Putting The Pretty In Preschool

Finding Beauty In Everyday Early Childhood Experiences

preschool

Valentine’s Day Jewelry on the Light Table

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The giving and receiving of jewelry around Valentine’s Day is a common tradition. Who doesn’t feel special receiving a new sparkling, jewel-toned necklace, bracelet, or ring? Trying on Valentine’s Day jewelry on the light table gives little learners a chance to feel that specialness and explore the glittering accessories in a new way.

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Light Table Valentine’s Day Supplies

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The following supplies were gathered for this charming light table play invitation:

  • clear acrylic jewelry chest
  • clear acrylic compartment trays
  • mirror and stand
  • transparent purple, pink, and red necklaces, bracelets, and rings
  • heart-themed play sunglasses
  • transparent tic tac toe game
  • reusable heart-shaped ice cubes
  • acrylic heart gems

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The Valentine’s Day Jewelry Play Invitation

Play jewelry is a welcome addition to any dress-up center, but has a moment to shine extra brightly in a light table play invitation.

The clear acrylic jewelry chest was a recent happy find and is super fun to use. Jewelry displayed in clear compartment trays works just as well.

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A large mirror set on a stand reflects the supplies beautifully and invites children to view themselves all jeweled up. Choosing a non-breakable mirror is recommended.

Play sunglasses add to the possible looks.

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Heart-themed loose parts provide additional items to explore and encourage children to think in creative ways. Early learners can practice labeling, counting, and sorting them.

Having a variety of materials on the light table allows children to play side by side, offering opportunities for socialization. Two to four children can play in the center at one time.

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The color scheme for this Valentine’s Day jewelry on the light table play invitation is purple, pink, and red. Any color combination would work wonderfully for the illuminating, accessory-filled center.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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More Valentine’s Day Activities

Valentine’s Day Heart Art

Valentine’s Day Pretend Play

Woolly Valentine’s Day Crafts

Valentine’s Day Process Art

Valentine’s Day Treasure Blocks

Squeegee Painting Heart Art

Valentine’s Day Water Play

Valentine’s Day Gingerbread Cookies

Valentine’s Day Musical Instruments

Heart Doily Gnome Valentines

Valentine’s Day Playdough Activities

Llama-inspired Valentine’s Day Sensory Bin

Valentine’s Day Sensory Tubes

Eye Dropper Heart Art

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Valentine’s Day Owl Craft

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Here’s a cute Valentine’s Day owl craft that doubles as a fun card to give to someone you love on February 14. It can be made entirely from paper or embellished with a few more supplies. Download the free template to make craft preparation easy.

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Supplies To Collect

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Gather the following supplies for this sweet owl-themed Valentine’s Day craft:

  • various colors cardstock or construction paper
  • 8 ½-inch x 11-inch white cardstock paper
  • wiggly eyes
  • eyelash stickers
  • thin felt pen
  • scissors and pencil
  • glue stick

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The Valentine’s Day Owl Craft

This owl-dorable Valentine’s Day craft is so easy to make. The first thing to do is pick a few different colors of cardstock or construction paper to use.

Then, download this template and use it to cut out the owl’s body, wings, beak, and feet. Pick different colors of paper for the task.

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Get the free printable:

Valentine’s Day Owl Craft PrintableDownload

This printable is for individual or one classroom use only.

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Next, use a glue stick to affix the body onto a neutral-colored sheet of 8 ½ inch x 11-inch cardstock paper.

Afterward, cut out a paper heart and glue it in the center of the body.

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Then glue a wing on either side, positioning each one to touch the edge of the heart.

Glue on two small hearts on the bottom of the body to serve as feet.

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Then add two eyelash stickers or wiggly eyes to the head, and glue a paper beak. Or draw in the eyes with a thin felt marker or pencil.

Finally, add the words “You Have My Hoot” to the top of the picture using the art medium of your choice.

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The owl-themed saying on this craft can be varied. Below, the Valentine’s message is “You Hoot a Song in My Heart,” and the large heart is cut from musical note-themed scrapbook paper.

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The Valentine’s Day Owl Craft Simplified

For a simple classroom or home-based activity, print the free owl craft template below onto copy paper. Give a template to each child participating in the craft. Invite participants to color each owl body part with crayons or pencil crayons, and cut the parts out. Then have them glue the colored shapes to a cardstock background to create the Valentine’s Day owl craft. Finally, have everyone draw eyelashes or eyes on their bird and add the words “You Have My Hoot” with a felt pen or pencil.

