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Valentine's Day Game Ideas


  

Attractive Valentines

Make good use of old valentines or those you find on sale after the holiday.
  Attach the valentines to self adhesive magnetic sheets; then cut them apart.
  Use the magnetic valentines on your chalkboard or at a center on a metal cookie sheet.
  Have youngsters use the valentines for matching, counting, sorting, or memory games.

 

Valentine I Spy

Encourage the children to play "I spy" looking for items that are red or pink.

    

Sweet Tic-Tac-Toe

Add a new twist to the traditional game of tic-tac-toe with conversation heart candies.
  To prepare, make a game board by cutting out a large construction paper heart and
 drawing a tic-tac-toe grid in the center.  Then laminate the heart for durability. 
 Next, gather five pink conversation hearts and five green conversation hearts.
  Place the pink hearts in one snack size resealable plastic bag and the green
 hearts in another bag.  Invite a pair of children to the center and have each child
 take a bag.  Direct each player to use his or her candy hearts to play tic-tac-toe
 on the gameboard.  The game ends when a child places three of his hearts in a row.

 

Valentine Charades

At circle time have a basket with several hearts in it. On the back of each heart
 is written something for the children to do for example touch your toes, hop on
 one foot, sing your ABC's etc. Each child draws out one heart and the
 teacher will read it for preschoolers or help the child read it and then the child
 will do what the heart instructs. Go around the circle till each child has several turns.

 

Love Bingo



(Photo submitted by Shell)

Click HERE for printable of Love Bingo Board Game.

  

Heart  Matching Game

Use wallpaper samples and make a heart matching game by cutting
 out 2 of each color or pattern of paper. These can be used as
 they are or turned into a file folder game and laminated.

 

Match the Hearts

Cut heart shapes from construction paper. Cut each heart shape in half using
 different cuts, such as straight, zigzag, or curvy. On each heart half shape,
draw a matching shape or numeral. Give each child a construction paper
 heart half. Encourage them to name the shapes or numerals on their halves.
 Next, play music and have each child look for another child who has the
 matching half of the construction paper heart. Stop the music and have
 the pairs name their shapes or numerals. Repeat several times,
giving each child a different heart half each time.

  

Valentine Hunt

Hide four or five valentines around the room.  Let your child try to find them all. 
To make it more challenging, set a timer.  See if he or she can
 find all the valentines before the timer goes off.

  

Valentine Button Game

Use a red button, if possible.  Children pretend it is a tiny valentine heart. 
(The teacher may wish to us a candy heart instead.)  One child has a large red button
 or valentine.  The rest of the children fold their hands and close their eyes.  The one
 with the button goes to each person, dropping the button into one closed hand along
 the way.  When the child has gone to everyone in the class, someone else asks
 who has the button.  This child asks another until the button has been found. 
 Insist on clear speech; for example: Question:  "Billy, do you have the Valentine?"
  Answer:  "No, Sally, I do not have the valentine."

    

Alphabet Heart Mates

Make a necklace for each child by cutting a heart shape out of poster board, punching a hole in
 the top and tying on a loop of yarn.  Divide the heart necklaces into pairs.  On each pair print an
 upper-case alphabet letter and a matching lower-case letter.  Give each child a necklace to
 put on.  Help the children identify the letters on their necklaces. 
Then let them walk around to find their "alphabet heart mates."

Variation:  Write matching numerals on the pairs of necklaces. 
Or draw on matching shapes such as circles, squares, and triangles.

 

Flying Hearts

Glue a red and a pink heart together back to back. Put this special heart plus about three dozen plain
 hearts in the center of an old bed sheet. The children hold onto all sides of the sheet and gently toss
 the hearts up and down. At the shout of "Hearts high!" the children toss the sheet high into the air, making the hearts
 fly. The child who picks up the most hearts and the one who finds the special pink and red heart are the winners.

        

Postman, Postman

(Similar to "Doggie, Doggie, Where's Your Bone?")

Everyone gets to participate in this game involving a hidden valentine. Choose one child to be
 postman and give him or her the postman's hat. (Red strip of paper with pink heart that says
Postman.) The postman must hide his eyes while you give another child a valentine to hide
 behind their back. Then the postman uncovers his eyes and faces his classmates who say,
"Postman, postman, where's the mail?" The postman gets three guesses to find out who is
 hiding the mail. If he guesses correctly, he continues as postman.
 If he guesses incorrectly, the person with the mail becomes the postman.

