple cards. When we got done, we had created these pretty Collage Heart Valentines.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Supplies Needed

Collage materials (paper scraps, fabric scraps, ribbon, tape, foam pieces, felt, magazine cut-outs, etc.)
Scissors (both plain & fancy if you have them)
Paper
Glue
Cardstock

How to make a Heart Collage Valentine

Our first step was creating our heart collage.

I presented my girls with a basket that was full of collage materials, all of which were either pink or red. We had shiny fabric scraps, felt pieces, scrapbook paper, magazine cutouts, pieces of red crepe streamer, and just about anything we could find in our crafting stash.

The girls arranged and glued until they were satisfied with their Valentine collages.

While we were waiting for our collages to dry, we folded our cardstock into note cards. If you plan on mailing these cards, simply cut them to fit in whatever envelopes you happen to have at home.

Then, using some scrap cardboard, we made a heart template to use for cutting our collages. I made a heart that was big enough to fill the space on our cards because we wanted only one heart collage per card.

After our collages were dry, we traced our heart template to the back of our collages.

Note: If you trace the heart on the back, once you cut it out you won’t have any pencil lines!

Finally, we glued our hearts to the front of our note cards, added a special message, and our Heart Collage Valentine cards were ready to go!

I love how a simple collage turned these hearts into works of art! This Valentines craft was so much fun to do. It’s perfect for both a large and small group of kids.

What kinds of Valentines are you sending out this year? I bet there’s a special person who would love receiving one of these Heart Collage Valentines!

Make beautiful Valentines cards out of textured collages with this Collage Heart Valentines craft for kids. They're so much fun to make!

You may also like one of these fun Valentine crafts:

Heart Stamped Valentines

Silly Heart Puppet Valentine Craft

Monochromatic Collage Valentine’s Day Art

Hole Punched Hearts at No Time for Flash Cards

Our favorite Valentine craft resources

This fun Valentine’s Day craft is a fun way to use up all the odds & ends in your craft closet. But, you’ll also want a few additional supplies to make these pretty cards. Here are a few things that you’ll need:

Join our community for fun family activities!

Join our fun Facebook community, Creative Family Fun for Busy Families, for daily activities that are great for kids and families. We’ll chat, share, and have fun. It’s a safe and private place to share ideas for family and kids activities.

I’d love for you to join me! Just click the link below, request to join, and answer the questions (they’re easy, I promise). Come join the fun! Join the Creative Family Fun for Busy Families community here.