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Get the free printable:

Valentine’s Day Owl Craft Printable 2Download

This printable is for individual or one classroom use only.

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More Valentine’s Day Crafts

Origami Heart Valentines

Woolly Sheep Valentine’s Day Craft

Dinosaur Valentine Craft

Heart Doily Gnome Valentines

Ladybug Wand Craft

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Chinese New Year Sensory Bins

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Here are three Chinese New Year sensory bins to help celebrate the upcoming Lunar New Year. The zodiac animal assigned to the new year is a dragon, and the imaginary winged beast is featured in all the bins.

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Dragon and Noodle Sensory Bin

This first Chinese New Year sensory bin has a noodle base. Noodles are a common ingredient in Asian dishes.

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The supplies in the bin are:

  • red envelope
  • gold play coins
  • red bowl and chopsticks
  • red and gold dragon figurines
  • stuffed fish
  • gold and red buttons
  • red tassels
  • red beads and bead garland

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Dyed Chickpea and Dragon Sensory Bin

This second Lunar New Year sensory bin has a dyed chickpea base.

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The chickpeas are dyed in various amounts of red acrylic paint. Some have been left uncolored. To learn how to dye chickpeas, view my blog post “Chinese New Year Sensory Play.”

Just a few supplies complement this simple sensory bin:

  • gold Asian play coins
  • round game pieces
  • gold stars cut from garland
  • red and gold bead garland cut into strips
  • large diamond-shaped acrylic gems
  • gold buttons
  • plush dragon
  • star-shaped bowl
  • training chopsticks

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Chinese New Year Wood Dragon Bin

This third sensory bin hones in on the fact that it is not just the year of the dragon, but more specifically, a wood dragon. The white glutinous rice-based bin is calming compared to the two previous bright and bold bins. Green and white supplies and woodland elements are prevalent in the sensory play invitation.

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The Chinese New Year Wood Dragon bin contents are:

  • orange tree sprig
  • green and gold ornament
  • artificial green leaves
  • small logs
  • tree branch slices
  • tiny tin
  • gold play coins
  • ornamental rock
  • training chopsticks
  • green dragon figurine

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Enjoy celebrating the Chinese New Year with one or more of these dragon-themed sensory bins.

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Related:

Year Of The Rat Sensory Bin

Year Of The Ox Sensory Bin

Year Of The Tiger Sensory Bin

Year Of The Pig Sensory Bin

Year Of The Rabbit Sensory Bin

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Chinese New Year Dragon Craft

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The Chinese New Year celebration is just around the corner, and this year the feature animal is a dragon. The imaginary animal is fifth in the Chinese Zodiac and is linked with the element wood in the year 2024. So naturally, wood products are incorporated in this Chinese New Year dragon craft.

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Dragon Craft Supplies

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The supplies in this spectacular dragon craft are:

  • sandpaper
  • wood sample chips
  • wiggly eye
  • 11-inch x 14-inch sturdy paper
  • Asian coin play money
  • white glue and glue paddle
  • pencil and scissors

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The Chinese New Year Dragon Craft

For this woodsy dragon, I enlarged a dragon necklace pattern, a free printable on the blog. I used it to cut out the head, legs, and tail from a sheet of course sandpaper.

Small rectangular wood sample chips, donated from a hardware store, make up the curvy body.

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Gold Asian play coins add glitz to the design.

The creative invitation makes a unique transient art activity. Or the supplies can be glued onto a large piece of sturdy paper using white glue and a glue paddle.

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Variations Of The Dragon Craft

Instead of using wood sample chips, rectangles cut from wood-themed scrapbook paper would work beautifully.

Circles cut or punched from metallic or glitter gold cardstock could serve as the play money.

The entire project would look equally stunning made from one or more colors of construction paper.

The Chinese New Year dragon craft is a great fit for Lunar New Year 2024. Since dragons are part of the celebrations every year, it could become an annual project.

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More Chinese New Year Activities

Chinese New Year Pretend Play

Chinese New Year Sensory Tub

Orange-scented Playdough Invitation

Chinese Money Tree Art and Sensory Activities

Chinese New Year DIY Decorating

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Polar Scene Snow Painting

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This polar scene snow painting activity was a last minute set up after a group discussion about igloos and the possibility of making one. We just happened to have a lot of snow in our city that week, so it was a good fit. Save this idea for the next time you have snow…the art and sensory activity is sure to be a hit.

