loose parts

Jewelry Sensory Tray

February 15, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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If you have washable heart-themed children’s jewelry pieces lying around or found some in a post-Valentine’s Day sale, they can have a go in a jewelry sensory tray. Add a few complimentary colored loose parts, and your early learners will be eager to explore the tray.

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Loose Parts For The Tray

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heart bracelets
color block silicone bracelets
rainbow heart rings
wiggly eye rings
rainbow heart erasers
foam flowers and hearts
gem hearts
flower eraser
buttons

This tray has loose parts in a variety of cheery colors, taking it beyond Valentine’s Day.

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Making The Jewelry Sensory Tray

Heart-themed jewelry sensory tray that takes tactile exploration beyond Valentine's Day.

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Pick a tray large enough for a few children to play in.

Add a layer of rice. I feature glutinous rice. I love it because it is super white.

Spread the heart jewelry and complimentary colored loose parts in the tray. Invite your early learners to explore the tactile center.

This sensory tray idea also works for individual play. Just divide the supplies into a portion for each child and add them to smaller trays.

Heart jewelry sensory tray with cheery colors that take tactile exploration beyond Valentine's Day.

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Valentine’s Day Musical Instruments

February 14, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

Valentine's Day containers with loose parts added make drum and shaker musical instruments perfect for sound exploration.

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Save those little containers that valentine treats and crafts come in! Empty chocolate boxes, plastic jars, heart-shaped bowls, and small containers make excellent sensory and art supplies. And when used with drumsticks and filled with loose parts, they can also be Valentine’s Day musical instruments.

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Valentine’s Day Loose Parts To Collect

Here’s a supply of loose parts that early learners could choose from for music-making:

Loose parts to add to Valentine's Day containers to make shaker and drum musical instruments.

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mini rubber balls
coins
erasers
heart necklaces
heart-shaped cookie cutters
red heart gems
pompoms
buttons
X and O game pieces

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This compartment tray holds the above items and the ones below:

Loose parts to add to Valentine's Day containers to make shaker and drum musical instruments, and a variety of drumsticks.

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pony beads
red and white round gems
large red beads
striped straws
wooden hearts

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Making Valentine’s Day Musical Instruments

Collect Valentine’s Day-themed containers and set them out on a table with a tray of loose parts. Encourage little learners to fill containers with one kind of loose part and add lids. Have them use the filled containers as shakers.

A collection of Valentine's Day-themed containers with loose parts and drumsticks for music-making.

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A heart-shaped bowl and small tin make excellent drums. Just add drumsticks!

An overturned plastic heart-shaped bowl and small tin make excellent drums.

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When covered with a lid and tipped from side to side, this pony bead-filled tin becomes an ocean drum.

A heart-shaped tin with pony beads added makes an ocean drum.

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Why not go big? This large chocolate box heart works wonderfully as an ocean drum too. A few beaded necklaces add the sound.

A heart-shaped empty chocolate box with necklaces or loose parts added makes an ocean drum.

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Your early learners will love making sounds and tapping beats with these recycled containers. To extend the investigative play, add the containers to a large tub filled with rice. Invite your little learners to add rice to them to create more Valentine’s Day musical instruments.

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Scissor Skill Heart Collage

February 10, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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A simple but effective activity to plan is a scissor skill heart collage invitation. Early learners will be able to explore luxurious craft supplies with unique properties and textures and complete a display-worthy project.

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Craft Supplies To Collect

Gather craft supplies that can be cut and glued in the color scheme of your choice. I feature traditional Valentine’s Day hues, but any color scheme would work beautifully. Cut the materials a little smaller if desired, but keep them large enough for little ones to trim some more.

Luxurious craft supply tray for heart collage crafts.

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Included in this first compartment tray are:

pipe cleaners
crepe paper
tin foil
metallic purple paper
foam strips
heart patterned ribbon strips
thin and thick ribbon strips
lace
paper doily pieces
white and red bead garland
heart garland
scissors

Red, pink, and white craft supply tray for heart collage projects.

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This second craft supply tray holds:

pink and white crepe paper
rose petals
foam pieces
Valentine’s envelopes
white yarn
cream lace
paper strips
red, gold, and white ribbon
white bead garland

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Making The Heart Collage Projects

Cut large hearts from fadeless construction paper.

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Divide up the craft supplies into small trays.

Set up stations with a craft supply tray, pair of scissors, paper heart, white glue, and glue paddle.

Invitation to cut and glue luxurious craft supplies to make a heart collage.

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Invite early learners to cut the supplies and glue them onto their hearts.

After the embellished hearts dry, hot glue a bow onto each one. Add loops of thin ribbon for hanging the crafts.

Scissor skill heart collage made by cutting and glueing luxurious craft supplies.

