Have children trace their hands on a piece of pink or purple construction paper. They should be able to get at least a dozen little hands drawn on a regular-sized paper. Let them cut out all the handprints and paste them on to another piece of construction paper in the shape of a heart. If the child’s handprint is pink, make the background construction paper purple. Other colors also work for this project, but valentine colors make the heart pop.
Have each child cut a big heart out of construction paper or use white butcher paper. Then have them fold the heart and cut out another heart on the inside. Provide pink and purple finger paints to each child. Let each child make his hand print on the heart in one color, and then go over it with the other hand in the other color. Cut a bow from red construction paper to place at the top of the wreath.
Cut the shape of a wreath out of construction paper. Cut the shape of a heart out of scrap paper (you’re going to toss this piece in the trash when you’re done with it). Lay the heart-shaped scrap paper in the middle of the wreath and have the child put his hand in finger paint and make handprints all around the edge of the wreath so that a heart shape is obvious in the center. Remove the scrap paper. Have the child cover his palms with finger paint and place them in the center of the paper in the shape of a heart. His fingertips are the pointed part of the heart.
Let children trace and cut out handprints from pastel colored construction paper. Cut the shape of a heart from construction paper and paste the palm part of the handprints around the heart shapes construction paper. Cut smaller heart from a different color pastel, and then cut a heart from the inside of that heart. Tape the child’s picture behind the heart, and then paste it to the larger heart to see the smiling face of the child in a heart.