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Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

Supplies to Collect

Just the following few supplies are needed for this polar scene snow painting activity:

  • sensory tray
  • bus tub
  • large bowl
  • polar animal figurines
  • ice cubes or acrylic ice cubes
  • snow
  • paint pots and paintbrushes
  • neon food coloring or liquid food colors
  • stage light (optional)

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Polar Scene Snow Painting

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To set up this snowy sensory set up, the first thing to do is to select a sensory tray. For this activity, I picked a large active world tray. It is gernously-sized, and has room for six to eight children to paint at a time. For three to four children, a smaller tray or bin would work just fine.

Next, fill a bus tub or similar-sized utility box with snow and pour it into the bin.

Afterward, pack a salad bowl-sized metal bowl full of snow and let it sit for a few minutes.

Then tip the bowl over in the center of the snow-filled tray to create an igloo. Pack more snow around the dome if necessary to ensure a rounded shape.

Dig a little hole in one part of the igloo to become an entrance.

Then add ice cubes or acrylic ice cubes around the snow house.

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Next, generously squirt neon food colors such as green, pink, and purple into paint pots half-filled with water. Add a paintbrush to each pot.

Note: The food color choices are inspired by hues displayed in northern lights, which frequently flood the arctic skies and illuminate the land.

Finally, invite your little charges to paint the igloo and snow.

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To extend this transient art invitation and add ambiance, set up a stage light and position it to shine on the igloo and animal figurines while the children are participating in the polar scene snow painting activity.

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Children may wish to paint the animal figurines during the art and sensory experience. The paint washes off easily with a little soap and water.

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More Northern Lights-inspired Activities

Igloo “Glamping” Pretend Play

Polar Bear Small World

Northern Lights Squish Painting

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Paint Pour Ice Cake Sensory Play

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Drip cakes are a popular trend at the moment. After seeing a fascinating drip cake-decorating video online, I thought it would be fun to try a similar technique with tempera paint and a three-tier ice cake. It turned out to be a paint pour ice cake sensory play invitation, and the icy activity was a huge success. I highly recommend giving it a try.

It is winter in my part of the world right now, and this paint pour sensory activity fits the season. But it would work any time of the year indoors or outdoors using of-the-moment seasonal colors.

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Supplies To Collect

To set up a paint pour ice cake sensory activity, gather the following supplies:

  • sensory tub
  • small square coffee table
  • waterproof tablecloth
  • tarp
  • round food storage containers in various sizes
  • a variety of ice cube trays
  • tempera paints in turquoise, pink, light purple, and white hues
  • small soda or water bottles
  • shovels
  • toy dinosaurs

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Setting Up The Paint Pour Ice Cake Activity

This sensory invitation is easy from start to finish. The first thing to do is collect round food storage containers and gather all the ice cube trays you can find. Freeze water in them outdoors on a cold day or in a freezer to make ice. This will take about 24 to 48 hours.

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Next, pour tempera paint in turquoise, pink, light purple, and white hues into clear bottles with narrow spouts. Small milk or soda bottles are perfect for this activity. Mix a little water into the paint colors to make them easy to pour.

Then cover an area of the floor with a tarp or large round waterproof tablecloth and set down a small coffee table.

Cover the table with a waterproof tablecloth and place a sensory tub on it. For the featured activity, I used an inexpensive saucer sled. It is just the right size to fit four to six little learners around it. An active world tray would be a fine alternative.

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When the ice shapes are frozen, stack the large cylindrical ones into a three-tier cake in the middle of the tub. Spread ice cubes in various sizes and shapes around the ice cake.

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Paint Pour Ice Cake Sensory Play

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When the ice cake sensory play invitation is all set up, invite little learners to gather around.

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Have your little charges take turns pouring paint from a bottle on top of the cake. The children will be enthralled by the dripping hues.

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After all the paint has been poured, include shovels and dinosaurs in the tub for added sensory play opportunities.

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The paint colors will eventually tone down and blend, allowing little learners to experience a color-changing science experiment.

