21 Valentines Day Freebies for Kindergarten

Let’s plan fun Valentine’s day activities for the kindergarten classroom. Here are free mini-projects, reading resources, sight word activities, and math mats – all with a Valentine’s Day theme.

Don’t feel like just because there are a lot of fun Valentine’s Day ideas for the classroom out there that you have to do a lot.

It’s my style to keep it simple – like just pick one or two things from this list and incorporate them into your normal daily routine.

You may also want to read: How to celebrate any minor holiday in kindergarten

So, let’s start with some mini-projects since these may be “extra” activities and then jump into the resources and activities that would fit into your normal day.

These freebies are from various teachers so you’ll need to follow the links in order to download them.

Mini-projects

Swap out your writing time or carve out a few extra minutes from your daily routine to insert one of these mini-projects for Valentine’s Day.

Heart robot directed drawing

This directed drawing for a heart robot turns out really cute. Encourage students to completely color in the background – but you can add more valentine details too.

This is a great activity for the week of Valentine’s Day as it will appeal to both boys and girls.

Candy comparison experiment

Let your students compare what happens to three different kinds of candy in small groups.

Kinders compare candy hearts, gobstoppers, and m&m’s in water (or Sprite, depending on the candy) and record their observations.

Here’s a video of the experiment so you can preview what’ll happen in your classroom:

Conversation heart candy experiment

If you’d rather skip comparing candies (as in the experiment above) and just stick with one kind, then choose this candy heart experiment instead.

Your students will predict and compare what happens when the candies are placed in water, soda and vinegar.

Valentine headband/hat craft

Make a cut and paste Valentine hug headband with wavy arms. Your students cut the pieces from construction paper or color theirs if you use white paper.

Glue crinkly arms that move or wave like a big hug and hands onto the headband to give it a complete look.

Or, you may like this paper plate heart hat as an alternative. Both are cute.

What is love? Class book

Create a class book where every student contributes a page to complete the project. Students draw, color and write about what love is in this free “Love is…” class book.

Love Monster craft

When it comes to extending books you read aloud for Valentine’s day, sometimes a craft is an easy choice.

Here is a trace, cut and paste monster craft that resembles the (affiliate) Love Monster book by Rachel Bright. You can let students choose their color of paper or make a fun glyph project out of it.

Cupcake crunch snack mix activity

Let your kinders make their own snack mix full of red, pink and white ingredients for a yummy directions-following activity. This is great for a Valentine’s day classroom party too.

You can grab editable directions sheets so you can set it up as a center activity with your choice of ingredients and this mini-project is sure to go over big!

Those are fun activities to squeeze into the day or week of Valentine’s Day. Now, let’s dig into some reading and math activities that can easily fit into the normal daily routine of kindergarten life.

Reading resources

What can you do during your guided reading groups or during your phonics mini-lessons? Try one of these free reading resources.

CVC sounds

Snag some Valentine mini-erasers from the Dollar Tree and this Elkonin box printout. But – you could also use pennies, counters, or heart die-cuts.

Kinders put three or four manipulatives on the heart, then they slide one into each letter box as they say each sound in the spoken word. This will work for both CVC or CVCC words.

Emergent readers

Take this free Valentine’s Day emergent reader and use it in your guided reading groups.

Trace the sight words as you work through the book and send it home with your students to read to their families.

Or use this Valentine hearts emergent reader which features sight words: he, she, red, blue, white, yellow, green and purple.

I’m a little valentine poem

Use this sweet “I’m a Little Valentine” poem on February 14th. It’s to the tune of “I’m a Little Teapot.” Circle the rhyming word pairs, highlight the sight words and all of the little bits your students know.

For example, your students probably know bits like:

• th
• sneaky e
• ay (hiding in say, away)

Each student will end up with his or her own colored poem based on what they know.

But they’ll be amazed at how much of the poem they can “read” based on how much of the text is colored!

More on: Oh, my darling valentine poem

Or do this Oh, My Darling Valentine poem aloud with your class as a shared reading activity.

Things you could do:

• Make a second copy of the poem in a different color marker and match the word cards on top of each other. Leave some cards out and clap on the missing words.
• Use highlighting tape (or cut up translucent dividers) to find the bits you know, like the “I”m a little valentine” poem above, as a class.
• Circle or underline the rhyming word pairs with Wikki Sticks and then jump when you point to the rhyming word pairs as you re-read the poem.

CVC short vowel roll-and-read games

Play this roll-and-read game with your level 3 / 4 (C/D) readers in guided reading groups. Kinders have to blend sounds to read CVC words and try to get four in a row.

They can play independently (by trying to get four in a single column) or in partners (by trying to get four words connected in a row).

Or give this activity another try with different CVC words instead.

Or, try this free V-day themed board game for CVC words instead.

Sight word activities

We often cover sight words in our daily life in kindergarten. Here are three different activities you could use on Valentine’s day.

Shaving cream sight words

I call this “Valentine’s Smoosh” – simply use shaving cream and food coloring in sealed Ziploc baggies. Here’s the tutorial on how to make these DIY squishy bags.

Have students use it as a tactile place to do their sight words, word work or spelling words during your guided reading groups. No need to erase – just smoosh and start again!

Use fingers or a pencil top eraser to write with.

Sight word board game

Students roll a die and move around a trail of candy conversation hearts and take turns reading sight words. This free Valentine’s sight word game is an easy game to use during guided reading groups.

Roll-and-write sight words

Put these editable roll-and-write-a-sight-word sheets into plastic sleeve protectors with a die and a dry-erase marker. You’ve got a free sight word activity that focuses on repeated practice.

Can they guess which word column will fill up first?

Now, let’s look at some math mats you can use either whole-group or during guided math.

Math mats

Here are some mats to either laminate or place into plastic protector sleeves so you can get a lot of use out of them. Use any math manipulatives you have on hand to make them work.

Composing teen numbers

Print a set of number cards 11-19. Students pull a card and make the teen number in the ten frames. Use Froot Loops cereal or even any little Valentine-y manipulatives you have on hand.

You may also like this spin-a-teen-number Valentine’s Day activity that is similar.

Decomposing teen numbers

Print numbers 11-19 onto construction paper “stamps” (or write in higher numbers if you’ve got more advanced students).

Students grab a stamp card and use base ten blocks to break down (decompose) the number into groups of tens and ones on these mail-a-number teen numbers sheets.

I added the “tens” and “ones” labels at the bottom to make them more kinder-friendly.

Or if you want students to match teen numbers shown in various ways, then grab these free love bug matching cards. You could use the cards as a memory game or set up a write-the-room activity.

Let’s wrap it up

There you have it — mini-projects, reading resources, math mats, and sight word activities – all free and just right for Valentine’s Day.

Just because there are a lot of fun ideas, you don’t have to do them all. Your students will have a wonderful day even if you keep it simple. So pick what you love and skip the rest.

Need a Valentine’s class party idea? Here is my super simple solution that puts all the focus on the cards and makes a sweet take-home item too.

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