Valentine's Day Activities

Paper Plate Valentine Bear Craft

February 3, 2022 By Terri Thompson

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 a perfect Valentine craft 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.

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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. You can also use newspapers or even a plastic tray to protect your table.

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

Supplies Needed

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

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. You can also trace around a drinking glass, jar lid, or other round object to help make your circles.

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.

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.

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:

Valentine’s Day Word Scramble Printable

January 26, 2022 By Terri Thompson

I always loved a fun word scramble when I was a kid. They’re fun and usually a quick activity. Plus, my brain loves the puzzle.

I still love them now and luckily, so do my kids. I don’t think I’ll ever grow out of my love for word puzzles and I don’t think my kids will either. Do you and your kids like to solve word scrambles?

That’s why I’ve got a fun Valentine’s Day Word Scramble printable for you. Print it out, share with your kids, and have some fun.

Valentine’s Day Word Scramble

I created this simple word scramble with ten Valentine’s Day words, like cupid, love, and heart.

Unscramble and solve all the words. If you need help, you can also download and print the word scramble answer sheet.

This activity is fun for quiet time. It’s also a great time filler in the classroom. And, it’s perfect to take along to a waiting room or a restaurant.

Or, why don’t you try this idea? You can print one for all your classmates, roll them up, tie with a pretty ribbon, and hand them out as classroom Valentines instead of candy. Include a cute Valentine’s pencil as well. Wouldn’t that be so much fun?

How would you use this Valentine’s Day word scramble?

Are you ready to have some fun? Use the links below to download and print your Valentine’s Day Word Scramble printable. Feel free to make as many copies as you need for your family, friends, or classroom.

And, for your convenience, you can also download and print an answer sheet.

Download the Valentine Word Scramble here

Download your answer sheet here

Resources to turn this into a classroom Valentine

This would be a perfect candy-free Valentine for the classroom. Just print, roll, tie with a ribbon. And, if you want, you can add a cool pencil or pen. Here’s some great resources to get you started.

Valentine Sensory Bags for Toddlers

January 25, 2022 By Trisha

Are you looking for a mess free Valentine’s Day activity for young children? You’ll want to check out our Valentine sensory bags for toddlers.

They are super easy to put together and my kids just love to play with them.

Valentine Sensory Bags for Toddlers

A sensory bag allows children to experience different textures and manipulate small objects while being contained in a bag. This means it’s mess free and safe for toddlers who tend to put things in their mouths. (You’ll still need to supervise just in case the bag comes open.)

Supplies Needed for the Valentine Sensory Bags

Zip top plastic bag (gallon or quart size works well)
Rubbing alcohol
Paper towel or cloth
Water beads
Water
Marker
Tape
Hair gel
Craft foam sheets
Scissors
Plastic hearts (This is the link on Amazon but you can find them at Dollar Tree for a $1.)

How to Make a Valentine’s Day Sensory Bag with Water Beads

Select a zip top plastic bag. I used a gallon size freezer bag but a quart size bag can work, too. Use rubbing alcohol and a paper towel to remove any labels from your bag.

Follow package directions to hydrate your water beads. (It might take a couple hours.) Add the hydrated water beads to your zip top plastic bag. I found my water beads in the craft section of Walmart. Amazon sells water beads for a good price as well. You can find some water beads already hydrated like the Orbeez brand at several retailers or online.

You can add extra water to your plastic bag or just the water beads. Adding water will change the sensory feeling just a little bit.

I drew a heart on the plastic bag for an added valentine element. Encourage your child to push the water beads into the heart or away from the heart. This focuses on fine motor control.

Here’s a great opportunity to practice counting. How many water beads will fit inside the heart?

You can tape the plastic bag shut if you’re worried your child might try to open it. Taping the bag shut may also help keep the bag from popping open when your child pushes on it. I like to use the freezer bags because they are a bit more sturdy and their zippers tend to be stronger.

If the bag moves around on the table while your child is playing, tape it down.

How to Make Valentine Sensory Bags with Gel

Instead of filling the sensory bag with water, you can use hair gel. I found a bottle of clear hair gel at Dollar Tree.

Using hair gel changes the way the sensory bag feels. It’s more squishy than water. Water will work for this sensory bag, too. Just be careful how full you fill the bag. It may pop open if your child pushes too hard.

Feel free to use tape to seal the top of this bag as well (especially if you’re using water instead of hair gel). You can also tape this sensory bag to the table to prevent it from sliding around while your child plays.

Use rubbing alcohol and a paper towel to remove any labels from your zip top plastic bag. Add the bottle of gel to your bag.

Cut out foam hearts and place them in your plastic bag.

Add plastic hearts to the bag. I found our plastic hearts at Dollar Tree.

Encourage your child to push the plastic hearts around. I started with the plastic hearts on top of the foam hearts. My toddler immediately pushed them all off.

Then, I asked him to push the red hearts back on top of the foam hearts.

Practice counting the hearts. How many red hearts are on the blue heart?

More Toddler Activities for Valentine’s Day

Valentine Crafts for Toddlers – Check out this collection of easy craft ideas for little ones.

