Valentine’s Day can be a great occasion for kids to show their creativity and have some good old-fashioned fun. Beyond the traditional homemade Valentine’s cards, kids can use hearts to make crafts and to play simple games. Start by showing kids how to cut out an easy symmetrical heart from construction paper and let the fun begin!
Heart Crafts
Paperclip Jewelery
This craft is very easy for children to do with minimal supervision and would be a great activity to do at a party. Purchase vinyl-coated coloured paperclips from a business supply store, ideally in the colours of red, pink and white. Take one paperclip and spread the rounded ends to form a heart shape, with the tips of the paperclips overlapping slightly. Do the same with as many paperclips as necessary to make a bracelet or necklace. Attach the paperclips together to make a chain as long as the child would like.
Mouse Bookmark
Show the children how to cut two hearts out of grey construction paper, one about the size of their hand and the other the size of their thumb. Cut a length of yarn about 12 inches long and run glue along the middle fold of the two open hearts. With the points facing the same direction, place a heart at either end of the string and fold the heart again, squishing the glue to make a good seal.
Cut one small heart out of pink paper, about the size of a child’s thumb and cut it down the middle. Glue one half of the heart on either side of the mouse’s head to create ears. Draw eyes, nose and whiskers on the mouse and write a message on the body to use as a Valentine card. Other heart shaped characters can also be cut from construction paper and used as bookmarks, puppets and decorations on cards.
Heart Games
Flying Hearts
Cut out three dozen hearts about the size of a child’s hand from pink and red construction paper. For convenience, the game can be played using foam heart shapes purchased at a craft or discount store instead. Place all the hearts into the centre of a light blanket or sheet and ask the group of children to hold onto all sides of the blanket. Gently toss the hearts up and down moving the blanket in a parachute motion. When “Hearts High!” is shouted, the children toss the blanket into the air, making the hearts fly. The child who picks up the most hearts wins the game.
Broken Heart Puzzles
Give the children a variety of sizes of hearts cut out of the same coloured paper. Ask them to cut the hearts in half in straight lines, zig-zags, waves or jagged lines. Put all the heart pieces into a container and shake them up. Have the children fix the hearts by matching the two halves of each heart back together again. For a learning challenge, write numbers on one half of the heart and write the corresponding number word on the other half before cutting. The children then have to match both the cutting pattern and the two forms of numbers.
Heart crafts and games are typically enjoyed around Valentine’s Day but any of these low budget activities can be adapted to suit groups of any size making them fun activities to do at birthday parties and youth group functions.
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