Valentine’s Day is a great time to break up the winter blues and focus on spreading love and kindness. Children love Valentine’s Day activities and crafts. While traditional card-making can be fun for kids of all ages, incorporate these fun Valentine’s activities for toddlers and preschoolers into your daycare Valentine’s Day celebrations!

Valentine’s Day Activities and Crafts for Daycare

Valentine’s Play Dough Fun for All Ages

Play dough is always a hit! Easily make a large batch of valentine’s themed-play dough that will not only bring endless amounts of fun but can also be a wonderful invitation to create. Whether you set up a simple play dough and heart cookie cutter station, or get a bit more involved with loose parts, there’s no doubt little ones will be occupied with this Valentine’s day activity.

To make this activity even more fun and keep the creative flowing, print out and laminate some fun valentine’s play dough mats like these great ones from Picklebums. Children can create and decorate their own chocolates, hearts and more. Adding loose parts allows for some wonderful open-ended play.

Valentine’s Day Learning Activities for Kids

Easily incorporate learning into Valentine’s themed activities.

Add some science experiment fun with a valentine’s baking soda and vinegar experiment. How much fun will kids have with this fizzy fun science activity? Bonus: Ingredients are minimal, making this a very low-cost valentine’s day activity for child care centres.

There is also no shortage of Valentine’s day math activities for preschoolers to keep their little minds engaged. These Montessori-inspired math trays are simple and fun for daycare children learning how to count. Add some fun candy conversation hearts to make the counting even more exciting (and yummy!)

Simple card-making for family and friends is an excellent opportunity to practice writing and spelling, or even just to spark creativity for younger kids. Before you get to the card-making, provide preschoolers with the opportunity to practice spelling their name with this fun puzzle craft from How Wee Learn. 

Valentine’s Day Cards and Activities for Daycare

Sometimes the simplest crafts are the most well-loved ones. Using recycled materials and loose parts, kids can have fun making valentine’s day cards for family and loved ones. Think abut making some DIY stamps and paint like these cute kids Valentine’s Day cards. If your preschoolers are looking for more fun Valentine’s Day crafts to keep them entertained, Messy Little Monster has an excellent list of preschool craft ideas.

Valentine’s Themed Party

Don’t forget about celebrating Valentine’s Day together at your child care center! This can be as simple as a pink and red or heart-themed snack or lunch, some simple decorations, and a little dance party. Follow our Valentine’s Day board on Pinterest for more inspiration!

Whether it’s a simple card-making station, a learning activity, or many days of Valentine’s Day themed crafts and activities at your childcare center, don’t forget to take some pictures of the magic. You can easily add these to the parent app in ChildFriendly and share the fun with parents and caregivers.

Ready to give ChildFriendly a try? Sign up for a free account today and let us help walk you through the process of streamlining your center.