This Valentine’s Treasure Dig is great for sensory play. The kids will love using their fine motor skills to find all the hidden treasures.

If you’re planning out your Valentine’s Day activities, head over to my list of Valentine’s Day Activities for Kids. You’ll find more hands-on projects that keep early learners busy and curious.

My little guy N loves simple sensory activities. Rice is a particular favorite. He actually did his first activity with rice when he wasn’t even 6 months old yet.

This time, in preparation for Valentine’s Day, I set up a simple Valentine’s box full of rice for him. It’s a simple activity that just takes a few moments to set up. But the end result? Hours of fun playing that will have them being creative and excited.

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How to make learning about Valentine’s Day fun?

Sensory bins are a reliable way to introduce themes and holidays. This Valentine’s Day sensory dig blends fine motor work with pretend play, which is great for kids who need movement and tactile input while learning.

Keep in mind that this fun activity is great for early learners, but it can also be used during other times of the year, too. All that really comes down to is changing the materials you put into the sensory bin.

This activity also gave me a way to involve my kids in something seasonal without needing tons of prep. While my older ones are past this stage, I still enjoy setting these up and watching my younger one explore the bin with curiosity.

Recommended Valentine’s Day Books

Pair this activity with some heart-themed picture books or short stories. Books bring extra context to the activities and help build vocabulary around the theme.

Books are such a great learning tool that kids will love to use. These books are cute and adorable and are full of fun pictures and items. Let them look through the pages and then sit and read with them.

Reading is a great bonding idea as well.

Day It Rained Hearts The Biggest Valentine Ever Turkey’s Valentine Surprise (Turkey Trouble Book 6)There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Rose!A Crankenstein Valentine Love, Escargot

What can kids learn from this sensory activity?

While it looks like play, this sensory setup supports early learning in meaningful ways:

Strengthens fine motor control through scooping, grabbing, and pinching
Builds early sorting and counting skills with small objects
Encourages problem-solving as they “hunt” for hidden treasures

Recommended Valentine’s Day Printable Packs

I keep a few themed printable packs ready for quiet table work when the sensory play winds down. These printable resources are simple to prep and add a learning focus to the day.

Valentine’s Day Treasure Hunt Supplies

Uncooked rice
Jumbo tweezers
Small Valentine’s themed items. We used foam heart stickers, Valentine’s erasers, gold coins, a paper straw, a hearts necklace, pipe cleaners, and more. Anything you have on hand and that you’re comfortable with giving to a toddler under supervision works great.
Shoebox sized storage bin. (I like to keep the sensory bin smaller for young toddlers, and the shoe boxes we’ve used are perfect for us.)
Shower liner (optional).

Recommended Valentine’s Day Toys

Seasonal toys can support early learning without feeling like work. I look for items that invite pretend play and build coordination.

World of Eric Carle, Little Love Bugs Carry Along Handle Sound Book – Perfect Gift for Valentine’s Day – PI Kids Sensory-N-Stuff Kids Sensory Bins Montessori Sensory bin, Sensory Toys, Sensory Bins, Sensory Bin for Preschoolers (Valentine Day Measuring Cups)PETBSNVB Red Heart Shaped Pop Bubble Valentines Fidget Toy with Letters and Numbers, Xmas Gift Sensory Toy with Alphabets Kids Birthday Party Classroom Prize Stress Reliever Offerife 28 Pack Valentines Day Cards for Kids School, Heart Jigsaw Puzzle Set Toddler Valentine’ s Day Gifts – Classroom Exchange Prizes Valentine Party Favor Supplies Toys for Boys Girls ages 3-12 Wooden Puzzzle 6 Pack Wooden Puzzles for Toddlers Gift for Toddler Puzzles for 3 4 5 Year Old Boys Girls Gifts My Birthday Gift Ansoufien Valentine’s Day Dartboard Game for Kids – Cute Heart-Themed Target Game with 12 Sticky Balls – Indoor Party Game for Girls & Boys, Classroom and Family Fun

How to Make the Valentine’s Treasure Dig Activity?

It was very easy to set up this activity. It didn’t take N long to come over and take a look, either 😉 Once they see this fun activity, they’re going to have a blast digging right in.

To pique his interest, I’d placed some of the items on top of the rice and lightly covered the rest. This sparked a ton of interest, and people started playing. It was instant!

He really liked the tweezers. It was the first time I offered them to him, and he spent a lot of time exploring them. It wasn’t easy for him to actually pick up the items, but he kept trying.

I love that this worked his hand muscles and fine motor skills, and showed his determination at the same time. It was great to see him try and succeed.

The heart necklace was another favorite. You can even have the kids find fun items that they want to put into the sensory box as well. This will have them being helpers in their own learning activities, which is always a lot of fun.

N took his time picking all of the items out of the rice and inspecting all of them. Most of them weren’t familiar to him yet.

I’d actually given N two sensory bins for this activity to encourage him not to dump the rice on the shower liner he was playing on. It didn’t really work out that way, but N did enjoy transferring items and rice from one box to the other and back 🙂

Sensory Play for Toddlers

Sensory play is important for so many things. It helps kids with sensory play, motor skills, and the excitement of exploring and creating independently.

As they get older, fine motor skills become increasingly important for keeping them active and engaged. Anytime we can have an activity in the house that works their hands and minds, it’s a good thing.

Sensory play is one of those activities they’ll always want to do. This is because it allows them to be independent and have a blast. They can add things to it, dig in and do it, and just have so much fun.

Cool Ways to Extend the Activity

If your child enjoys this, here are more ways to keep the Valentine fun going:

Simple Valentine Heart Toddler Activity: Use contact paper and heart shapes to create a sticky wall activity.
DIY Heart Bubble Wands: Make shaped wands and head outdoors for some sensory-rich bubble play.
Create a counting game using the treasures they dig up, sorting by shape or color.
Add letter beads or alphabet items to turn it into a letter hunt.

If you’re looking for more sensory activities using rice, check out 10 Simple Sensory Bins with Rice. There are always so many fun ways that you can have the kids digging in and having a blast! You can easily create sensory bins from items that you have at home.

More Valentine’s Day Activities

Looking for more seasonal ideas? Try these fun and easy Valentine’s activities next:

Valentine Math Activities for Kindergarten
Valentine’s Day Cutting Activities
Heart Lacing Cards
Heart Activities for Toddler
Valentine Books for Preschool
Valentine Activities for Kindergarten
Simple Heart Experiments
15 Valentine’s Day Toddler Activities
Valentine’s Day Family Movie Night Ideas by 3 Boys and a Dog
Valentines Day Snow Globe Craft by Simple Everyday Mom

This kind of themed activity doesn’t take much to pull together, but it offers a lot in return. From fine motor development to early math and problem-solving, sensory bins like this one are a great fit for young kids.