Valentine's Day: Finger Painting Hearts Activity | EYFS Printables

Early Years (EYFS) Valentine’s Day Activity: Finger Painting HEarts

Invite little hands to create beautiful art this Valentine's Day with our delightful Valentine's Day: Finger Painting Hearts Activity! These engaging printables are perfect for EYFS children, offering a sweet and sensory way to develop fine motor control, patience, and precision, all while fostering a sense of mindfulness.

Ideal for Preschool, Nursery, School, or for Parents and Childminders at home, these sheets feature inviting heart outlines, ready to be filled with vibrant fingerprints. It's a fantastic, hands-on activity that combines artistic expression with valuable developmental benefits.

(Note: Please use your own discretion and knowledge of your children to ensure appropriateness of each activity suggested on this page and safety concerning any materials given and activity undertaken.)

• 💡 How to use this resource in your classroom/setting

  Our Valentine's Day: Finger Painting Hearts Activity is incredibly versatile and can be used in a multitude of ways across various early years environments:

  • Mindful Creation: Encourage children to use individual fingerprints to carefully fill the heart outlines. This process naturally promotes patience and precision, as they focus on dipping their finger and placing each print deliberately. Play calming music to enhance the mindfulness aspect of the activity.

  • Colour Exploration: Provide various colours of child-safe finger paint. Children can use one colour per heart, or experiment with different colours within a single heart to create a multi-coloured effect.

  • Fine Motor Development: The repetitive action of dipping a finger and making a print helps to strengthen the small muscles in the hand, improve finger isolation, and refine hand-eye coordination.

  • Sensory Experience: Finger painting offers a wonderful tactile and sensory experience, engaging children's senses as they feel the paint and see the colours emerge.

  • Display: Once the hearts are dry, they make a beautiful and personal Valentine's Day display, showcasing each child's unique fingerprint artwork.

  • Gifts: These finished pieces can be lovely, handmade Valentine's gifts for parents or special people.

  • Language & Discussion: Talk about the colours being used, the shapes of the hearts, and the feeling of the paint. "How does the paint feel on your finger?" "What colour are you using now?"

• 🎯 Learning objectives covered - 🐣 EYFS Framework

  This engaging activity supports key developmental areas within the EYFS framework:

  • Expressive Arts and Design: Children explore and use a range of media and materials (finger paint), developing their own ideas and expressing creativity through the unique patterns created by their fingerprints. They appreciate the visual qualities of their finished work.

  • Physical Development (Fine Motor Skills): Children develop good control and coordination in handling materials. The activity specifically targets the development of finger dexterity, control over pressure, and precise placement.

  • Communication and Language (Listening, Attention & Understanding): Children listen to instructions and maintain sustained attention and focus on the task, especially when trying to be precise.

  • Personal, Social and Emotional Development (Self-Regulation): Engaging in a focused, repetitive activity like finger painting promotes self-regulation, patience, and a sense of calm. Children learn to persevere to fill the entire heart shape.

Download our Valentine's Day: Finger Painting Hearts Activity today and invite your EYFS learners to create heartfelt art that's as unique as their own fingerprints!

⬅️ VALENTINE’S DAY Topic Page

⬅️ EMOTIONS & FEELINGS Topic Page

⬅️ KINDNESS & FRIENDSHIP Topic Page

⬅️ FESTIVALS & CELEBRATIONS Menu Page

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