We have rounded up some of our favorite literacy and fine motor activities all with a Valentine's Day twist. They are so much fun, your child won't even know they are learning new skills at the same time. Click on the title of any of the activities to be linked to the full description on Instagram.
Sprinkle Writing Tray
Valentines sprinkles, a paintbrush, and a tray are all you need for this adorable writing activity. Practice writing letters, numbers, shapes, etc. in this fun and low-stress way to work on fine motor skills and pre-writing skills.
ABC Heart
For this activity you will need clothespins with each letter of the alphabet. These are easy to make at home with a permanent marker. Sometimes you will be able to find these in the dollar section at Target but that is usually during back to school time. Cut a heart out of thick construction paper then write the alphabet all around the edge of the heart. Give your child the clothespin and have then clip the clothespin to the matching letter on the heart. This is a great fine motor AND literacy activity all in one.
Alphabet Rocks
Gather up small rocks from around your yard and paint them white using acrylic paint. Once they are dry, paint a heart on each one. Once they are dry again, use a permanent marker to write a letter on each one. A fun game to play with these is scatter them all around your backyard or hide them in the house. On a piece of cardboard, write each letter. Challenge your kids to find the rocks and match the letter to the one on the cardboard.
Count and Thread Hearts by engaging_littles
@engaging_littles shared this great fine motor activity. It is math based but it's excellent for helping strengthen little fingers! Write numbers on felt heart stickers. Peel them off and stick each one on top of the end of a pipe cleaner and press it down on a piece of paper. Then, give your child a bowl of pony beads and have them string beads onto the pipe cleaner only stringing on the number shown on the sticker. For example, the pipe cleaner with the 5 sticker will get 5 beads.
Heart Letter Tree
Get some heart shaped stickers and label them with each letter of the alphabet. A nice option is linked here. Draw a large tree on a blank piece of paper. All around the tree and branches, randomly write the letters of the alphabet. Give your child the heart stickers and have them peel them off and place them on top of the matching letter.
Dot the Letter
If your little one is working on letter recognition this is for you! Draw a heart and fill it with random letters, making sure you have multipole of the letter your child is working to identify. Give your child a dot maker and have them dot the letter they are working on. In this example we are dotting "H is for Heart" but you can choose any letter you want.
Writing Tray by another_day_in_prek
This is another cute variation of a writing tray shared on Instagram by @another_day_in_prek. Fill a tray with Valentine sprinkles and small plastic letters. Have you child reach in and pull out a letter. Whatever they pull out they will write on their mini chalkboard. The chalkboard adds a fun element of engagement for kids.
We hope these learning activities bring some fun and intentional playtime into your home. Happy Valentine's Day!
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