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Valentine’s Day Heart Wreath

Sensory Play
Grades 1-3

Here's a Valentine's Craft for preschool children using a paper plate and finger paints.

Materials

Pastel Fuzzy Sticks
Finger Paint 24 Pack
Large Paper Plate
Glue Stick
Scissors
Construction paper - red, pink, purple, white
Pencil

Instructions

A Valentine’s heart wreath is a lovely decoration and a great project for young children who can practice drawing simple shapes and then cutting them out.

Step 1. Gather your supplies.

Step 2.

Have your child fold a 6 x 4 ½ inch piece of colored construction paper in half, long ways as shown.

Step 3.

Next have your child draw half of a heart along the folded edge. Tip – you can help draw the half of heart by making a slightly smaller heart which your child can trace.

Step 4.

Have the child practice using scissors to cut along the line drawn for the half a heart shape.

Step 5.

Repeat Steps 3 and 4 with different colored pieces of construction paper. Make 8 large hearts total.

Step 6.

Have the child decorate the hearts with Finger Paints.

Step 7.

While the paint is drying, the adult should cut out the center of a paper plate to create a wreath shape. Tip: It might be easier to lightly fold the plate in half in order to cut the center out.

Step 8.

Using a glue stick, have the child glue the hearts around the plate to create the wreath. It is ok if the hearts overlap.

Step 9.

Kids love glitter! If desired, use Glitter Glue to add a sparkle to the heart designs. Tip: glitter glue is a clean alternative to jarred glitter for younger children.

Step 10.

Wrap a Fuzzy Stick around the top of the plate to create a hanger in order to display their handmade Valentine’s Day Heart Wreath!

Teacher's Corner

Get your hands on the color wheel while creating a craft project you’ll love!

Lesson Objectives

Color My World: Explore secondary colors by pouring red paint in one bowl and white in another. With a spoon, help your students scoop the red into the white and stir to create pink. Try this technique with blue and red paint and make purple, too!
Hold My Hand: Younger students may freestyle while finger painting their hearts, but try pressing their flat hand into a plate of paint. Ask your student how it feels: Does it tickle? Is it cold? Then, guide their hand over to a paper heart and press it firmly to leave a handprint!

Follow-up Discussion

Some students may not like the texture of the paint on their hands — and that’s okay! Help them identify what they do like creating with — try substituting fingers for paintbrushes or sponges. Creating strokes with different materials will still help them practice their fine motor skills!