Over the years, I’ve tried a lot of different Valentine’s Day art projects. Some worked better than others. These 8 are my favorite heart art lessons for kids. If Valentine’s Day art project planning always sneaks up on you, go ahead and save this post for later. I hope it eases some of your prep!
In this post, you’ll find meaningful and fun Valentine’s Day art projects that work well in real classrooms. A few of the ideas include optional done-for-you resources, but there is still plenty of room for student choice and creativity.
1. A Page of Hearts – A Valentine’s Day Art Project
I call this simple project A Page of Hearts. Start by dividing the paper into nine even sections. I usually draw the grid once, then photocopy it so everyone has the lines ready to go.
In each section, students create a heart using a different material. You can use whatever you already have in the classroom, like pipe cleaners, pom pons, stickers, foam shapes, paint, and markers. This is also a great way to use up odds and ends from your art supply stash.
The goal of this project is to try out different art media!
2. Romero Britto Style Hearts Art Project
Romero Britto is a popular contemporary Pop Art artist who makes artwork with bold lines, colorful patterns and iconic imagery. I have done many versions of this heart project. This picture featured above is from a collaborative canvas I did with students from many grade levels. After dividing the heart into sections, we painted in each section with different colors. When that dried, we added patterns on top!
3. A Map of My Heart – Art Project
This is one I do every year with kindergartners. I first read the book The Shape of My Heart (Amazon Affiliate link). Then, they use one of the templates to draw things inside the heart that they love, whether that be their family, friends, favorite foods, animals… anything they want! If you are interested in the templates, I have the My Heart Map printables here.
4. Neurographic Heart – Valentine’s Day Art Project
Neurographic hearts combine flowing lines, rounded intersections, and blended color inside a heart shape to create bold, eye-catching abstract art. This Valentine’s Day art project is a meaningful way to bring mindfulness, calm focus, and creativity into your art classroom.
Here are more details about neurographic art in general. This lesson can use a heart shape or if a student wants to use a different shape such as a star or emoji, that will work too! Anything goes, be creative!
If you’d like complete step-by-step directions, a handout and a slideshow about making the neurographic hearts, check out my neurographic heart resource package.
5. Yarn Wrapped Hearts – A Fiber Heart Project
This is a beautiful Valentine’s Day art project that really engages students while strengthening fine motor skills. It does require some prep ahead of time, so it works best with a small group.
To prepare, cut heart shapes out of cardboard. I did this part ahead of time for the students and used round white cardboard circles. Students then painted the hearts with Do a Dot paint dotters and set them aside to dry.
Once dry, students used scissors to snip small slots around the edges of the cardboard. Finally, they wrapped different colors of yarn around the hearts. This was such a hands-on and tactile project!
6. Styrofoam Printed Hearts
Printing with styrofoam is a great way for students to experience printmaking. I have a video about making styrofoam prints here if you are unfamiliar with the process. I have done this type of printmaking with kids as young as 1st grade (with extra guidance), but I find the sweet spot is about 5th grade.
Basically, you draw your design (it could be hearts for Valentine’s Day or it can be any theme you’d like) using a ballpoint pen on a styrofoam printing plate. Then, you use a brayer to roll printing ink on the plate. Then you put your paper on top of the plate, rub it and pull off the paper to reveal the print. I recommend watching a tutorial video before trying it, because it’s easier to understand when you see the process. White ink on color paper looks really striking!
7. Pop Art Doodled Hearts
If you’re looking for something much simpler and easy to prep, making doodled Pop Art hearts is creative and fun! Bonus: This project can be done in one class period, or you can stretch it out longer depending on size or quantity of hearts.
Simply divide your paper into four sections and then make patterns and colorful designs on each one. This is very similar to the Page of Hearts lesson I shared above, but the difference is that this one focuses on creating unique patterns using markers and the goal of the Page of Hearts lesson is to experiment with different types of media.
With this art project, you can also tie in the art of Andy Warhol. (This is one of my favorite children’s books about him.)
8. Mixed Media Heart Collage – Art Project
Last but not least is a mixed media heart collage. This is a very low-prep project and a great option when you just need something simple that still feels meaningful.
Start by drawing a large heart on the paper, although any shape will work. Students then create a collage inside the shape, filling in all of the space with different materials.
- patterned washi tape
- Kwik Stix
- magazine clippings
- cut out words
- stickers
- punched out shapes
- painted papers
- any other collage materials you have!
Valentine’s Art Project Bundle
If having materials already prepared would make this easier, three of these art projects are available in a Valentine’s Day Art Projects bundle with handouts, templates, and directions.
Valentine’s Day art does not have to be complicated to be meaningful. I hope one or two of these ideas make planning feel a little easier and give your students a chance to create something they are proud of.
If you found this list helpful, consider saving it so you can come back to it later. And if you have a favorite Valentine’s Day art project of your own, I would love to hear about it.
Discover more from Art is Basic | Elementary Art Ideas
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.