  

Heart Match

Cut out heart shapes in many different colors (or all in one color to make
 it more difficult) and sizes and then cut them into halves.  Pass them
 out at random to children.  Ask the children to match their heart halves.



(Photo submitted by Shell)

   

Heart Pass

Have the children sit in a circle.  Have them pass a construction paper heart
around the circle.  Explain to them, as the heart comes to each child,
 he or she names something or someone he/she loves.

   

Valentine, Valentine, Through My Window

To begin form a circle, the children hold hands with their arms held up to form doorways.
 Place a pile of hearts in the middle of the circle. Each child takes turns, first he picks up
 a heart from the middle and
then goes in and out the windows while the others sing the song.

(Sung to the tune of: "Bluebird, Bluebird, Through My Window")

Valentine, Valentine through my window.
Valentine, Valentine through my window.
Valentine, Valentine through my window.
My friend, I like you.
Pick a little friend and give her a valentine.
Pick a little friend and give her a valentine.
Pick a little friend and give her a valentine.
I'll give you a red valentine!

  

Valentine, Valentine, Red and Blue

Children will enjoy this simple tag game with a valentine theme. To play this game,
you will need one red and one blue valentine. Have the children sit in a wide circle on
 the floor. Pick one child to carry the valentine. The child with the valentine walks around
 the outside of the circle while the rest of the group chants, "Valentine, valentine red and
 blue, I have a valentine just for YOU! As soon as the child with the valentine hears the word
 "you", he puts the valentine down behind the closest child. That child picks up the valentine
 and tries to tag the valentine giver, who runs around the circle to the empty place and sits
 down. If the valentine giver reaches the empty space without being tagged, the child holding the
 valentine must now give it away. The game continues until every child has had a turn to give away the valentine.

Variation:  One child, holding a heart shape, walks around the circle and taps the head of each child,
 saying "Valentine."  As the child walks around the circle, he or she chooses another child to be IT
by dropping the heart in back of the child and saying "Be My Valentine." 
The selected child stands up and chases the other child to the empty place in the circle.

  

Cleanup Heart

Cut a heart shape out of a large piece of red paper.  Hang the heart at your children's eye level.
  Write each child's name on a different doily.  Tape it to the heart.  Show your children the
 cleanup heart.  Help each child find his or her doily.  Explain to the children that each time they
 help clean up, they will get stickers to add to their doilies.  Have the children clean up.  Give a
 sticker to each child who is working hard at cleaning up his or her things or helping other children
 clean up.  Have the children put their stickers on their doilies before going to the next activity. 
 Let them take their doilies home at the end of the week. 

Variation:  Instead of a heart with doilies, try a basket with eggs, a pumpkin patch with
 pumpkins, a bare tree with fall colored leaves, a Christmas tree with ornaments, etc.

 

Valentine's Day Musical Hearts Game

Cut several large hearts out of butcher paper.  Make each one large enough for a few children to stand
 together on it.  Talk to the children about sharing with friends, helping, and ways we show we care,
like hugging.  Explain that you are going to play a game like Musical Chairs.  When the music plays,
 the children move or dance around the hearts on the floor.  When the music stops, each child finds
a heart to stand on.  Explain that there will not be enough hearts for each child, so they will need to share
 with their friends.  Also, sometimes it may seem like there is not enough room on the heart for
 any more friends, but if they try very hard, they can probably help their friends find a spot on the heart.
  They may have to help by holding onto their friends or "hugging" them so they won't fall off the heart.
  Stop and start the music as in Musical Chairs.  After a few rounds, take one heart away each time you
stop the music.  Continue until only one heart remains and all the children are touching part of the heart.

 

Heart Line Up

Cut four or five hearts of various sizes out of red construction paper.  Mix them up and give them to
 your child.  Invite your child to line up the hearts from smallest to largest or from largest to smallest.

 

Hear Tic Tac Toe



(Photo submitted by Shell)

Make a Tic Tac Toe board from construction paper. 
Use heart shaped erasers as the tic tac toe markers.

     

Circle Time Heart Match Game

Make a valentine for half the number of children in the group. Cut each heart in half in a zigzag
 or swirly fashion, so that each cut is fairly unique and identifiable. Each child is
given part of a heart and must find his/her partner by matching the valentine halves.

