Valentine Puzzles

• Give a child a piece of poster board or construction paper and instruct her to color a valentine message and picture on the front of the sheet only. When she is finished, have her turn the sheet over and use a black crayon to divide the paper into shapes. Use scissors to cut along the shapes and create puzzle pieces. Place each child's puzzle pieces into a separate envelope. The children can either exchange puzzles and see who can complete them the fastest, or save them and give them to loved ones at home as Valentine's Day gifts.
  
  

Valentine Bingo

• Create a game sheet for each child by dividing a piece of paper into nine squares. The center square has a heart in it and is a free slot for every child. Fill the other squares with valentine shapes such as a cupid, bow and arrow, teddy bear, double heart, flower, cloud, and other easily recognizable valentine shapes. If desired, valentine stickers can be used to take less time. Make sure every sheet has the shapes in a different order, and some include different shapes than others. Pass the sheets out to the children, and give them conversation hearts to use as tokens. Prepare a container with the various shapes drawn on slips of paper. Pull the papers out one at a time and read off the shape. If a child has a shape on his sheet of paper, he can place a token on it. Whichever child gets three shapes in a row first gets a Bingo and wins the game.
  
  

Heart Pictures

• Cut out heart shapes from papers in different colors, shapes and patterns. Provide each child with a glue stick, crayons and construction paper. Instruct each child to design a picture by gluing hearts to the paper. Animals, birds and many other designs are possible. Fill in details such as eyes and feet with crayons.
  
  

Valentine Storage Canister

• Prepare for this craft by having parents save oatmeal canisters with lids. Glue construction paper to the outside of the containers ahead of time. Punch two holes in each canister's lid and thread a silk ribbon through the holes to make a handle. Allow each child to decorate her canister with felt cut-outs, stickers, crayons or other embellishments. Write each child's name on his canister. The containers are used as Valentine's Day mail boxes in class and valentine storage containers at home.