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More Winter Sensory Play Activities

Polar Animal Sensory Play

Winter-themed Treasure Blocks

Winter Playdough Recipe

Kid’s Winter Wonderland Tablescape

LLama-Inspired Winter Sensory Bin

Snowy Owl Sensory Bin

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Giant Snowflake Printmaking

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This giant snowflake printmaking project gives children a chance to paint on a different canvas and practice a printmaking technique in an ombre color scheme. A large, slatted wooden snowflake is the inspiration and unique find for this printmaking activity.

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Snowflake Printmaking Craft Supplies

For this gigantic snowflake printmaking activity, gather the following supplies:

  • large slatted wooden snowflake
  • turquoise, red, blue, and white tempera paints
  • paint pots and paintbrushes
  • spoons
  • large sheets of paper

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The Giant Snowflake Printmaking Process

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To do this snowflake printmaking activity, select a large, wooden snowflake for the canvas. This oversized snowflake with four wooden slats works perfectly for an ombre painting activity.

Next, choose tempera paint colors. In this ombre design, the chosen colors are shades of blue, pink, and turquoise.

Then stir white paint into the red, blue, and turquoise temperas to create hues to your liking. Varying amounts of white mixed with blue tempera paint make the light and medium blue hues. White added to red makes a pastel pink shade. And white added to turquoise makes the lighter hue.

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Afterward, set out the paints in pots and add a paintbrush to each one.

Paint each slat a different paint color. Apply the colors generously, and make sure to give the outside edges an extra good coat.

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Finally, carefully flip the wooden snowflake over onto an 11-inch x 14-inch piece of sturdy art paper, or an 11-inch x 17-inch piece of copy paper. Press firmly on all parts of the unpainted side of the snowflake, and then lift it off carefully.

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Tip: You may want to make two prints for your first try with this painting technique. The tempera paint will transfer over better on the second try.

When the paint print snowflake is dry, trim the top and bottom edges of the paper. Or cut the colorful snowflake out.

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The wooden snowflake canvas can be used over and over if you are introducing this printmaking activity to a group of children.

Large printed snowflakes positioned at different angles display beautifully together.

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Helping Little Learners Experience The Printmaking Process

Little learners will need help when performing this giant snowflake printmaking activity in the following ways:

  • painting each slat the appropriate color
  • applying paint to all areas of the wooden canvas
  • flipping the snowflake over to make a print on paper

In this activity, they can label and match colors, learn about an ombre color scheme, and practice a printmaking art activity.

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Variations Of This Giant Snowflake Printmaking Activity

To follow up this art experience, invite participants to paint the snowflake canvas any way they would like to allow for individual creativity.

A second idea is to offer wooden snowflakes in a smaller size. This gives little learners a chance to make snowflake prints independently.

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More Winter Activities

Winter Playdough Recipe

Spray Paint Snowflake Silhouette

Blue Candy Cane Science Experiment

Winter-themed Treasure Blocks

Igloo Camping Pretend Play

Polar Bear Small World

Winter Sensory Trays

Painting Ice and Snow

Winter Wreath Paper Plate Craft

Ice Drum Musical Instruments

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Snowflake Cafe Dramatic Play

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The weather is super snowy and cold in my part of the world right now, and this Snowflake Café dramatic play center fits right in. The center incorporates many loose parts, which little learners love to use in imaginative ways.

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Snowflake Restaurant Supplies

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The following supplies are in the snowflake café set up:

  • acrylic snowflakes and gems
  • white styrofoam balls
  • felt, foam, and wooden snowflakes
  • ice cream play food
  • iridescent bead necklaces
  • snowflake-themed bells
  • metal trays, cookie pans, and muffin tray
  • frosted disposable goblets
  • disposable plates
  • clear spoons and forks
  • play coffee machine and cups
  • play money
  • restaurant signs and menu items
  • table and chairs with a vase of flowers

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The Snowflake Cafe

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The color scheme for the winter-themed Snowflake Café dramatic play center is blue, white, silver, and gold.

Snowflakes in various sizes and materials make up a large part of the play food. In checking my supplies and scouring stores in our area I found them in felt, foam, acrylic, and wood.

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The wooden snowflakes are painted with gold, silver, or shades of blue acrylic craft paint to match the color scheme.

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Including play spaghetti in my dramatic play centers is so fun. In the café iridescent necklaces cut into strips are the noodles, and small snowflake-themed bells are the meatballs.

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Styrofoam balls are snow cupcakes or muffins.

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Disposable frosted goblets and silver trays add elegance to the center.