Make and play with these fun Silly Heart Puppets!

Frozen Vinegar Hearts – Combines two ingredients kids love: baking soda and vinegar. Add some frozen hearts and you have a perfect Valentine’s Day science activity.

Guess How Much I Love You Movement Game – Have fun moving around and doing the actions from the book with this fun game.

Tootsie Roll Valentine Bag Topper

February 3, 2021 By Terri Thompson

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve waiting until the last minute to go shopping for classroom Valentines.

And, every single time that’s happened, there is nothing good left. Ugh.

Finally, last year, I got a clue. I found some cute printable Valentines, shopped for candy, put them together, and had a unique Valentine ready to go.

This year, I may just save myself the trouble of searching and use these fun Tootsie Roll Valentine Bag Toppers.

Give your friends a sweet treat with this fun, free printable Tootsie Roll Valentine Bag Topper. It's a great classroom Valentine option.

If you’re looking for something cute and easy, I’ve got you covered. Just download, print, bag up some Tootsie Rolls, and you’re ready to hand these out to your friends.

Tootsie Roll Valentine Bag Toppers

You’ll need a few supplies before you get started:

Printable card stock
Scissors
Clear plastic bags
Tootsie Rolls
Stapler or Double-Sided Tape

First, download and print out your bag toppers. (You’ll find the link to the PDF at the bottom of this post). There are two bag toppers per page.

Cut out each of your bag toppers.

Fill your bags with Tootsie Rolls. You can either use the large ones like we have here or the small ones. It really doesn’t matter!

Leave room at the top to attach your bag topper.

Attach your topper to your Tootsie Roll valentine with staples or double-sided tape.

Have your child add their name to the back and they’re ready to go!

Aren’t these cute?

I’m so excited to hand them out this year!

If you’re ready to make your own Tootsie Roll valentines, click this link to access your bag toppers.

Thank you to PrettyGrafikDesign for the awesome clip art used on these bag toppers.

Tootsie Roll Valentine resources you’ll need:

If you don’t want to go out shopping for the resources to put together your Valentines, you can get them here:

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.

Fun Valentine Math Activities

February 2, 2021 By Terri Thompson

Adding with hearts. Measuring with hearts. Graphing with hearts.

There are so many fun ways to incorporate Valentine’s Day into your math activities.

I’ve gathered up some fun Valentine math activities for kids in grades kindergarten through sixth grade. You’ll definitely find something fun to do with your kids.

You'll love these fun Valentine math activities that are perfect for school and home. You'll find ideas for grades kindergarten through sixth.

No matter what your child is working on, from counting to addition to division, there’s a way to add a Valentine’s Day twist.

So, let’s get a little festive, indulge in all things hearts, and have some fun doing math.

Pre-K and Kindergarten Valentine Math Activities

Use candy hearts to practice graphing with this fun idea from Adventures in Mommydom. (Includes free printable)

This simple heart counting game from Preschool Toolkit is perfect for kids that are currently working on counting.

You can find another fun counting project at Play and Learn Everyday with this Valentine’s numbers and counting hearts activity.

Work with a ten frame with this fun Portable Valentine’s Ten Frame from Lalymom.

Count to 100 with this fun heart-themed Count to 100 Scavenger Hunt from Creekside Learning.

Practice making geometric shapes for Valentine’s Day with this geoboard activity from Little Bins for Little Hands.

First and Second Grade Valentine’s Day Math

Set up a Valentine’s Day math station to explore counting, addition, subtraction, tally marks, 3-D shapes and more. NurtureStore shows you how to set up a Valentine math station.

Play around with tangrams with this printable heart tangram from JDaniel4’s Mom.

Practice addition using beautiful red roses with this fun (and beautiful) math activity. You can find all the details at 3 Dinosaurs.

Measure using non-standard units with our fun Measuring with Hearts activity.

Little Bins for Little Hands also used non-standard units in this fun Candy Hearts Measuring activity.

Practice graphing with this fun hands-on Valentine’s idea from JDaniel4’s Mom.

Use candy hearts to practice addition with our fun Candy Heart Addition math activity.

Heal broken hearts with this fun Broken Hearts Number Bonds activity at Rainy Day Mum.

Practice addition with this printable heart-themed math mat from The Kindergarten Connection.

Compare numbers and practice greater than and less than with this fun idea from Planning Playtime.

Third Grade and Up

Learn about Möbius strips and use them to create hearts for Valentine’s Day in this project from What Do We Do All Day. This is a great project for older kids combining art and math.

Learn about the pattern of numbers called Pascal’s Triangle and create a Valentine’s Day project based off this concept with this activity from Teach Beside Me.

Practice division with a fun secret code game. Go to Royal Baloo to print out this fun Valentine’s Day Division Code Breakers activity.

Get out your hearts and have some fun doing these Valentine math activities.

My 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.

Valentine's Day Activities

Paper Plate Valentine Bear Craft

Supplies Needed

How To Make Your Valentine Bear Craft

You May Also Like One of These Valentine Crafts:

Our Favorite Valentine Craft Resources