The snow and freezing cold temps has cause my three kids to be on energy overload lately.
They need to burn steam.
They need to run, jump, skip, hop, spin, and then do it all again.
They need to loosen up, wiggle out those wiggles, laugh hard, and be super silly.
So when I was looking for some cool indoor games for us to play in the down time between school and homework, I stumbled upon my dear friend Allie’s Musical Hearts game. And like everything she does, it’s awesome.
When the girls and I were at the craft store this week, you better believe I added big foam hearts to our cart so that I could make Musical Hearts work for us and hold up for more than one game.
And it sure did.
I turned Musical Hearts into a reading game, a moving game, and a crazy-fun after school, burn-some-serious-steam game.
Here’s the skinny. . .
Musical Hearts– Reading, Moving, and Crazy-Fun Kid Game:
I wrote my actions on the fly, thinking about what I both wanted my kids to read and what I wanted them to do. I wanted simple but fun. And I wanted Cora, Owen, and Maddy to be able to play.
My list of Musical Hearts Actions is here for you to check out, print, and use as inspiration. Just scroll down below and throw your email in the box!
It includes 30+ ideas, like:
- Hula dance.
- Do 5 jumping jacks.
- Spin on one foot five times then spin on the other.
- Do 5 pushups.
- Hop on one foot 10 times.
- Hug the person on your right.
- Plank for 10 seconds.
- Jump as high as you can—8 times.
It took virtually no persuading for the kids to try out this game.
I said, Hey, you guys, after your snack I’d like for you to try out something that I found online that I think will be a lot of fun. I know you haven’t had recess outside lately, so this will get us up and moving. Who’s game?
Maddy’s nose was buried in a book, so she sat this one out–for a bit. Literally Cora and Owen dropped their snacks, jumped down from their stools at the snack bar, and found me in the kitchen.
Okay, so here’s the deal: We flip these hearts upside down and put them in a huge circle.
And then I blast some Frozen soundtrack and we play just like Musical Chairs–except this is called Musical Hearts. And there are no chairs. Instead, there are hearts with little messages underneath. When the music stops, you flip your heart and do what’s on the other side. Get it?
They did.
We played and played and played.
And laughed and laughed and laughed.
Music on, kids walking on the hearts. Music off. Hearts flipped. Kids jumping, planking, spinning, and singing. Music on. Kids up. . .
Maddy even ditched the book and joined us, and before I knew it, they were all overheated and burning some much-needed energy.
It got hilarious. And surprisingly, they didn’t want to stop.
But after the millionth time, when I looked at the clock and realized that OHMYGOSH! we needed to do homework–ack! homework!–before we took Maddy to gymnastics, we had to wrap up the game.
But I’m betting they’ll ask to play tomorrow. . .
And really, that was that.
Just a really fun, super-cool way to get kids up, reading, and moving–and laughing!–on a freezing cold, grey winter afternoon.
Love this idea and cannot thank Allie enough for sharing. The possibilities for adapting Musical Hearts are endless:
- play it during class parties
- use basic shape foamies and play it for indoor recess
- put sight words on the foamie
- put spelling words on the foamies
- put math problems on the foamies
- put letters of the alphabet on the foamies
- put family names on the foamies
- play a larger-than-life matching game with foamies
Check out Musical Hearts in action, even with some of my students playing:
Grab the ideas for your own Musical Hearts game here:
Want a few more fun Valentine’s Day ideas? Check out:
- How to throw a rockstar Valentine’s Day class party
- Valentine’s Day Class party 2.0
- Melted Crayon Valentines
- Mini-Stained Glass Hearts
- Musical Hearts
- Secret Message Valentines
- Bookmark Valentines
- Scratch-Off Ticket Valentines
- Valentine’s Day Lunchbox Notes
- HEART Bingo
fyi: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Forever and always I recommend only products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” For more information, please see teachmama media, llc. disclosure policy.
reading informational text and crafting: easy, beautiful jewelry-making
What a fun game!
