(Pictured Sculpture: AMOR by Robert Indiana at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden.)

We’re back with a new Top 5 all about Valentine’s Day!  Of course it’s a fun day filled with  hearts, the color pink, and candy, but there’s lots of learning that can happen as well.  We’ve rounded up some fantastic ideas on how to celebrate Valentine’s Day with young children in ways that incorporate museums, science, art, movement, and more!

1. Touch and Feel Hearts.  These Touch and Feel Hearts from Simple Play Ideas are easy to make and there are so many different materials you can use to make a variety of textured hearts.  Infants through preschool aged children will enjoy exploring the soft, smooth, grainy, bumpy, sticky, and rough textures. We also love how they’ve paired these hearts with a book as well to incorporate literacy.

2. Painting with Frozen Watercolor Hearts. This idea from Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds looks like a ton of fun!  These frozen heart watercolors are simple to make (you just need watercolors, Popsicle sticks, heart cookie cutters, and a freezer), and combine science and art for a unique painting experience.

3. Explore Valentine’s Day Themes in the Classroom and/or the Museums. Check out our 7 Valentine’s Day Ideas for Your Classroom blog for inspiration in ways to explore Valentine’s Day themes such as baking, the color red, communication, flowers, and hearts in the classroom, and the museums. 

4. Valentine’s Hearts Gross Motor.  How do you make Valentine’s Day fun active?  Try out this gross motor game from And Next Comes L.  She provides lots of variations to this game to keep it exciting for young children time after time.

5. Valentine’s Day Oil and Water Science.  This activity from Little Bins for Little Hands offers great opportunities to make observations, predictions, and explore, not to mention it’s aesthetically pleasing.

For more Valentine’s Day ideas, visit our Pinterest board here.  You’ll find more ideas from SEEC, around the web, and additional objects within the Smithsonian museums that are perfect for visiting in relation to Valentine’s Day.  Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!