It’s February, which means it’s time to bust out the red, pink, and hearts. Whether you’re a parent, teacher, or just planning a low-key Valentine’s Day gathering, here are five ideas the kids in your life will adore.
Cotton Ball Heart Painting
Something about all the hearts and happy colors just screams love. This craft is inexpensive and makes a unique gift or cute decor piece. All the materials can be found at the Dollar Tree and it’s impossible to mess up.
Materials: Paint (can use any colors, but you can try mixing red, blue, and white), paint palette or plate, sturdy paper or canvass, cotton balls, clothespins, heart stencils (you can even cut out a cereal box or something easy), and tape.
Instructions: Put a small piece of tape on the back of the stencil and stick it to the canvas. You have the artistic freedom of where and how your hearts will be palced. Clip one cotton ball on each clothespin to make your paintbrushes and pour the paint onto the palette. Gently dip the cotton balls into the paint and start dabbing the canvas. (Remember, a little paint goes a long way!) When your little ones are finished, let the paint dry completely before taking the stencil off.
Heart Tear Art
This craft is awesome for busy parents and teachers because it takes zero prep time and always comes out super cute.
Materials: Construction paper and glue!
Instructions: Grab scraps of paper, rip it into small pieces, and glue together however you want! Since it’s Valentine’s, I recommend red, pink, and purple construction paper and printing out big hearts to glue the paper inside of the shape.
Colorful Rice Bin
Who doesn’t love a good sensory activity, with a Valentine theme no less!
Materials: Ziploc bag, rice, food coloring, and vinegar.
Instructions: Grab a large Ziploc bag and pour in a cup of rice, a couple drops of food coloring (Valentine-y colors, of course), and a tablespoon of vinegar. Shake and squish the bag to spread the color around and then lay it out on a tray to dry for about an hour. Add random untensils, letters, or whatever you feel to keep the kids playing all afternoon.
Microwave Heart Crayons
Crayons and hearts – what bette combo could you have? This easy, colorful craft also makes a great Valentines gift for classmates and friends.
Materials: Heart mold (can be an ice cube tray), crayons, a sharp knife, and a microwave.
Instructions: Peel the paper off of the crayons and break or cut the crayons into half-inch pieces. You should be able to break skinny crayons with your hands, but bigger crayons will probably need a knife. Fill the heart mold with the crayon pieces, either doing the same color or having a mixture of colors. Microwave in 5-minute increments until the wax has mostly melted.
It may take 20 minutes, it might take less, depending on how old your crayons are, the size of the pieces, and how powerful your microwave is. (This could be a great chance for your kiddos to make observations and discuss how the crayons are changing as time passes). Let the wax cool and harden for 30 minutes. You can put the mold in the freezer if you want to speed things along. Then carefully pop the hearts out and color!
Paper Heart Bracelets
What a perfect way to add a burst of February color, especially to an outfit.
Materials: Construction paper/card stock (different Valentines colors), scissors, tape, craft knife or box cutter.
Instructions: Cut out small hearts from the paper (can be 1″ or 2″ or different sizes). Measure your wearer’s wrist and cut a stip of paper about 2″-3″ longer to give yourself a bit of extra room to work. Make the strip 1/4″ wide for the smaller hearts and 3/8″ wide for bigger hearts. Create two slits in each heart that are just slightly larger than the strip of paper using a craft knife or box cutter (or whatever you can find to work). Slip the strip of paper through the heart into the slit, then slip the strip into the other slit and slide on the heart. Slide your first heart all the way to the end and cut a teeny little piece of tape to secure the end.
Continue stringing hearts until it’s large enough for the wearer and trim the strip of paper down to size, leaving enough room to fasten the bracelet. To secure the bracelet, you can just slip the end of the bracelet back through the heart slits or you can add a little piece of velcro fastener to the end.
