![[Preschool] Cute to Make! A Collection of Valentine’s Craft Ideas](https://i.ytimg.com/vi_webp/8861-LC8LRA/maxresdefault.webp)
[Preschool] Cute to Make! A Collection of Valentine’s Craft Ideas
February 14 is Valentine’s Day.
In Japan, there’s a tradition where women give chocolate to someone they like, but recently it’s been shifting toward giving gifts or messages to family and friends as a way to express gratitude.
I think more and more preschools are enjoying the Valentine’s atmosphere as well.
This article introduces Valentine-themed craft ideas for early childhood education.
It’s a collection of ideas you can make with familiar materials like origami paper and recycled items!
Enjoy making Valentine’s crafts together with the children.
Wishing you a wonderful Valentine’s Day.
Because the items children make are treated as “works,” we use the term “seisaku (制作: production/work)” in the text.
[Preschool] Cute to Make! Valentine’s Craft Ideas (1–10)
Easy! Heart Stick
When you shake the stick, the beads inside the heart jingle and look adorable.
If you bring this to a Valentine’s event, something wonderful might happen! You’ll need construction paper, beads, an OPP bag, and a straw.
First, cut the construction paper into a heart shape and cut out the inside as well to make a frame.
You’ll need two of these frames, one for each side.
Put the beads into the OPP bag and seal it, then attach it to the heart frame.
Next, glue a straw to the bottom of the heart as a handle and place the remaining heart frame on top.
Tie a ribbon around the straw for an even cuter finish.
Fluffy Heart Card
This is a cute card with big impact, featuring a fluffy, puffy heart.
It’s great to use fuzzy yarn you can find at 100-yen shops, etc.
First, cut construction paper into a large heart shape.
Next, cut the yarn into small pieces.
Then, decorate the heart by attaching small hearts around the outline or drawing patterns.
Finally, spread glue in the center of the heart and stick on the cut yarn.
If the child can use scissors, it’s nice to have them join in from the very beginning!
Pop-up 3D chocolate card
It looks just like real chocolate! Here’s a handmade card idea that will make you want to take a bite just by looking at it.
In this idea, you create a chocolate bar by sticking small pieces of the same-colored paper onto a rectangular sheet of brown construction paper.
Using thick double-sided tape for the adhesive gives it a three-dimensional finish.
To make it even more chocolate-bar-like, wrap aluminum foil around the bottom half, then layer a piece of origami paper on top to mimic the wrapper.
Finally, attach the chocolate bar to the card cover and decorate it with a ribbon.
Paste white paper on the inside, write your message, and you’re done!
Heart sun catcher
Perfect for Valentine’s Day! Here’s how to make a heart-shaped sun catcher.
You’ll need cardstock, a printed sun catcher template on regular copy paper, masking tape, and wood glue.
First, cut the outer edges of both the cardstock and the copy paper into a rectangle.
Fold them so the heart is in half, then cut out the center.
On the back of the copy paper, randomly stick on your favorite masking tapes.
Use wood glue to adhere the two sheets together.
Trim off the heart’s outer border with scissors, and you’re done! You can also get creative by using your favorite stickers instead of, or in addition to, masking tape.
Picture-book-style heart message card
This is a heart-shaped message card made with origami.
It has multiple surfaces to write messages on, so you can flip through them and enjoy it like a picture book.
The method is very simple: fold the origami paper into a triangle three times, then cut it into a heart shape with scissors.
Open the paper and, following the crease lines, alternate mountain folds and valley folds to collapse it.
When folding, place the colored side of the origami facing up before folding into a triangle.
Also, when cutting the triangle into a heart shape, you’ll trim off two corners, but be careful not to cut the corner that is the center of the origami.
Two-Color Heart You Can Make with Kids
Here’s a cute two-tone heart idea using double-sided origami paper! First, fold the paper in half so it becomes a rectangle.
Then overlap the left and right sides to fold it into a square, and repeat the same fold once more to crease it well.
Return the paper to the rectangular shape and place it with the creases at the bottom.
Fold the bottom-left corner up to align with the outer crease.
Open that fold into a triangle and flatten it.
If the left side of the paper looks like a house shape, you’re on the right track.
Next, lift one layer of the top-right corner and fold it down into a triangle along the bottom edge.
Once folded, fold the right edge in to meet the center line.
Lift one layer of the lower-left corner of the part you just folded and fold it into a triangle, then flip the paper over.
Fold the right edge inward to form a square again, and fold down the top edge about 5 mm all together.
Open the topmost layer of the folded-down section and squash the corner into a triangle.
Finally, fold both bottom corners in to meet the center line, and it will form a heart!
Cute card with beads
When you shake it, the beads on the cover move—it’s a cute and stylish card.
You can make it if you have construction paper, a clear bag, beads, stickers, and other decoration items.
First, cut the card base out of construction paper and fold it in half.
Next, cut a heart-shaped window in the center of the front cover and attach a clear bag filled with beads to the back side.
Once the clear bag is securely fixed, glue the front and back covers together.
Finally, decorate the cover with your favorite items, and it’s done! If you use brown-toned construction paper for the base and wrap it with aluminum foil, you can even make it look like a chocolate bar.