15 Valentine Activities for Toddlers
Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to put a creative, festive spin on some learning activities for your little ones! As a former preschool and kindergarten teacher—and a mom to three kids— I’ve discovered countless ways to make days at home with a toddler meaningful and fun.
In this post, I’m sharing 15 original Valentine’s activities designed specifically for toddlers. From easy sensory play and fine motor activities to simple art projects, STEM explorations, color matching games, and even gross motor activities, these hands-on ideas are sure to engage your child while fostering key developmental skills. Whether you're looking to spark creativity, build coordination, or just enjoy quality time together, these activities are as enjoyable as they are meaningful!
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Let’s dive in!❤️
1. Colored Heart Match
For this activity you’ll need…
- colored construction paper
- scissors for cutting out hearts
- painter’s tape for taping hearts to the wall
Cut out different colored hearts from the construction paper and cut them in half. Tape one half of each heart to the wall, and set the other half somewhere your toddler can reach. You can either have the tape rolled on the backside of the other half of each heart ready to be stuck to the wall, or you can place the rolled painter’s tape on the wall next to each halved heart so that it’s ready for the other half.
To extend the game and add more movement, hide each half of the heart around the room and have your toddler “find the red heart,” or “find the blue heart” to then bring it over and tape to the wall. This activity works on color recognition, color matching, hand-eye coordination, and spatial awareness/placement.
2. Sticky Heart Color Match
For this activity you’ll need…
- foam hearts
- large sheet of easel paper
- markers
- contact paper
- tape (I used scotch tape in the photo but painter’s tape would be best!)
Draw large colored hearts on your piece of paper and tape it to the wall. Peel the backing off the contact paper so that the sticky side is facing out, and tape that to the wall over the piece of paper. Have toddlers stick the foam hearts to the matching-colored hearts on the sticky paper.
Toddlers are working on color recognition, color matching, hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness/spacing.
3. Love Note Color Sort
For this activity you’ll need…
- blank journal
- white envelopes
- double-sided tape
- markers
- construction paper
- scissors
Use double-sided tape to secure two white envelopes into the learning journal. Draw a different colored heart on each envelope and cut the same-colored hearts out of construction paper. Have toddlers work on color recognition and sorting by placing the correct colored heart in each envelope.
Toddlers will be working on color recognition, sorting by color, and fine motor skills.
To learn more about learning journals and how you can start one, check out this post! For access to over 300 (and counting) learning journal ideas, plus access to my growing library of printable activities, check out my Digital Learning Journal Membership:
A "learning journal" is a blank sketchbook that is used to hand draw & personalize learning activities for your child based on different developmental skills. This membership makes your learning journal experience a breeze by providing you with a digital toddler, preschool, kindergarten, & early elementary aged journal activity guide. The 4 guides are organized by developmentally appropriate, seasonal & non-seasonal activities, & are frequently updated with new ideas.
4. Foam Heart Puzzles
For this activity you’ll need…
- foam hearts
- scissors
This could not be more simple - just cut the foam hearts in half with different curved lines, zig zagged lines, slanted lines, and straight lines. Have toddlers put the puzzles back together by finding the matching colors and fitting the lines together.
Toddlers are working on problem-solving skills, spatial awareness, and color matching.
5. Sorting Hearts by Size
For this activity you’ll need…
- large piece of easel paper
- construction paper
- scissors
- painter’s tape
- double-sided tape
Draw three different-sized hearts on the easel paper and stick a long, horizontal line of double-sided tape to the right of each one. Peel a long piece of painter’s tape to place over the double-sided tape (sticky side facing out). You could leave the painter’s tape off and just have the toddlers stick the hearts in the double-sided tape but the painter’s tape makes it easier to see where they go.
Cut a few hearts out of construction paper in three different sizes and have toddlers sort them by size by sticking them in the tape next to the same sized heart.
This activity works on building vocabulary (large, medium, and small), comparing sizes, hand-eye coordination, and spatial awareness/placement.
6. Paper Heart Threading
For this activity you’ll need…
- construction paper
- scissors
- hole punch
- colored plastic straws
- empty tissue box
- double-sided tape
This activity takes just a little bit of prep but is so beneficial for building fine motor skills and working on color matching! I covered the bottom side of an empty tissue box with a piece of colored construction paper (which isn’t totally necessary but I liked the way it looked better), and then poked three holes in the bottom.
I had some colored plastic straws that I stuck in the holes and then cut out a bunch of small hearts from construction paper in the coordinating colors. Using a hole punch, I punched a hole in the center of each paper heart so that my little one could color match and thread each paper heart onto the coordinating colored straw.
7. Heart Box Clothespin Clip
For this activity you’ll need…
- clothes pins
- heart-shaped box
I snagged this heart-shaped box from Target several years ago which was meant for collecting Valentines. You could also use a heart-shaped tray with a thin edge. Show toddlers how to squeeze the open end of a clothespin to get the other end to open and have them practice clipping the clothespins around the edge of the box. Squeezing clothespins does WONDERS for fine motor muscles!
If squeezing the clothespins is too tricky for their small fingers, clip them on the edge ahead of time and let them pull them off! This build fine motor skills too and is just as much fun especially for younger toddlers.
8. Gross Motor Color Matching Stair Walk
For this activity you’ll need…
- foam hearts
- large dot stickers
- a set of stairs
This gross motor activity is for toddlers who are learning to walk up the stairs. This is a way for them to practice using both legs evenly and switching off on every step (as opposed to only using one leg on each step). My daughter was born with low muscle tone and went through some physical therapy at a young age. This was one of the things that her PT was working on with her, so we came up with a fun way to practice that also worked on color matching!
