# Valentine Learning Activities with Heart Stickers
> One bag of foam heart stickers becomes a week of Valentine's learning for toddlers and preschoolers: sorting, counting, matching, patterns, CVC words and addition. It also gives you a few simple crafts. Two more heart-sticker ideas from another blog close out the list.
- URL: https://www.funlittles.com/valentine-activities-with-hearts-stickers/
- Ages: 2–5 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: low
- Time: prep none, activity varies
- Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class
- Skills: sorting, counting, one-to-one-correspondence, patterning, phonics, addition, fine-motor, creativity
- Cautions: ingestion-risk

## Materials (one batch)
- 1 piece Foam heart stickers (mixed sizes, colors, patterns and glitter)
- White paper (household)
- Markers (household)
- 1 piece Craft sticks (optional)

## Safety
- Small foam stickers are a choking hazard. Supervise toddlers closely and keep loose stickers and backing paper out of mouths.
- Glitter stickers can shed glitter. Wash hands after play and keep hands away from eyes.

## Before you start
- For CVC words: write vowels on the white hearts and consonants on the red hearts.
- For matching: write a few numbers on paper with a different heart sticker beside each one.
- For addition: draw heart outlines with plus and equals signs, and write numbers in the first two hearts.

## Ideas
- **Sort the hearts**: Sort the stickers by color, size or pattern. For preschoolers, add a timer and make it a mini game.
- **Count glitter hearts**: Line up the shiny glitter hearts in rows and count them together. Touching the glitter makes it a sensory experience too.
- **Match and count**: Write a few numbers, each with a different heart sticker. Kids match the heart and collect that many hearts for the number.
- **Heart patterns**: Start rows of glitter-heart patterns and let preschoolers figure out which heart comes next. Adjust the difficulty to age and interest.
- **Vowels and consonants**: Write vowels on white hearts and consonants on red hearts, then sort them into two groups.
- **Build CVC words**: Take turns thinking up 3-letter words and build them with a red consonant, a white vowel in the middle and a red consonant.
- **Heart addition**: Use the hearts as a visual aid. Place hearts in drawn heart outlines to add two numbers and find the total.
- **Decorate paper frames**: Stick hearts around a paper frame to show off the kids' latest artwork.
- **Glitter heart wand**: Stick shiny glitter hearts up a craft stick to make a heart wand. It's great fine motor practice.
- **Create with hearts**: Combine hearts into flowers, butterflies, birds or faces. Make whatever catches the kids' fancy.
- **Heart tree with stickers**: A paper hand-and-arm tree trunk topped with a canopy of heart sticker leaves.
- **Sticker resist art**: Hearts are left white against red paint for a framed sticker resist painting.

## Tips
- Every time a new holiday rolls around, modify your usual learning activities to match the theme. It gets the kids excited about the holiday and spruces up the usual routine.
- With a toddler, simply sort by colors, sizes or patterns. With a preschooler, add a time factor and make it a mini game.
- Something about the glitter made counting more fun. It's a sensory experience too, because they touch and feel the stickers while counting.
- Based on the interest and age of the child, you can very easily modify the patterning activity.
- In a 3-letter (CVC) word the middle letter is a vowel, so give the vowels a different colored heart. Take turns coming up with words to build.
- Sticking hearts on a craft stick is great for developing fine motor skills.

## The original post by TurkeyMom (2013)

We are shifting gears today and moving towards some intentional learning Valentine activities. Every time a new holiday season rolls around we like to take advantage of the theme and modify our usual learning activities to go inline with the new season. It gives the kids excitement about the upcoming new holiday and spruces up the usual learning routine. Today we share many Valentine activities using just hearts stickers. I purchased a small box of foam hearts stickers available at many stores now. They come in a clear bag and there are so many different sizes, colors and patterns inside. With so many variations come the numerous learning opportunities for the kids. Here is a run down of Valentine activities you can do with the kids using just stickers.

### Sort

This is a fantastic exercise I did with my toddler. We would simply sort by colors, sizes or patterns. With a preschooler I added the time factor and made into a mini game.



### Counting

This was a toddler activity as well. My toddler and I simply starting lining up the shiny hearts and counted. Something about the glitter made the counting process more fun. It was a sensory experience as well since she touched, felt the stickers while counting.



### Matching and 1-to-1 correspondence

This was again for my toddler. I wrote down a few numbers with a different heart sticker for each number. My toddler was invited to match the heart shape and collect hearts corresponding to the number.



### Patterns

This patterning activity was for my preschooler. She loves any kind of patterning exercises and throw in some glitter hearts she is all game for this. Based on the interest and age the child you can very easily modify this activity.



### CVC words

This is by far my favorite. I wrote down vowels on the white hearts and some consonants on the red ones. I pointed out that in a 3 letter word (cvc) the letter that comes in the middle is a vowel and hence we have a different colored heart for that. We took turns coming up with words and my preschooler built those cvc words with the hearts. We will definitely be visiting this activity quite often.



###



### Addition

We have to do an addition activity with such cute manipulatives. With these hearts as a visual aid, addition comes naturally.

 With the foam hearts stickers we also did a couple of crafty Valentine activities.

### Decorate paper frames

Very simply, we used the heart stickers to decorate a paper frame for the art the kids make almost on a minute by minute basis.



### Glitter hearts wand

We stuck the shiny glitter hearts on a craft stick to made a heart wand ( that's what she calls it) This activity was great for developing fine motor skills.



### Create with hearts

[**Have you seen our hearts butterflies?**](https://www.funlittles.com/valentines-day-crafts-hearts-butterflies/) This one is a teeny tiny version. Create anything that catches the kids' fancy. We love nature so you will see more of that in our creations.  Yesterday she made a bird with 2 strategically placed folded hearts.

 My favorites from around the web

### Hearts Trees with stickers

**Click on the image to take you to the original post**



### Fantastic sticker resist art

**Click on the image to take you to the original post**



Other [**Valentine's day crafts**](https://www.funlittles.com/category/holidays/valentines-day-holidays/) we have done.

- **[Rose Scented Play dough](https://www.funlittles.com/valentines-day-activities-rose-scented-playdough/)**
- [**Rose Scented Valentine's day cloud dough recipe**](https://www.funlittles.com/valentines-day-activities-sweet-smelling-cloud-dough/)
- [**Valentine's day hand print cards**](https://www.funlittles.com/thanksgiving-art/)
- [**Valentine's day straw blown cards**](https://www.funlittles.com/valentines-day-cards/)
- [**Valentine's Heart Butterflies**](https://www.funlittles.com/valentines-day-crafts-hearts-butterflies/)

Thanks for reading