I haven't posted Creative Play activities in quite awhile. Charlie and Caroline are really in a make believe phase, so I haven't had to set things up as much. I can't complain about that. I love how they play together and make up various scenarios.
Today, I've teamed up with my friend Katherine DeVries of The Paper Dart to show some of our favorite Valentine's Activities to do with kids. Katherine lives in California with her two littles and one on the way. She's a middle school English teacher and a lover of books. On her blog and page she shares book reviews along with her journey of motherhood and everything else in between.
These activities foster independence and creativity and may give you a chance to fold that laundry, or maybe just lay down for a minute. I've rounded up some of my favorites from the past and the most recent one they've been doing off and on in the playroom.
I just set this "Do It Yourself Valentine" Center for the kids in the playroom. They are both really into sending letters in the mail, so it's a 2 for 2 project.
Do It Yourself Valentine (Everything is from Paper Source)
- Heart Paper
- Envelopes
- Washi Tape
- Confetti Tissue Paper Circles
- Glue Stick
- Stickers
- Colored Pencils
- Crayons
- Scissors
For the activity below you will need (Everything can be found at Michaels or Amazon).
Watercolor Heart Cards:
- Watercolor Paper for painting and folding into cards (you could also use construction paper for the card part)
- Watercolors, either from a palette or watercolor tubes that you mix with water
- Paint Brushes
- Glue Stick or Glue Bottle
- Mod Podge to seal hearts (optional)
This is a 2-3 part activity. We did this in three days, but you could easily do it all in one day, just break it up. On a few pieces of watercolor paper, your child can paint their heart out. I gave the kids 2 colors to chose from, so we wouldn't have to worry about color mixing as much . The next day, Caroline used her heart hole punch to punch out the hearts (Charlie doesn't have the hand strength to do this on his own yet). On the third day, she and Charlie glued the hearts onto the cards. That's it! Then, they decorated the inside to give as valentine's to their teachers. Every week, you can expect a roundup of Creative Play activities for your littles here on the blog. The majority of the activities for this week have to do with Valentine's Day, one of my favorite holidays. These activities foster independence and creativity and may give you a chance to fold that laundry, or maybe just lay down for a minute.
Valentine's Beans Scooping/Letter Search:
Beans are my by far, my favorite kind of sensory activity. They are cheap, easy to clean up and can be used for so many different activities Charlie can scoop the beans into the compartments and Caroline can scoop/find the letters + place them on an alphabet puzzle.
- IKEA Compartment Tray
- 2 Beans of your Choice
- Measuring Spoons, Scoopers
- Wooden Letters from Target $ Section
This chalk paper is so cool! I cut it into fourths and set oil pastels out with it. You could also use chalk. The kids made a design of their choosing and the feel of the pastels on the chalk paper was so fun for them.
