12 Valentines Day Activities for Kids (2024)

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Valentine’s Day is when we celebrate our loved ones – but when you have a child, it can turn into a sugar-fueled frenzy! This year, I am encouraging my clients to focus on slowing down and enjoying the process of creating and sharing love-filled experiences instead. These valentines day activities will help your kids of all ages create memories around the fun of Valentine’s Day. Specifically, this article will explore creative crafts, sensory-filled ways to play, and literacy-boosting games that you and your kids can try at home or in the classroom to infuse some heartfelt fun during those February days (and beyond).

Valentine’s Day Crafts

Kids adore making crafts, and these simple Valentine’s Day activities will keep them busy!

Valentine Penguin Craft

Kids love penguins! This simple craft combines the fun of painting black circles for a penguin’s body with cutting and constructing a heart for the penguin to hold. For a creative twist, leave the heart blank and have your kids write sweet notes to their loved ones.

Heart Suncatcher

Sometimes, simple crafts have the most impact. All you need for this classic project is clear contact paper, red tissue paper, and construction paper. I like to prep the heart shapes ahead of time and let little hands scrunch up the tissue paper to stick on the contact paper. These look so beautiful when the sun shines through them!

Read more: Printable Crafts for Kids | Free Download

Fingerprint Heart Art

Even young toddlers can make this heartfelt masterpiece. Use a large piece of white paper and encourage your kids to dip their fingers in red, pink, and purple paint to create a fingerprint heart. This is a fantastic keepsake, significantly if you date it!

Sensory Activities

Sensory play offers rich and meaningful experiences, especially for kids with special needs. These activities also tend to be very calming for neurodivergent kids.

Valentine Sensory Bin

Creating a sensory experience is a simple way to explore Valentine’s Day’s sights, sounds, and textures. Start with a base like red beans, water beads, or pink rice. Then, add fun Valentine ‘s-themed items like small heart erasers, red pom-poms, plastic heart rings, and heart-shaped cookie cutters.

Goally | The Safest Tablet for Kids

Valentine Slime

Who doesn’t love the gooey texture of homemade slime? Valentine’s Day slime is enjoyable because you can add all things pink, red, glittery, and heart-shaped. Combine your slime with a bag of cinnamon Red Hot candies for an added sensory element!

Literacy-Boosting Games

Turn Valentine’s Day into a fun way to practice valuable literacy skills! These games are easy to set up and perfect for homeschooling, in the classroom, or as a fun way to pass the time.

Read more: What are Neurodivergent Love Languages?

Valentine Bingo

This classic game is easily transformed into a Valentine’s Day theme. Create bingo cards with hearts, cupids, arrows, and chocolates. Bingo games are a brilliant way to improve listening skills, visual recognition, and attention span.

Valentine Alphabet Game

Get your kids moving with this fun and active game! Print out large heart shapes, then write one letter of the alphabet in the middle of each heart. Spread the hearts across the floor and call out a letter. Your kids will love racing to find and stomp on the corresponding heart!

Heart Matching Game

Counting activities are an essential learning tool, and this heart-matching game playfully incorporates counting skills. Cut several hearts out of construction paper and write numbers on half of them. On the remaining halves, draw dots corresponding to the numbers. Let your kids match up the numbered hearts with the dotted hearts.

Goally | Apps To Support Child Development

Looking for fun ways to help your child learn life skills? Try Goally! The Goally tablet comes with award-winning learning apps and video classes to help kids develop the skills they need to become independent with FUN & evidence-based practices.

Our apps teach executive function, language, emotional regulation, finger dexterity skills, and more.

As your child develops new skills, you can increase the difficulty level of the tasks in the app to challenge and motivate them even further. This helps your child grow and progress at their own pace, while also keeping them engaged and excited about their development.

Explore Goally Apps 👉

See Also

20+ Free Printable Valentine’s Cards for Your Sweethearts This Valentine’s DayEat your heart out: 31 food deals for Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be solely about candy and commercialism. Try using these fun and creative ideas this year to celebrate love and learning with your kids. Your hearts – and memories – will thank you!

• Understood: How to Adapt Activities to Your Child’s Individual Needs
• The Inspired Treehouse: Sensory Activities for Kids
• Days with Grey: Creative Valentine’s Day Activities for Kids

FAQ’s About Valentine’s Day Activities

What are some easy Valentine's Day crafts for kids?Salt dough ornaments, heart-shaped bird feeders, and simple heart suncatchers are all fun, easy crafts for Valentine's Day.How can I make Valentine's Day special for a child with special needs?Focus on sensory activities like a Valentine's sensory bin or heart-themed slime, and choose games that match their developmental level.Are there any Valentine's Day activities that help with reading skills?Valentine's Day Bingo and themed alphabet games are a fun way to practice letter recognition and early literacy skills.What are some non-candy Valentine's Day ideas?Kids will enjoy creating crafts, playing themed games, or participating in a Valentine's Day scavenger hunt.How can I make Valentine's Day fun for both younger and older kids?Offer a variety of activities with different complexity levels, and let older kids help guide younger ones.