I stuck a purple dot sticker to one foot, and a pink dot sticker to the other, and placed purple and pink hearts alternating on the steps. My hearts were made from paper and then laminated because they came from my stash of teaching supplies from back in the day, but they don’t need to be laminated by any means, and you could also just use foam hearts!
Have toddlers walk up and down the steps using the foot that matches each heart!
9. Valentine Play Doh Tray
For this activity you’ll need…
- tray
- Play Doh
- heart gems
- mini Valentine erasers
- heart-shaped cookie cutters (another option)
- other Play Doh tools
- buttons
- plastic heart-shaped containers (these were either a Dollar Tree find or the Target holiday section several years ago!)
Everyone loves a festive Play Doh tray! When my oldest was a toddler, I used to set fun trays like this up for him all the time and he would play for hours! I’d gather up all sorts of fun little trinkets and just let him create and play (usually he’d pretend to make pancakes or cookies).
You can visit the Dollar Tree for a lot of these types of materials but I linked some other items I could find on Amazon that were similar to what I used! Playing with Play Doh is one of the top 5 best ways you can strengthen your child’s fine motor skills to help get them ready to properly grip a writing utensil and write.
10. Valentine Water Play
For this activity you’ll need…
- large storage tub (Dollar Tree or Target)
- colored pom poms
- heart gems
- silicone cupcake liners (or heart-shaped ones which we also have!)
- valentine ducks
- scoops/spoons
- plastic bowls
- water! :)
Another hit, every single time - water! Water always wins. I used a large, shallow, clear storage tub and filled it about half way (or a little less) with water. If inside, I usually lay a towel underneath the bin and keep a hand towel close by for random, inevitable spills and splashes.
I love to add pom poms to water play for extra color, and here I also added some heart gems, and valentine rubber ducks. Other great sensory play staples include silicone cupcake liners, scoops/spoons, and plastic bowls.
11. Fizzy Hearts
For this activity you’ll need…
- plastic activity tray
- large plastic storage bin to contain mess (Dollar Tree or Target)
- towel to also help contain mess
- small, plastic, heart-shaped containers (Dollar Tree or Target holiday section)
- squeeze bottles
- baking soda
- vinegar
- water to dilute vinegar
- food coloring
This one is guaranteed to “wow” your little ones! Fill some squeeze bottles with half vinegar, half water and put a couple drops of food coloring in some open, plastic heart-shaped containers (check the dollar tree and/or the target holiday section). Sprinkle baking soda over the food coloring in each container, and then let toddlers go nuts squeezing the water/vinegar onto the baking soda to create a colorful, fizzing reaction!
We did this on an activity tray but then also put the tray inside a bin to try and contain as much mess as possible. We also placed a towel underneath the storage bin just in case.
12. Candy Heart Science
For this activity you’ll need…
- drinking glasses
- spoons
- conversation hearts
- warm water
- silicone cupcake liners for color sorting
- activity tray (optional)
This is actually so incredibly simple but is something my kids request ALL the time, and keeps them entertained for way longer than you’d expect. I give them real drinking glasses and measuring spoons (the stirring part is all the rage), silicone cupcake liners, and candy hearts.
The first step is color sorting all the candy hearts into the cupcake liners. Then they get to add all the pinks to one glass, oranges to another, greens to another, etc. They can add them one by one, a few at a time, or dump them all at once, but the idea is that they get to watch the water change colors as they stir up the slowly dissolving hearts.
There’s nothing more to it than that but for some reason stirring the hearts in these glasses and watching the water all change colors is somehow one of the coolest, most interesting and entertaining things for toddlers! Just trust me. ;)
13. Salad Spinner Heart Art
For this activity you’ll need…
- salad spinner
- washable tempera paint
- water for diluting the paint
- white cardstock paper
- scissors
For this activity, you can either cut hearts out of white cardstock paper in advance, or cut the paper into circles and then cut the hearts out after the paint dries. It makes no different which you choose, you’ll just need to cut the paper to a size that fits in the salad spinner.
Then, you’ll squeeze some washable tempera paints into a few different small containers or plastic cups (depending on how many colors you’re using, and dilute it a bit with some water. Place your paper inside the salad spinner and drip some of the diluted paint over it, then let your toddlers spin, spin, spin!
You can remove the paper/heart, place a new one in, and repeat these steps as many times as you want! Let the paint dry and cut the paper into the shape of a heart if you hadn’t already. Sign your toddler’s name on the back with the date and these make great valentines to give to grandparents, family members, and friends!
14. DIY Heart Stamps
For this activity you’ll need…
- Lego duplos
- foam heart stickers
- washable tempera paint
- white cardstock paper
- small paper plates
For this activity, all you need to do is stick some foam stickers to some small lego duplo towers, dip them in washable tempera paint, and stamp them around on a piece of white cardstock to make some lovely valentine art!
15. Do a Dot Heart Art
For this activity you’ll need…
- white cardstock paper
- do a dot markers (this set includes a pink and a lighter purple)
- construction paper
- scissors
- painter’s tape
We paired this activity with Little Blue Truck’s Valentine, but any Valentine’s Day book would do! Cut a large heart out of construction paper and use a small piece of painter’s tape to tape it down to a piece of white cardstock paper. Encourage your toddler to dot around the edges of the heart, and all the white corners with dot markers so that when they’re done, you can peel the heart off to see a beautiful heart-shaped outline!
I hope you found some ideas that you can use from this post! If you want more easy Valentine-themed learning ideas, check out this post with 6 Valentine learning journal activity ideas!
Be sure to pin this post so you can come back to it when you need inspiration, share it with your toddler mom friends, TAG ME on social media if you use and share any of these ideas, and follow along on Instagram to see my content in action!
