Pipe Cleaner Heart Fishing Activity

Pipe cleaner heart fishing is a fun fine motor and sensory activity for toddlers and preschoolers to try this Valentine’s Day. It’s simple, playful, and surprisingly engaging—one of those activities that keeps little hands busy much longer than you’d expect.

As soon as my kindergartner saw this setup, she immediately wanted to join in. Fishing for hearts turned into a counting game, a fine motor challenge, and a sensory activity all rolled into one. What I loved most was how excited she was to help with the setup, which doesn’t always happen. This activity is a great one to invite preschoolers and kindergartners into from start to finish. While making the pipe cleaner hearts can be tricky for toddlers, they absolutely love fishing them out of the water in the end.

This activity works beautifully for Valentine’s Day, but it’s easy to adapt for other themes just by changing the shapes or colors.

Supplies Needed for Pipe Cleaner Heart Fishing Activity

• Pink, red, white, and purple pipe cleaners
• Scissors
• Sensory bin or large container
• Water
• Pony beads (optional)

How to Set Up Pipe Cleaner Heart Fishing Activity

1. Cut the pipe cleaners in half. Use scissors to cut each pipe cleaner into two equal pieces. Cutting them in half makes the hearts the perfect size for little hands to fish out.
2. Form the heart shape. Take one half of a pipe cleaner, fold it in half, twist the two ends together, and gently bend the loops to form a heart shape.
3. Make several hearts. Repeat the process using different colors until you have plenty of hearts for your child to fish from the bin.
4. Prep the hearts for fishing. Slightly bend each side of the heart upward so there’s an easy place for the hook to grab when fishing.
5. Create the fishing handle. Take a full pipe cleaner and twist a heart shape at the top to use as a handle your child can comfortably hold.

6. Add beads for weight (optional). Thread pony beads onto the bottom of the pipe cleaner under the handle to add a little weight and extra sensory interest.
7. Make the hook. Bend the very end of the pipe cleaner into a small hook shape—this will help catch the pipe cleaner hearts in the water.
8. Set up the sensory bin. Fill a sensory bin with about two inches of water, then gently drop the pipe cleaner hearts into the bin so they float and move around.
9. Invite your child to play. Hand your child the fishing hook and encourage them to fish out the hearts, counting them, sorting by color, or simply enjoying the challenge.

As kids fish out the hearts, they can count how many they catch, sort them by color, or simply enjoy the challenge of hooking each one. This pipe cleaner heart fishing activity is low-prep, playful, and perfect for building fine motor skills through hands-on Valentine’s Day fun.

Play2Learn Toddler & Preschool Programs for Curious Toddlers

There is no limit to your toddler’s energy and curiosity. That energy and curiosity although a joy can be challenging at times. Their interest in just about everything around them is what makes them great learners. One and two year olds can soak up so much just from their senses!

But as a teacher or parent that thirst for learning can be exhausting. That is why I created this toddler and preschooler program. To help you get the most out of this time with your curious toddler without having to come up with creative ways to play and interact with them.

Play2Learn for Toddlers includes 20 Units for toddlers. Each 2-week toddler unit has 20 super easy to set up and engaging activities for toddlers 18 months to 3 years.

Play2Learn Preschool which includes 20 Units for preschoolers. Each 2-week preschoolers unit has 20 unique and easy to set up and engaging activities for preschoolers 3 years to 5 years. That’s over 800 learning activities for your toddler and preschooler at your fingertips! So many ideas you and your child will never be bored again! 

These toddler and preschool lesson plans and activities will definitely keep you and your toddler and preschooler busy playing and learning!

Click here for more information: Play2Learn

Book: Exciting Sensory Bins for Curious Kids

Did you know I wrote a book of sensory bins? Click here for more information Exciting Sensory Bin for Curious Kids. Or grab your copy at Amazon. 

Boring afternoons are made exciting with awesome animal-based bins, like Salty Shark Bay or Yarn Farm. Pretend play bins like Birthday Cake Sensory Play or Bubble Tea Party encourage creativity and imagination. And your kids will have so much fun they won’t even know they’re getting smarter with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities like Sink or Float Soup, Magnetic Letter Hunt or Ice Cream Scoop and Count.

Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.

Book: Super STEAM Activity Book for Kids

Learning all about science, technology, engineering, art, and math sets kids up for scholastic success―and it can be so much fun! Watch kids enjoy building STEAM skills as they color friendly fish, help water find its way to tree roots, solve math problems with mazes, and more. 

Find out more and grab your copy here.

Designed for preschoolers 3 years old and up.

Book: Big Book of Riddles for Kids

Riddle me this: What’s an exciting way to practice critical thinking while having a blast? The Big Riddle Book for Kids, of course! From hilarious puns to tough brain teasers, kids can build problem-solving skills with hundreds of riddles tha. t show them how to think outside the box.

• 350 riddles for kids—Have hours of fun with riddles, puns and jokes, and math and logic puzzles that’ll get their wheels turning!
• Level up their skills—Riddles get trickier as kids progress through the book, challenging them as they get better at solving puzzles!
• Double-check their work—Kids can check their answers in the back of the book with a handy answer key.

Help children expand their minds while having fun with this puzzle book for kids!

Designed for kids ages 6 years old and up.