My daughter playing with a paper heart prior to assembling the fish.

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. I’m always on the hunt for things to do at home with my preschooler and toddler, and Pinterest gave me the idea for these cute heart-shaped animals.

I picked two shades of pink construction paper and cut out several different-sized hearts. To make a fish, I cut out a large heart for the body, a medium-sized heart for the tail, a smaller heart for the face and a very small heart for the mouth. You can use glue or tape to put the fish together, and then draw on an eye. If you have a silver marker or glitter pen, you can even add scales.

To make an elephant, I cut out a heart for the face, a curved trunk, a small heart for the nostrils, and then two heart-shaped ears with smaller hearts in a different color to look like the inside of the ears. To finish the elephant, you can glue or tape it all together and draw on some eyes.

Heart-shaped fish and elephant.

You can make nearly any animal your child likes. Consider a cat with a heart-shaped face, two heart ears and a heart nose. Glue or tape it together and draw on some eyes and whiskers. My kids are still young, so it was easier for me to do the cutting, but older kids could cut out their own hearts, too. Be creative and your kids will enjoy using hearts to make their favorite animals.

These are just some of many easy Valentine’s Day crafts for kids. The animals were simple for us to make and my kids thought they were pretty cute, too. The holidays are always a good time and the perfect opportunity to teach your kids something new. Have fun and Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

Category: Arts & Crafts

Tags: animals