Valentine’s Day is approaching–and this celebration of love provides many themes for building skills and exploring sensory play with activities that support early development while keeping things fun, simple, and stress-free. What’s not to love about that?
For infants and toddlers with developmental delays, hands-on experiences offer opportunities to promote speech and language development, fine motor and gross motor skills, and regulation. Here are some Valentine-themed ideas that are easy to adapt for different ages and abilities. As always, supervision is key and activities should always be adjusted to meet each child where they are.
Sensory Activities with a Valentine’s Flair
❤️ Pink & Red Sensory Bin (Fine Motor + Language)
What you’ll need:
Shredded paper, fabric scraps, pom-poms, soft balls, plastic hearts, measuring cups, or scoops
How it helps:
- Fine motor: Grasping, scooping, transferring items
- Language: Naming colors, textures, and objects (“soft,” “big,” “red”)
Try this:
Model simple words or signs like in, out, more, or heart. Follow the child’s interest and narrate what they’re doing.
❤️ Valentine’s Cereal Bin (Fine Motor + Sensory Regulation)
What you’ll need:
Heart-shaped Cheerios (any cereal will work, but the heart shapes add an extra Valentine’s twist), heart-shaped cookie cutters, measuring cups
How it helps:
- Fine motor: Grasping, scooping
- Sensory regulation: Calming activity
Try this:
Scoop the cereal and watch it flow, model using pincher fingers to grasp a piece of cereal.
❤️ Heart Discovery Bottles (Sensory Regulation + Visual Attention)
What you’ll need:
Clear plastic bottles filled with water, glitter, small heart shapes, or beads
How it helps:
- Sensory regulation: Calm visual input
- Early communication: Joint attention and turn-taking
Try this:
Shake the bottle together and pause to wait—does the child look, point, or vocalize? Respond right away to reinforce communication.
❤️ Heart Sensory Sticky Activity (Sensory Regulation +Fine Motor)
What you’ll need:
Clear Contact paper, duct or painter’s tape, foam and felt hearts, pompoms, feathers
How it helps:
- Sensory regulation: Textures, calming activity
- Fine motor: Grasping
Try this:
Tape the Contact paper to a wall or cabinet, where the tiny one can reach it (with the sticky side of the Contact paper out), and provide a bin with foam and felt hearts, pompoms, tissue paper, feathers, etc. Have toddler stick items to the Contact paper.
Love Languages: Activities that Encourage Speech Development
💕 Valentine Sounds & Songs
Ideas:
- Sing familiar tunes with Valentine-themed words
- Use simple phrases like “I love you,” “hug,” or “kiss”
How it helps:
- Builds imitation skills
- Encourages vocalizations and gestures
Tip:
Don’t worry about perfect words. Sounds, babbling, signs, and gestures all count as communication.
💕 Book Time with Love-Themed Stories
Examples:
Board books with pictures of families, hugs, animals, or hearts
How it helps:
- Expands vocabulary
- Encourages pointing, labeling, and shared attention
Try this:
Pause while reading and wait. Give the child time to look, point, or make a sound before you turn the page.
Will you Be Fine (Motor)? Little Hands at Work
💌 Sticker Hearts
What you’ll need:
Large heart stickers or sticky notes
How it helps:
- Strengthens finger muscles
- Builds hand-eye coordination
Adaptations:
For children who struggle with peeling, place stickers partially lifted or let them press pre-placed stickers.
💌 Valentine Art (Process Over Product!)
Ideas:
- Finger painting with pink and red paint
- Stamping hearts using sponges or potatoes
How it helps:
- Encourages exploration and creativity
- Supports fine motor and sensory tolerance
Remember:
The experience matters more than how it looks when it’s done.
💌 Fizzy Hearts
What you’ll need:
- Baking soda
- Red or purple food coloring
- Heart molds
- Small bowl
- Spoon
- Water
- Cookie Sheet
- Pipettes
- Vinegar
How to make the activity:
- Mix baking soda, water, and food coloring in a bowl (add just enough liquid so the baking soda sticks as a sort-of paste; you don’t want it to be runny)
- Squish the mixture into silicone heart molds
- Freeze for 30 minutes or longer
- Place the hearts onto a cookie sheet, plastic tray, or shallow tub
- Place vinegar in small bowl
- Use pipette to pick up the vinegar and drop it onto the hearts
- Watch the hearts fizz
How it helps:
- Supports fine motor skills
- Encourages creativity
Tip:
Toddlers may struggle with the normal sized pipettes, but they make larger ones that work better for tiny hands.
Gross Motor Activities (Move with Love!)
💗 Heart Hop & Crawl
What you’ll need:
Paper hearts taped to the floor
How it helps:
- Builds balance, coordination, and strength
- Encourages following simple directions
Try this:
Invite the child to hop, step, or crawl to each heart. Celebrate every attempt.
💗 Balloon Love
What you’ll need:
Pink or red balloons
How it helps:
- Improves eye tracking and coordination
- Encourages turn-taking and shared joy
Safety note:
Always supervise closely and remove broken balloons right away.
A Final Note for Caregivers
Valentine’s Day activities don’t need to be complicated to be meaningful. Simple, playful moments—filled with warmth, repetition, and responsiveness—are what support development best.
Whether a child is exploring textures, practicing new words, or learning to move their body in new ways, these small moments of connection can have a big impact.
If you have questions about adapting activities for your child or want more ideas tailored to their development, your early intervention team is always here to help.