Easy Kids Crafts for Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day is a wonderful way for you to get a little creative with your preschooler. Here are five easy Valentine's Day crafts you can do with your kids. From Toilet Roll Love Bugs to Egg Carton Wreaths, your children will have a blast making these crafts.
Valentine's Day is a wonderful way for you to get a little creative with your preschooler.
Here are five easy Valentine's Day crafts you can do with your kids:
1. Toilet Roll Love Bugs for Valentine's Day
Toilet paper rolls have a very important job, but when that duty is done, there's room for fun! These Toilet Roll Love Bugs are super easy; they also allow endless possibilities for your little one to express himself creatively. Anything that sparkles, glitters, jiggles, or adds a splash of color or texture can be incorporated into this fun activity.
Here are some materials you might want to consider:
- Regular glue
- Glitter glue
- Googley eyes
- Glitter
- Puff balls
- Puffy paint
- Heart-shaped stick-on or glue-on gemstones
- Stickers
- Markers
- Washi tape
For safety reasons, start by getting the sharp tasks out of the way before you lay everything out on the table. Using a large, sharp kitchen skewer, poke all the way through each toilet paper roll three times, creating six holes total. This is where the pipe cleaners will go. Cut two pipe cleaners in half per roll (you'll need three of the four halves, so if you're making several of these little guys, you'll come out ahead after you cut a few).
If your preschooler isn't yet ready for scissors, go ahead and cut out heart-shaped wings and antennae, too, so everything's ready to go. Otherwise, this can be a great exercise for hand-eye coordination if you want to draw the shapes and let your kiddo do the cutting.
Thread the pipe cleaners through each hole, attach a small bead to the end of each pipe cleaner to hide the sharp point, and, glue on the wings and antennae. Now it's time to decorate! There are no rules when it comes to just being you, so lay plenty of possibilities out, and let your child go to town!
2. Valentine's Day Washing Line
This Valentine's Day Washing Line does multiple duties when it comes to keeping your preschooler occupied around Cupid's special holiday.
- Fun. First of all, it's fun. That's always a plus when you're looking for something to do with your little one.
- Creative. Each washing line will look a little different, depending on the materials you use and the way your child feels like expressing herself.
- Motor Control. This activity is not only fun, but it helps kids understand better motor control movements when they thread the string through the clothes pins. The challenge of opening the clothes pins is another great lesson in motor control movements.
- Counting. Add numbers to the top of each peg to further the possibilities of this project. This activity easily becomes a counting craft that your kiddo can be proud of.
- Space-saving. If your fridge is starting to fill up with little Charlie's collection of arts and crafts, this is a great way to display his latest works without wondering where your water dispenser went.
- Airdrying. Finger paints, water colors, and wet markers all have their place in a preschooler's life, but it's not always easy to find a place to dry the artwork. This washing line lets you airdry your little one's artwork without losing essential counterspace.
All you need are some plain, wooden clothes pins, a few Valentine's inspired stickers, some stickers that represent numbers, and a string. The rest of the decorating and displaying are up to you!
3. Cereal Mailboxes for Valentine's Day
The process of recycling cardboard cereal boxes just took a creative turn with these Cereal Mailboxes for Valentine's Day. This craft is an awesome way to teach youngsters the importance of being kind to others and recognizing the positive attributes of his fellow man at an early age. Of course, she'll also get to practice reading and writing in a fun way, which can't be stressed enough with preschoolers!
You just need a few materials, which you probably already have around the house:
- Cereal boxes (or any other tall box)
- Paper to wrap the boxes with (Construction paper, wrapping paper, tissue paper, or the backs of brown paper grocery bags all work quite well. You could also paint the boxes.)
- Ribbon
- Scissors
- Decorative items (stickers, puffy paint, pom-poms, heart-shaped doilies, and other comparable items)
Simply decorate the boxes to your hearts' desires, poke two holes in the back, and thread the string through them. Now you're ready to spread random acts of kindness.
Make one box for each member of your house, and place the boxes on the back of chairs. Encourage your kiddo to write his thoughts down each time he thinks of something nice about someone else, then have him stick it in that person's box. Have each family member do this for everyone else throughout the week, then read the notes together.
Alternatively, if your family is small, you could have your co-workers or friends participate by writing notes you can stick in your kiddo's box and transporting his notes to them.
4. Paper Hugs
For this craft, you just need a little paint, some construction paper, cardboard, markers, and googly eyes. Paper hugs are an easy way to teach your preschooler the difference between large and small, while letting them get a little messy with finger paint or other decorative items. Since the arms are made of fan-folded paper, this activity is also good for hand-eye coordination
5. Egg Carton Wreath
Don't let your old toilet paper rolls have all the fun. If you have a cardboard egg carton or two laying around, this Egg Carton Wreath is the perfect way to recycle those old egg holders! The result looks magnificent, and you can easily decorate your door with it or give a few away as gifts. Since the cardboard can be a little tough to cut, you'll want to make sure an adult takes care of that task. Once the carton is cut in half, gently flex each piece back and forth to make it pliable, but be careful not to be too aggressive, as the paper can break.
Once you've got it worked out, have your little one paint the pieces red. Staple two ends together, then gently bend the other two ends toward each other to form the top of the heart, and staple that end to secure the design. Now it's time to let your kiddo get creative with glitter, stickers, ribbon, or any other crafty item you have in your closet.
At All Saints' Episcopal Day School, we embrace the creativity that each holiday brings. All Saints' is a private school located in Phoenix, Arizona. To learn more about enrolling your child in our preschool program, visit our campus.