When it comes to the holidays, any holiday, I love to stock my centers with fun thematic activities! This year, I’m adding these FREE heart pattern blocks printables to our math center, making it a sweet addition to our other Valentine’s Day math activities!
Valentine’s Day Math for Kindergarten and Preschool
When we celebrate Valentine’s Day in preschool, we celebrate for much more than a single day. That’s because we always do a friendship preschool theme in February, which I find so fitting for Valentine’s Day!
It’s pretty simple to take the traditional story of St. Valentine and use that as a jumping point to teach children about loving others for their friendship and kindness.
While hearts are a kitschy way to represent Valentine’s Day, they are fitting for what they represent. In preschool, that is the celebration of caring and kind friendships. The icon works here. And it especially works in this Valentine’s Day math activities.
FAQ About Teaching Valentine’s Day Math Activities
Teaching math to preschoolers isn’t about doing endless preschool math worksheets. Learning activities should be hands-on and engaging, while targeting important number skills.
Preschoolers will learn best from hands on math activities, including counting games, sensory math activities, and gross motor activities.
Preschool math lesson plans should include more than counting activities. Children can enjoy a variety of targeted daily math activities, including new skill work, review activities, literacy integration, and independent practice. Here are nine preschool math units that can be taught for the year.
~ Comparing & Sorting
~ Counting 0-5
~ Shapes
~ Counting 0-10
~ Position & Patterns
~ Counting 0-20
~ Measurement
~ Graphing
~ Addition & Subtraction
The easiest way to know what skills you should be teaching in preschool mathematics is by downloading a free math skills checklist!
That checklist will explain everything you need to know about teaching preschool math including what to include in your preschool math lesson plans to make sure they are playful and complete.
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Valentine’s Heart Pattern Block Printable
Have you ever wondered why these little geometric shapes are called pattern blocks? Typically when they are used, children are simply matching up the colors and shapes to complete designs with a range of complexity.
Where is the ABAB in that? Well, making matches is one of the beginning steps in learning how to make patterns.
As children work with pattern blocks, they learn to differentiate colors, shapes, and sizes as they are making those matches. All skills which are important in copying, extending, and building real patterns.
Related Reading
Materials
- laminator
- heavy card stock
- pattern blocks
- free printable at the end of this post
The Set-up
Just print the free math printable in color, then laminate! Place on a tray with a bowl of pattern blocks. Then, invite your preschooler to join you in using the pattern blocks to make some friendship hearts.
But don’t forget, these pattern block hearts can also be used in a kindergarten classroom, too. In fact, when I made these, I printed and laminated them for my daughter’s kinder teacher for Christmas.
Five Valentine’s Day Math Activities from One Printable
As always, I like to offer a few different ways to use my printables, as I understand that you may have some preschoolers who need some extra challenge or some accommodations. Who wants to buy extra stuff when you can make what you have multipurpose?
5 Ways to Use These Pattern Block Hearts
Students learn best when they have the right kind of math practice, even when activities include heart shaped pattern block printables like this one. Let me show you some fun math activities using this printable. It’s guaranteed to make a fun Valentine’s Day for your preschoolers while working on specific math skills.
- Use this printable the traditional way and building real patterns the pattern blocks to the appropriate shapes in the heart.
- For more of a challenge, invite preschoolers to see how they can make the shapes using different pattern blocks.
- For example, can three green triangles make a trapezoid? Or what shapes can be used to make the yellow hexagons?
- For more of a challenge, invite preschoolers to try to copy the pattern on a separate tray, using the printable as a guideline, not a template.
- For younger preschoolers, help them choose one color/shape to find and add to the printable.
- It is common for younger preschoolers to get overwhelmed by a giant bowl of various shapes, so choosing one color is easier. Then, when they are placing the color on the printable, you can help them name the actual shape.
- For really young preschoolers (2-3 years), just let them add the pattern blocks however they choose.
- Simply being allowed to “play” with the pattern blocks helps the child build spatial awareness and fine motor skills, and it builds their confidence and independence as they get to make their own choices. Sit down next to the children and talk about the shapes and colors they are choosing and model making matches.
Grab Your FREE Valentine’s Pattern Blocks Printable Here
This you want to add this to your math center or busy box for quiet time? You can grab your own copy by clicking the image below!
Get More Fun and Engaging Valentine’s Math Activities for Preschoolers
Videos we Watch About the History of Valentine’s Day
I really believe there is a strong place for celebrating Valentine’s Day in preschool and kindergarten. Kindness matters, and so do caring friendships. Here are a few YouTube videos we watch in preschool as a way to get the discussion flowing.
I’m Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home-mama of five! I’m the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught a range of levels, from preschool to college and a little bit of everything in between. Right now my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.
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