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Little learners love to mix and match supplies in the snowflake café and use their imagination to decide what play food the loose parts will be. They relish in preparing food, serving it to customers, and handling play money.

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Variation Of The Snowflake Cafe

Below, the loose parts and clear tableware in the Snowflake Cafe along with a few additional supplies set the tone for an inviting dining experience on the light table.

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Related:

Winter Pretend Play Tablescape

Lemonade Stand Dramatic Play

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Snowy Owl Sensory Bin

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This snowy owl sensory bin is a fun way to teach about predators and prey and can be set up in minutes. There are plenty of mice in the hide-and-seek bin, but there’s nothing to be afraid of in this winter play invitation.

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Snowy Owls and Mice

Snowy owls live in polar regions, but some make their way further south. The majestic birds have excellent vision and exceptional hearing ability and can detect mice and other rodents traveling through tunnels beneath snow in winter. Hunting by day or night, they can dive through the snow, grab a mouse with their talons, and then swallow it whole.

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Snowy Owl Sensory Bin Supplies

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Just a few supplies are in this cheeky snowy owl sensory bin:

  • cotton balls
  • paper towel rolls
  • toy mice
  • owl figurine
  • rocks
  • small logs

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The Snowy Owl Sensory Bin

A round saucer sled works well as a bin for this winter white sensory activity. It is big enough to hold a variety of supplies, but small enough to be easy to fill.

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A large snowy owl figurine is the main character in the bin. A stuffed animal owl would be an awesome alternative.

Cotton balls spread out in the bin represent snow.

Paper towel rolls cut to shorter lengths or left whole serve as tunnels. The paper rolls signify how mice dig tunnels in the snow and travel through them to find food on the ground to eat during the snowy months. The scurrying mice also use them to get to their underground burrows.

Mice come in a variety of colors, such as white, brown, or grey. In this sensory setup, steel grey rubber mice are the snowy owl prey.

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Many snowy owls live far north above the tree line and never see a tree during their lifetime. Some snowy owls venture further south, still choosing open areas to live in. Perched on a high vantage post such as a tree or fencepost, they scan the surrounding area for prey such as mice to eat. Thus a few rocks and logs are added to this second sensory bin.

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Snowy Owl Sensory Bin Learning Opportunities

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This snowy owl sensory bin play invitation is perfect for learning facts about snowy owls and mice, and learning about predators and prey. Discussing hard and soft, long and short, and heavy and light items facilitates language. Practice in counting mice and developing eye-hand coordination when taking mice in and out of their tunnels are other educational benefits.

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More Polar Animal Activities

Winter-themed Treasure Blocks

Igloo Camping Pretend Play

Polar Bear Small World

Winter Sensory Trays

Winter Wreath Paper Plate Craft

Scissor Skill Snow Cutting Activities

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New Year’s Rice Bin

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A sensory bin is one of the easiest ways to usher in a new theme, and this new year’s rice bin does just that. I have this gold and silver-laden bin waiting for my preschoolers to explore when they return from their Christmas break next week.

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Supplies In The Bin

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The following supplies are in the glitzy bin:

  • gold and silver wrapped foam mini presents
  • silver star-shaped dessert cups
  • tiny gold trophies
  • gold play coins
  • silver beads
  • gold clip tree decorations
  • gold spoon
  • silver bell ornament

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New Year’s Rice Bin

As with many of my sensory activities on the blog, a white bus tub is the bin of choice. It is large enough for two or three children to explore comfortably and doesn’t require an exorbitant amount of sensory base.

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White glutinous rice is the base for the bin, another one of my favorite sensory supplies.

Scooping and pouring rice using the tiny gold trophies and silver star-shaped dessert cups develops eye-hand coordination.

Little learners can gather and count the gold coins.

Gold clip tree decorations and silver beads (cut from a garland) add glitz to the bin.

Spoons are a basic accessory my preschoolers always want to be included in a sensory bin.

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The silver bell is not just a plain bell. It is shaped like an octopus. To see how it is made, view my blog post Octopus Christmas Craft. There is a free template to download should you decide to make an octopus-themed bell to help ring in the new year.

Happy New Year!

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More New Year’s Activities

New Year’s Eve Sensory Tray

New Year’s All Gold Sensory Activity

New Year’s Countdown Activities

New Year’s Crafts

New Year’s Sensory Tray

New Year’s Art and Math Activities

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