If you are in need of inspiration for Montessori Valentine’s Day Activities for home here is a list of nine EASY activities you can prep in 5 min or less.
These Montessori Valentine’s Activities for toddlers are my go-to’s as often I will have the materials in my cupboard.
If you happen to not have an item, it is easy to grab the 1 or 2 needed materials during you normal grocery run.
1 | Heart Stickers for Fine Motor Skills
Get plain heart-shaped stickers while at the store doing normal shopping (they should be everywhere at this time of year).
Use them for a variety of fine motor activity activities. Some include:
- Practicing taking stickers off
- Have them place on pre-dotted paper
- Get 2 size stickers, place smaller ones on top of the bigger ones
- Have numbered columns, place right amount under number
2 | Heart Stickers for Counting
Another fun thing you can do with heart stickers if you’re toddler has interest in numbers is to use them for counting.
There are various ways you can incorporate counting these stickers, whether that be place them on fingers or putting them on paper next to correct number.
Get creative and play around with different ways to incorporate numbers into your Valentine’s activities if it suits your child’s interests!
3 | Red Play Dough for Montessori Valentine’s Day
Good old play dough! Fantastic for strengthening toddler hands and fine motor skills.
You might already have some at home, bring out red, pink, and white for Valentines day themed play.
Many great activities can be can be done with just play dough on it’s own:
- Cutting as practical life skill practice
- Color discovery, red + white = pink
- Cookie cutter heart for shape learning
- Placing cut out hearts on outlined paper
Get creative with what you have and make different learning opportunities out of the 1 material (play dough).
4 | Montessori Valentine’s Toddler Flower Bouquet
A classic Montessori practical life activity with a Valentine’s theme to it.
Go hunting for extra special flowers for a Valentine’s Day bouquet for your child’s vase.
You could try and make it a scavenger hunt for only red & white flowers, or something similar to really make it feel more special for Valentine’s day.
5 | Paint Dabber in Heart Shape
Have any old bingo dabbers around?
This is an easy hand-eye coordination activity with just a red dabber and a paper heart. You can have circles through the whole heart, or just have them fill in the heart if they are a bit young for such precision.
Easy activity with minimal prep and dabbers can be used for a variety of other activities at different times (like prepping dots for where to place heart stickers).
6 | Montessori Play Dough Squish Heart
Another example of getting creative with play dough, just with a bit more prep.
Prep little small balls of play dough and put them in a bowl for your child to use for this activity.
Then, with either a pen or a printable have paper ready with outlined circles in the shape of a heart.
Have your toddler pick one small ball of play dough at a time, place on outlined circle, SQUISH! This will be their favorite part.
Motor skills and coordination are used for the placement, and the SQUISH is the fun part!
7 | Cotton Pad Red Heart Paint
If you are trying to do something and only use what you have at home in you cupboards, this might be for you.
Cotton pads that you might have in your bathroom cupboard and red food coloring with water for the “paint”.
Let them use paint brush to pick up liquid and place onto cotton pad and watch the liquid spread.
A bit of a science/art experiment for Valentine’s day fun.
8 | Bake Heart Cookies Together
If you are in the mood to bake and do some practical life skills time in the kitchen, then bake some heart shaped cookies!
You can make your own dough (check out this visual Montessori cookie recipe) or get cookie dough from the store and use some heart shaped cookie cutters to create some tasty Valentine’s day treats for the family.
If you feel really creative, you can decorate them after they have been baked! A good fine motor activity when picking up small sprinkles.
Make them as simple or creative as suits you and your family, I know some seasons in life simple is more achievable and can still be just as fun!
9 | Montessori Valentine’s Number Match Activity
This is a more advanced activity for maybe and older sibling, or if your older toddler is very interested in numbers.
Prep by cutting out 10 heart from red or pink construction paper.
There is 3 ways you can do this activity from here.
1 | Write each number on one half, and then put the corresponding number of dots on the opposite half. Cut the heart in half. Have the child match the correct halves together. For children just grasping this, potentially only start with 1 – 5.
2 | Write each number in the middle, then put the corresponding number of dots around the edge. Have clothes pins available (only just enough to fulfill all dots and no extras, 55). Have the child place pins on each dot and count aloud.
3 | Write each number in the middle. Leave rest blank. Have clothes pins available (only just enough to fulfill numbers and no extras, 55). Have the child place correct number of pins on each numbered heart.
FAMILY TIP: If you want to use this activity more than once, it can be a good idea to laminate the hearts. If you don’t have laminater and still want to try and have it last, my cheap way of “laminating” is using clear packing tape and wrapping it all the way around.
Materials for Montessori Valentine’s Activities
Here’s quick list supplies that go with each activity if you need some help sourcing those items. Many you can find at home, but if you need fast for missing items here’s some help.
These are affiliate links which help fund the website, feel free to use them if you wish or source items elsewhere <3
Materials List
- Heart Stickers for Fine Motor Skills
- Heart stickers (amzn)
- Smaller Stickers (amzn)
- Heart Stickers for Counting
- Heart stickers (amzn)
- Heart stickers (amzn)
- Red Play Dough Cutting Activity
- Red Playdough (amzn)
- Red Playdough (amzn)
- Toddler Flower Bouquet
- Look around outside
- Small toddler vase (amzn)
- Paint Dabber Heart
- Red dabber (amzn)
- Heart Shape
- Play Dough Squish Heart
- Play dough (amzn)
- Heart shape
- Cotton Pad Painting
- Cotton pads
- Red food colouring
- Paintbrush
- Bake Heart Cookies/Ornaments
- Heart shaped cookie cutter
- Cookie Dough
- Heart Number Match Activity
Creating a Valentine’s Montessori Shelf
Above are the types of activities you can use for a Montessori shelf, but don’t forget to make your shelf well rounded. Other things to consider for creating a Valentine’s Day Montessori shelf include:
Montessori Valentines Books
Books that talk about love are great to consider for Valentine’s day. Check your local library, thrift shop, or purchase for your own bookshelf. Some books you can try and find include:
- In My Heart: A Book of Feelings by Jo Witek
- Love Is by Diane Adams
- A Hug Is for Holding Me by Lisa Wheeler
Color Shades
Have different red items from around the house in a discovery basket.
Sorting Colors
Have pink, red, and white pom poms. Use tongs to grasp and transfer to cupcake holders.
Montessori Valentines Day Shelf Fun!
Get creative, observe what interests you’re child most and leave that activity out, or keep it in mind for other materials you might pull out that fulfill that interest.
Holidays are a great time to introduce some new activities and see if anything new sparks their interest.
If nothing keeps their interest long that’s okay!
It was still a beautiful memory making family moment.
Your home is not a replica Montessori classroom, you can have some creative fun just for the sake of some family time and creating memories.
Enjoy your Valentine’s Day my friends, and make some thriving family time memories!
