Loose Part Art with Hearts: 3 Creative Valentine's Day Activities for Kids

Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to celebrate creativity, problem-solving, and kindness! Instead of traditional crafts, why not encourage kids to explore loose parts play with heart-themed activities? These three ideas will get kids thinking, collaborating, and using everyday materials in new ways—all while embracing the spirit of Valentine’s Day.

1. Colour Your Heart Game

This fun, interactive game encourages kids to search for and categorize loose parts by color while working to fill in a heart outline.

Materials:

• A heart outline (drawn on paper, cardboard, or a tray)

• Access to loose parts (buttons, beads, fabric scraps, bottle caps, LEGO pieces, etc.)

• A die with different colors on each side

  
  

How to Play (1-6 players):

1. Each player gets a heart outline and chooses a colour to collect (each colour can be selected only once)

2. Players take turns rolling the die.

3. Whoever is collecting the colour rolled, gets to go find a loose part for their heart

4. The game ends when someone completely fills their heart with their colour.

Variations: Instead of rolling a die, kids can simply choose a color and work together to fill their heart with loose parts of that shade. Or, add math with a set number of objects to collect (i.e. first to 10 or first to 100).

2. Kindness Hearts

This collaborative activity encourages children to recognize acts of kindness at home or in the classroom and visually represent them in a community growing heart display.

Materials:

• A large heart outline drawn on poster board and placed somewhere where it can stay for a while.

• Loose parts (stones, buttons, pom-poms, beads, shells, etc.)

  
  

What to do:

1. Whenever a child or their grown-ups witness an act of kindness, they add a loose part of their choice to the heart.

2. Continue adding pieces throughout the month of February to watch the heart grow.

3. At the end of the month, reflect on the heart as a family or class and celebrate all the kindness shown!

   
   

3. Hearts Are the Parts

This open-ended challenge invites kids to create with only heart-shaped objects and explore different ways to arrange them into loose part art.

Materials:

• Heart-shaped loose parts (cookie cutters, beads, foam cutouts, paper hearts, small toys, rocks, etc.)

• A blank surface to create on

  
  

What to do:

1. Provide an assortment of heart-shaped objects sorted in trays or containers.

2. invite children to use them to create their own loose part art masterpiece.

3. Let their imaginations lead the way!

   
   

Enjoy FREE Printable Valentine's Cards

Spread some kindness with these printable Valentine's cards featuring Amelia from Amelia's Loose Part Art. They are sure to put a smile on someone's face and spark creativity in their heart.

Download your FREE printable Valentine cards here