Valentine’s Day arts and crafts are much more than simple holiday projects for the kids. Okay, not all are much more. But, we’re all about going that extra step and turning play into fab fun that also includes learning!
Recycle and reuse is the name of the game when it comes to this holiday art activity. Your child can make a textured Valentine’s heart by reusing old felt and fabric scraps.
What will your child learn?
Yes, this is a holiday art exploration. But, it’s also a learning activity. Your toddler or preschooler will:
- Develop fine motor skills.
- Learn about recycling and reusing to care for the earth.
- Explore textures through the sense of touch.
- Recognize and identify colors and shapes.
- Learn about patterns.
Materials for the Valentine’s Day heart art activity:
- Cardboard (reuse part of an old box)
- A marker
- Tempera paint
- Scissors
- Felt and fabric scraps
- Clear-drying school glue
Creating a textured fabric heart craft:
- Draw a heart on the cardboard with a marker. If your child is struggling to draw the shape free-hand you can use a stencil. Create your own by drawing a heart onto another piece of board and cutting it out. Or you can lightly draw the heart in pencil and have her trace over it.
- Cut the heart out. You may need to help your child with this step – especially if the board is thick.
- Pour the paint into small pools on a palette. Use a piece of the cardboard for an easy palette alternative. Your child can finger paint the heart, creating patterns and mixing colors.
- Cut the felt and fabric into small-sized pieces. Your child can cut the material into shapes or strips.
- Collage the fabric onto the cardboard heart, gluing it down. Your child can create patterns or an abstract piece of art gluing the fabric on randomly.
Other options and project adaptations:
Instead of cutting the fabric into strips, have your child cut it into ribbon-like strips. Position a line of the strips vertically, starting from the top of the heart. Your child can use more strips to weave over and under the vertical ones. Doing this lets your child weave a fabric pattern onto the heart. When your child’s done, pull the weaving tight and wrap it around the heart. Tape the longer edges onto the back. 
If you’re looking for a Valentine’s Day arts and crafts activity that doubles as a card, have your child glue the entire heart onto a piece of poster board.
Is your toddler or preschooler ready for some more playful Valentine’s Day fun? Check out these awesomely imaginative activities!
I really love and appreciate you taking the time to keep us as educated, motivated and on track with the little ones. I love that the suggested activities are so easy to prepare and that you focus on recycling. Thank you so much.