Great pictures along with a great article.
thanks, Vicky!
I love your doodle!!!! I have one too 🙂
HA!! THANK YOU! He’s a super awesome pooch!
I am having trouble signing up. Could you please send me the musical heart game ideas?
Thanks!
Hey Stacy! My records show you’ve signed up, so the ideas should be in your inbox! ENJOY and thank you!!
ABout how long would you say this game lasted with your kids? thanks!
hey Lindsay–you can play this as long as you want, really. Most likely if you play with a group of 20+ kids and stop the music at random times, they still won’t land on the same hearts but maybe 2 or 3 times. 🙂
WHAT a fun idea, I want to try this for my next classroom party! Since I work with non-readers, and needing to read each one per child would take too long, I plan on having photos of animals on the back sides. when the music stops they have to make the sound of that animal. It’s going to get noisy but I think they will love the variation. Maybe others will like the idea too. 🙂 Also, we will be using laminated construction paper hearts and printed photos of animals. Foam hearts are harder to come by for our budget and we already have the other supplies at hand.
Thanks for the game!
(( by the way, I could not get it to type capital letters in the comment box, this was not an oversight on my part. ))
Hi! I would like the heart activity ideas, please.
Hi, Laura!! Check it out now, and I’m betting the box for your email will be there! Thank you, thank you!
hi there!
love this idea! How can I access your list of 30+ ideas for writing on the hearts?
Hi, Rebecca! YIKES! Should be working now. . . the site has been overloaded this week! Check it out now, and I’m betting the box for your email will be there! Thank you, thank you!
Would love the Musical Hearts– Reading, Moving, and Crazy-Fun Kid Game ideas! tHANKS!
Hi, Sonja! You can simply throw your email and name in the box, and the ideas will land in your inbox!
Looks like Lots of Fun!
It REALLY is!!
Love it. Will be using this game in class party, can I please get 30+ ideas to write on the hearts.
thank you! yes, yes! please just fill out the form on the blog post, and it will land in your inbox!
Hey! Can I get the list on [email protected]?
Hi, Helly! You can grab the printable on the post itself!
Hi Amy!
I love your blog! My kids helped me pick out some Valentine’s Day games for a “class party” we’re having in our homeschool and found yours on Pinterest and loved it!! I wanted to let you know that I featured it in my latest YouTube video! You can see it here: https://youtu.be/wEKYhLif1w0
Thanks for sharing such a fun game!
Sarah
Hi, Sarah! Thank you thank you for sharing. Great channel, super ideas, and LOVE that you reached out to let me know you included Musical Hearts in the round-up! Thank you!
Hi!!! I am a parent and sending this game to school for a kindergarten valentine party!
Do you have any tips on accommodating the game to fit 18 kids including some non readers!??
I’d love to keep the exercise ideas since they’re stuck inside due to weather!!
Wasn’t sure if it would work for them all to do actions at once
Thanks so much
Allison
Sorry friend–I missed this! I just had a bunch of parent volunteers around for the little guys–the parents/ volunteers helped decode!
So intriguing
Hi Amy,
Thanks for the idea. I am going to do this with my son’s class at school. I’m wondering you removed the hearts, as you would remove a chair in musical chairs. This would be more of a competition.
Thanks.
Diane
Like I said–I never played that way, but you sure can try it!!
Hello Amy,
I am going to use this idea for my son’s Valentine’s day party at school. I was just wondering if you removed a heart each round, as you would remove a chair in musical chairs.
Thanks.
Diane
Hi, Diane! I didn’t remove a heart each round–I just tried to have as many rounds as I could so that the kids had a chance to do as many actions as possible. There’s enough running and moving already–Musical Chairs makes me nervous in the first place, so Musical Hearts, with hearts on the floor, may be even more dangerous and slippery! If you try it, let me know how it goes!!
This is so much fun! Thank you for sharing. I’d love to have the game. I’m planning a party for my grandchildren!