   

Box of Chocolate

Purchase a heart shaped box of chocolates.  Show your children the box.  Ask them if they
can guess what's inside.  Have them close their eyes.  Open the box and let each child sniff the chocolate.
  Now can they guess what is inside?  If you wish, let each child have one of the chocolates at snack time.

  

Valentine Message Game

Have the children help you cut twelve large hearts out of construction paper and number them from
 two to twelve.  Write a message on the back of each heart.  The message might say, for example,
"make a funny face," "tell a joke," "sing a song," "pretend your are a bird (or another animal),"
"cry like a baby," "say something nice to a friend," or "hug your teacher."  You can keep the
messages on the Valentine theme or you can vary them.  Place all the hearts on the floor in
numerical order.  Make sure that the numbers are visible and the messages are face down. 
Let the children take turns rolling dice and turning over the heart that bears that number. 
 Read the messages and encourage children to act them out.  Continue until all children have had a turn.

Variation:  The game is endlessly variable by changing the messages on the backs of the hearts. 
 You could play it as a detective game, drawing pictures of objects in your room on the backs of the hearts
and having the children find the objects and bring them to the circle.  This eliminates the need for reading. 

 

Happy Heart Hunt

Before the children come to class, hide 3 cut our hearts for each child. When the children arrive (or at any
 set time) ask them to find the hearts. Have the children gather to circle once they have found their hearts.

 

Pass the Heart

Cut a heart shape out of red construction paper.  Turn on some lively music.
 Sit with your children and pass the heart around the circle. When the music stops
whoever is left holding the valentine says one nice thing about each person in the group. 

 

Hearts & Circles

Give each child a heart.  When a child's name is called, he/she is instructed to put his/her heart
on the circle, below the circle, or above the circle.  This activity will help children learn those positions.

 

Fish For Hearts

Make fishing poles from 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) wooden dowel rods which can be purchased at a hardware
 or craft store.  Cut a groove around one end of the dowel rod about one inch (2.5 cm) from the end.
  Tie a short length of yarn into the groove.  Tie a small magnet onto the other end.  (Magnetic
 strips are available at most craft stores).
Cut out three sizes of hearts, one from red, pink, and purple
paper.  Attach a large paper clip to each heart.  Instruct a child to fish for a certain size and color.

    

Guess Who

Make pairs of hearts from wallpaper designs (those in pink and red are best). Distribute the hearts
 to the children keeping one heart from each pair for yourself. Say the rhyme and hold up
one heart....

My friend gave me a valentine
But signed it "guess who!" 
Our hearts are just alike you see. 
So, stand up if it's you!

   

Color Valentines

Give each of your children a red, blue, pink, yellow, or green valentine heart.  Say the following rhyme, and
have the children listen carefully.  When they hear the color of their valentine, have them hold it up in the air.

Valentines red,
Valentines blue,
Valentines pink
Say "I LoveYou."

Valentines yellow,
Valentines green,
Prettiest valentines
I've never seen!

   

Hearts on the Move

Provide each child with a construction paper heart.  Then have your
 youngsters sing the song below and follow the directions given.

(Sung to the tune of: "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands")

Wave your valentine
In the air.
Wave your valentine
In the air.
Wave your valentine
In the air.
Wave your valentine in the air.

Trade a valentine
With a friend.
Trade a valentine
With a friend.
Trade a valentine
With a friend.
Trade a valentine with a friend.

Put your valentine
On your (nose).
Put your valentine
On your (nose).
Put your valentine
On your (nose),
Put your valentine on your (nose).

Repeat the last verse, replacing the underlined word with other body part words in turn, such as head, arm, and foot.

  

Will You Be Mine?

(Sung to the tune of: "Mary Had a Little Lamb")

Cut a class supply of red, pink and white construction paper hearts.  Next, make a miniature
 mailbox by covering a shoes box with colored Con-Tact paper and then cutting a slot in the
 lid.  To begin the activity, provide each child with a construction paper heart.  Then direct
 each child to place his/her valentine in the box when the color is mentioned in the song.

Mail your (red) heart valentines,
Valentines, valentines!
Mail your (red) heart valentines,
And send love, oh so fine!

Repeat placing the underlined word with pink and white in turn.

I mailed my friend a valentine,
Valentine, Valentine!
I mailed my friend a valentine,
And sent my love so fine!

