DIY Preschool Valentines

by Amy February 5, 2015 No Comments Crafts & Creative Projects, Holidays, Preschool

Valentine’s Day is on a Wednesday this year so don’t be caught scrambling on Monday or Tuesday scrambling for last minute Valentine’s Day gift ideas for your child’s classmates. Here we share with you Valentine’s Day Crafts and Valentine’s Day Card Ideas that you and your preschooler can make together!

Last year, I shared some ideas for DIY Candy-Free Valentines. We ended up making these toddler valentines for Liam’s classmates and they were a big hit with him and his little friends. I had fun making them too! This year I really want to do something similar for Liam’s preschool classmates. I like the idea of giving a small trinket but try to steer clear of anything with candy or food for sugar overload and allergy purposes. Plus, preschoolers as a group seem to be more enthusiastic about little trinkets than it seems imaginable.

Valentines Crafts That Preschoolers Can Make

Here are few ideas for candy-free DIY preschool Valentines:

Wild About You Animal Trinkets

Exhibit A: Liam was showered with many gifts from Santa this Christmas including everything on his list. When asked what his favorite gift was? The plastic giraffe I believe I picked up in the dollar section at Target on a whim. Trinkets for the win.

Glow Stick Valentine

What kid doesn’t love a glow stick? Plus, these seem so easy to put together – just some card stock and BOOM, assembled. – Kommunicated.com

Novelty Glasses Valentine

I really like these because Liam loves rocking a good pair of shades and they seem like they’d have a gender-neutral appeal. – http://pluckymomo.blogspot.com/

Play-Doh Valentine

Again, easy (free printable!) and gender-neutral appeal. Plus, they look really cute when assembled – http://thenerdswife.com/

“You Knock My Socks Off,” Valentine

These might be a little bit harder to accomplish but I thought it was a cute idea, particularly if you buy fun patterned socks – https://www.madetobeamomma.com

Kinetic Sand Valentine

Liam is obsessed with the kinetic sand he got for Christmas. These mini containers are such a cute and original idea for a child’s Valentine – https://www.smartschoolhouse.com/

“Stuck on You,” Valentine

Stickers were my original idea for a kid-friendly Valentine because Liam loves them, but they don’t feel too junky and wouldn’t be a pain to carry home. Plus, he could pick out a few varieties if he wanted – https://kikicomin.com/

Pipe Cleaner Heart Bracelets

Owen is really good at manipulatives and hand/eye coordination. This would be a fun craft that could also help him with his counting and sorting skills.

14 Valentine Cards Preschoolers Can Make

Making Valentine’s Day cards with my kids is an annual tradition. This year, my daughter is going to an art class where they’ll be making valentines for her to give to her 2nd-grade class. I’m a little sad about this because she’s my crafty child and we always have so much fun with this tradition.

Instead, we’ll collaborate to help my 3-year-old preschooler make his valentines. Since Owen only recently has shown interest in arts and crafts and his attention span is much shorter than Olivia’s was at this age, I’ve been on a search to find simple Valentine card crafts that my easily-distracted preschooler can make. Here are 15 that I’ve found on Pinterest.

Painted Newspaper Hearts

My favorite part of this project is the recycling of newspaper to create new art. And, it’s simple for Owen to go crazy painting on newspaper in his typical “unstructured” way. Then, I can have Olivia help me cut out the hearts and glue them on colored paper.

Heart Suncatchers

Another simple one where Owen can do the main part – sticking on the tissue paper – all at once and then I can finish it off by cutting the heart shapes.

Paint Swatch Bookmarks

We have so many paint swatches leftover from years of painting our house. I love that we could recycle them AND clean out our cabinet where they are currently stored.

Heart Finger Puppets

These are perfect for preschoolers and their vivid imagination for pretend play. I could see us having fun with these for months after Valentine’s Day.

Wax & Watercolor Hearts

I adore the look of these. The original post showed them on a canvas but I could definitely see them on a simple textured postcard. As in the Painted Newspaper Heart one, Owen could have fun “messy” painting the card and I can imagine the look on his face when the hearts appear.

Paper Heart Penguins

These are so darling! My only issue with this one is the time it would take to prepare all the components and Owen could potentially lose interest in this after the first couple.

Coffee Filter Hearts

Creating art by scribbling AND spraying water is pretty much the perfect craft project for Owen.

Felt Robot Valentines

This one is probably a bit too much for Owen to make for each of his preschool classmates but they are too darling not to share. Maybe next year!

Ninja Turtle Valentines

Owen and his preschool friends like to “play” Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This is such a fun idea that I think he’ll love making.

Clothespin Monster Valentine

These are so cute, right?! Like the Heart Finger Puppets, they’d get a lot of play after Valentine’s Day.

Bubble Art Hearts

My favorite part of this project is the mixing of science and art. Owen will love it because it’s messy.

Heart Caterpillars

I like how Owen could work on his letters with this craft while also connecting that we’re making these for each of his preschool friends.

Valentine Heart Balloons

Like the one above, we could customize the balloons with each of his friend’s names.

Sponge Art Heart People

The original project used a potato stamper but I thought it would be easier to use a sponge cut into a heart shape. Owen and I did a similar Valentine Card project when he was in the toddler program but those ones didn’t include the eyes, mouth, and hands which make these even cuter.