Valentine’s Day Crafts for Preschoolers

Valentine's Day is just around the corner! While adults are planning romantic dinners, teens are preparing for school dances, and elementary school kids are busy putting together Valentine boxes and class parties, there's nothing for preschoolers or toddlers. We know you don't want your little one to feel left out of the festivities, so our preschool in Raleigh is sharing some fun, simple Valentine's Day crafts for preschoolers that will help them celebrate the holiday.

Toddler-Friendly Heart Stamps

Perfect for your smallest Valentine, these heart stamps are a breeze to make and are a great way to work on motor skills and hand strength. You can also use this craft to make homemade cards or a handmade picture frame for grandparents and other relatives.

You'll need:

• Empty toilet paper roll or paper towel roll
• Tape
• Red, pink, or white finger paint
• Old clothes
• White paper, construction paper or card stock

Instructions

• If using a paper towel roll, cut it half to make it easier to hold, then flatten the tube so it's creased on both sides.
• Push one of the creased sides inside to make a heart and wrap the tube in tape to help hold its shape in place.
• Pour paint onto a plate and dip one end of the heart tube into paint (or let your toddler start dipping).
• Let your child make heart shapes around the piece of paper.

Word of warning, you may not want to do this near carpet or while your child is wearing nice clothes. Consider letting them hang out in their high chair or sit on the kitchen floor!

Craft idea courtesy of Rust and Sunshine

Puppy Valentine's Cards

If your little one loves dogs and puppies, they'll love making this Valentine. While you may need to help with the scissors, this Valentine's Day craft for preschoolers is fairly mess free and simple, but the outcome is adorable.

You'll need:

• Construction paper in red, pink, white, and black
• Scissors
• Glue or glue sticks
• Black marker
• Red or pink paint (optional)
• Googly eyes (optional)

Instructions:

• Cut 2 large hearts - one from the pink paper and one from the red. Then, cut the pink heart in half to make puppy ears.
• Turn the red heart upside down, and glue the end point of each half of the heart to the point of the heart.
• Cut two small white hearts and a small black heart to make two eyes and a nose. Then cut a pink oval to make the dog's tongue sticking out.
• Glue the tongue, nose, and eyes in place, then add black dots to the eyes. You can also use googly eyes instead of hearts!
• Optional - add polka dots to the ears by letting your child dip their finger in paint and use their finger prints.
• To make it a card, cut out a red heart the same size as the current heart and glue them together from the top point to about 1/3 of the way down.

Idea courtesy of Crafty Morning

Valentine's Heart Leis

What would Valentine's Day crafts for preschoolers be without wearable art? These leis are fun and cheerful, and give you and your child all kinds of great ways to personalize them. Make some of the hearts glittery, glue beads or rhinestones to them, use different patterned paper - so many great ways your child can make this something special.

You'll need:

• Cardstock or construction paper in Valentine's Day colors or prints.
• Yarn
• Plastic straws
• Clear "Scotch" tape
• Scissors
• Hole punch
• Black pen or crayons
• Decorations (optional)

Instructions:

• Cut out 12 hearts from different colors and patterns of paper (save time by folding a piece of paper into half and cut two hearts from the fold), then, using the hole punch, punch holes in the center of each heart.
• Cut plastic or silicone straws into 1-1.5" pieces - these go between the hearts to act as spacers.
• Cut a piece of yarn about two to three feet long. Place a piece of tape around the end of a piece of yarn to make it easier to thread through the holes.
• Decorate the hearts with glitter, beads, shells, or rhinestones if your child wants to.
• Thread the yarn through a heart, then a piece of straw, then heart, then straw alternating until you've attached the hearts and straws, then tie the two ends of yarn together.

Idea courtesy of Makezine

Happy Valentine's Day from Primary Beginnings

From all of us at our Raleigh preschool, we hope you and your family have a lovely, fun-filled Valentine's Day. We enjoy sharing craft ideas that allow kids to be engaged without putting too much strain on parents - we understand you have enough going on!

If you’re interested in enrolling your child in a 5 star child care center in Raleigh, contact us today at our North Hills Drive location at 919-785-0303 or our Spring Forest Location at 919-790-6888 or schedule a tour!