Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching, bringing us the opportunity to celebrate love and family. Make this a memorable holiday for your children by taking the time to do some simple Valentine’s Day crafts with them. The finished works of art can be gifts for teachers or grandparents or even just decor for your home.
Cardboard Tube Heart Stamps
For this stamping activity, you will need paint in your chosen colors (red and pink are especially festive), blank paper, and the cardboard tube from inside a roll of paper towels. Simply bend the cardboard tube inward to create a heart shape. Then dip the tube into the paint and use it as a stamp on your blank paper. You can use as many colors as you’d like. You can also paint or color in the hearts after they dry. This craft is a great addition to any homemade valentines.
Pencil Flowers
If you are looking for a useful and pretty gift for someone this Valentine’s Day, why not give them a bouquet of pencil flowers? To make this gift, you will need several new pencils (one for every flower you want to make), construction paper, scissors, clear tape, and something to write with. Have your child draw a variety of flowers on the construction paper and cut them out. Then tape the flowers to the top of the pencils, one on each. Green paper can be used to make leaves/gift tags, making space for the name of the recipient or a message. Give a whole bouquet or just a single flower as a sweet and memorable gift.
Footprint Love Bug
For this Valentine’s Day themed keepsake, you will need red and black washable paint, a foam paintbrush, white paper, and other craft supplies for decorating (googly eyes, stamps, markers, pom poms). Before you begin, have your child sit in a low chair and put the white paper on the floor in front of them. Your first step is to paint the bottom of your child’s foot red. Then firmly and carefully place your child’s foot on the paper. Be sure to do this without moving the foot or the paint will smudge. Remove the child’s foot by pulling it directly upwards, then leave the red footprint to dry while you wash off the red paint. Next, you will paint the tip of your child’s index finger black. Encourage her to then give her “love bug” black spots as you paint its head (the child’s heel print) black. Give the paint some time to dry and then finish your Valentine’s Day crafts by adding eyes, legs, antennae, and more.
Fruit and Veggie Stamps Flower Painting
This craft is a great way to use vegetable scraps. You will need washable paint in many colors, white paper, a green marker, and fruits and vegetables cut crosswise. Some suggestions for fruits and vegetables include celery with all the stalks cut off, a bell pepper top, and half an apple. First, use your green marker to draw stems and leaves on your paper. Then dip your fruits and veggies into paint and stamp a “flower” on each stem. Once your paper has dried, you have a lovely, frugal, and unique valentine to give.
Heart Paper Chain
Paper chains are a fun and simple way to decorate. They are also an exciting way for children to visually count down the days until an event. To make a heart paper chain, you will need paper in all the colors you want in your chain, scissors, and a stapler or tape. Simply cut the paper into strips of the same length and then fold each on in the middle. Once the strips have been folded (a great job for little hands), bend the two ends of the paper to make it look like a heart. Then either tape or staple the end into place. Before you staple the next heart, thread it through the first, making each heart a new link in the chain. You can make one link for each day until Valentine’s Day, and allow your child to take off a link each night before bed if you want to use the chain as a countdown.
Valentine’s Day is a sweet holiday for little ones as they learn about friendship and giving and receiving love. These simple Valentine’s Day crafts will help you enjoy that sweetness with your child. Are you looking for childcare where every child is cherished and celebrated? If so, consider Legacy Academy Woodruff Road. Call or visit to learn more.