   

When You Send a Valentine

When you send a valentine,
That's the time for fun,
Slip it underneath the door,
Ring the bell and run, run, run,
Ring the bell and run,

Have a bell and a letter with a valentine in it for a prop. The child can act out the
sneaking up to the door and pretending to push button. All the children must run to safety.

   

Little Valentine

Make a circle.  Child in the center will be the Valentine.  Children will skip around singing. 
 The child in the center will point to a child who will say the color for the last line of the song.
  Then the child chosen will take place in the center and the game will continue.

(Sung to the tune of: "Skip To My Lou")

Little red Valentine, I love you.
Little red Valentine, I love you.
Little red Valentine, I love you.
Blue one says, I do too.

Little blue Valentine, I love you.
Little blue Valentine, I love you.
Little blue Valentine, I love you.
White one says, I do too.

    

Will You Be My Valentine

(Sung to the tune of: "Mulberry Bush")

Child sings, walks around the group and hands a child a Valentine.

Who will be  my valentine, valentine, valentine
Who will be my valentine,
On Valentine's Day?

Chosen child sings.

I will be your valentine, valentine, valentine.
I will be your valentine
On Valentine's Day.

Group sings.

(Child's name) will be (his/her) valentine, valentine, valentine.
(Child's name) will be (his/her) valentine
On Valentine's Day.

Child named will then continue the game.

   

Counting Valentines

Make number concept cards using red Valentines.  Give a child a card and instruct the
 child to stand when the number is sung.  When counting from ten the child will sit down.
  This can aid in counting, number recognition, simple addition, and subtraction.  
            

(Sung to the tune of: "Ten Little Indians")

One red, two red, three red valentines
Four red, five red, six red valentines
Seven red, eight red, nine red valentines
Ten red valentines.

Ten red, nine red, eight red valentines
Seven red, Six red, five red valentines
Four red, three red, two red valentines
One red valentine.

Variation:  Substitute other colors.  Cut out ten valentines of the color and have children dramatize
 the song.  Group the children according to different number and color and sing.  For example:

One red, two blue, three green valentines.
Four orange, five yellow, six purple valentines.
Seven black, eight brown, nine pink valentines.
Ten white valentines for you.

 

I Am Stuck On You

Give each child a construction paper heart and have the children stand in a circle.  Ask the children
 to pretend that their hearts are very sticky.  As you sing the first verse of the song below, have one
 child give his/her heart to the child on his/her right.  (Since the heart is sticky, both the children's
hands will remail "stuck" to it.)  Continue singing the first verse of the song, letting each child in turn give
 his/her heart to the next child, until all the children are stuck together.  Then sing the last verse of the song.

(Sung to the tune of: "The Mulberry Bush")

Here is my Valentine,
My valentine, my valentine.
Here is my valentine,
I am stuck on you!

Now we're stuck together,
Together, together.
Now we're stuck together,
We're one big valentine!

  

Valentine Compliments

Cut out a small construction paper heart for each child and print the child's name on it.  Place the hearts
 in a basket.  Have the children sit in a circle.  Let one child begin by taking a heart from the basket and
 holding it up.  Have the child whose name appears on the heart raise his or her hand (or identify the
 name yourself).  Then let the other children take turns saying something nice about that child. 
 Continue in the same manner until each child has received his or her "valentine compliments."

  

Share My Heart

This game is similar to musical chairs.  To prepare, cut out a large
 construction paper heart for each child. Laminate the cutouts for durability.
 Then randomly place the cutouts on the floor, To play, encourage children
 to walk around the hearts while you play some lively music. Then stop the
 music and have all the kids find a heart to stand on. Begin the music again,
 remove one of the hearts.  The next time the music stops, a child must
 share his heart with another child. Continuer in this manner removing a
 heart each round, until several children must share each heart. This heart-y
 game is a wonderful way for youngsters to form some heartfelt friendships.

    

Find the Heart

Materials Needed:
several different colored felt heart shaped pillows (very small) -- at least one per child

Procedure:
Children "sleep" (close eyes) while music is playing.  Teachers hide
 hearts, then stop music.  Children "wake up," then search for hearts.

Variation:
Children can take turns hiding hearts.

    

 

 

 

 

Pre-K Fun Theme Pages are for educational reference only! 
No copyright infringement is intended.
I do not claim any of these as my own ideas.  
They are shared from friends and fellow group members.  
Thanks for sharing all your great ideas!

 

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