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This scissor skill heart collage project gives little ones a chance to strengthen their finger muscles while learning how to cut and glue a variety of craft supplies. And the collaged hearts are sure to be treasured by loved ones.

Scissor skill heart collage projects made by cutting and glueing luxurious craft supplies.

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Valentine’s Day Playdough Activities

February 7, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

Valentine's Day playdough recipes and loose parts trays. A basic recipe with color variations and a jello playdough recipe is featured.

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Playdough is a shoo-in for any Valentine’s Day theme. There are so many heart loose parts available to use, and who doesn’t like the chance to include red and pink colors in their play? In this post, I’ve included a basic playdough recipe and a jello recipe. The basic recipe includes color variations made with neon food colors. All the recipes are easy to use for introducing Valentine’s Day playdough activities to your little learners.

But first, the loose parts!

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Valentine’s Day Loose Parts Trays

Here are two playdough trays brimming with loose parts. The tray below includes:

Valentine's Day playdough tray with loose parts and pink and white dough recipes.

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rubber heart game pieces
X and O game pieces
toothpick cupcake toppers
wooden, gem, and foam hearts
buttons
heart erasers
natural colored gems
cookie cutters and rolling pin

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This second tray includes:

Valentine's Day playdough tray with loose parts and blueberry, white, and lilac dough recipes.

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heart bead garland
red and white bead garland
white and red gems
wooden, gem, and eraser hearts
large red beads
buttons
X and O game pieces
lollipop sticks

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Basic Playdough Recipe

Valentine's Day playdough tray with loose parts and red, pink and white dough recipes.

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My go-to basic playdough recipe has the following ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
4 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 cups water
3 tablespoons oil

Add the first three ingredients to a sturdy pot and mix together.

Stir two tablespoons oil into two cups of water.

Add the water and oil to the dry ingredients and combine.

Heat on the stove on medium heat.

Stirring frequently, cook until the mixture is no longer glossy and the dough forms a ball.

Scoop the dough on to a cutting board.

Knead when cool, adding in one tablespoon more oil.

Store the playdough in a sealed plastic bag.

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Jello Playdough

To make deep, pinkish-red strawberry playdough, boil the water and stir in two 85 gram packages of strawberry jello powder. Next, mix in two tablespoons of oil. Add the hot colored water mixture to the dry ingredients in a pot as above, and finish making the recipe the same way.

To make the pastel blue playdough, use one 85 gram package of blueberry jello.

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Food Coloring Playdough

To make the lilac playdough, stir a few generous squirts of neon purple food coloring into the pot of mixed wet and dry ingredients. Then heat the mixture and finish making the recipe as above.

To make the pastel pink-colored playdough, add a few squirts of neon pink food coloring to the pot. The more food coloring you add, the darker the playdough will get.

Note: These recipes make a batch of playdough for up to five children to use.

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Valentine’s Day Playdough Invitation

Set out loose parts on a tray with playdough colors of choice. Add rolling pins and cookie cutters if desired, and watch your little charges create.

Valentine's Day-themed playdough and loose parts tray.

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Any questions about the playdough recipes? Leave a comment below!

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More Playdough Recipes and Activities

Apple Playdough Tray

Edible Playdough Turkey Crafty

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Scented Playdough Activities

Pumpkin Playdough Activities

Gingerbread Playdough

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Orange-scented Playdough Invitation

Chocolate Mint Playdough

Christmas Playdough

Santa Claus Playdough Tray

Valentine’s Day Playdough Activities

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St. Patrick’s Day Playdough Tray

Easter Playdough Tray

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Valentine’s Day Sensory Tubes

February 6, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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With so many Valentine’s Day bits and baubles available to purchase or collect, it is easy to gather little pieces for sensory tubes. And Valentine’s Day sensory tubes are fun to put together.

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Sensory Tube Loose Parts

Valentine's day loose parts tray with pieces for sensory tubes.

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Here’s a few supplies that would work well in the sensory tubes:

X and O game pieces
rainbow and heart erasers
heart and jewel-shaped gems
small buttons
heart garland strips
bead garland strips
rubber hearts
foam hearts

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Assembling The Valentine’s Day Sensory Tubes

Pick a few things from the loose parts list to drop in wide-mouthed water bottles with lids that secure on tightly. Then add water to each one. Set the tubes out on a table for little learners to investigate.

Valentine's Day sensory tubes with red, pink, and purple loose parts.

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Float and sink experimenting works well with these sensory tubes. In the one on the left, X and O game pieces float to the top. Foam hearts float and erasers and gems sink in the middle tube. And in the one on the right, heart-shaped gems sink to the bottom.

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Sensory tubes with Valentine's Day themed loose parts.

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