Valentine's Day

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.

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.

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.

mini rubber balls

coins

erasers

heart necklaces

heart-shaped cookie cutters

red heart gems

pompoms

buttons

X and O game pieces

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.

pony beads

red and white round gems

large red beads

striped straws

wooden hearts

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.

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.

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.

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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Dinosaur Valentine Craft

February 13, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

It was just a couple of days before Valentine’s Day when one of my preschoolers said “Remember, Mrs. Kaminsky…you promised to make a dinosaur valentine craft for us to do.” And yes, I had!

We were just finishing up a polar dinosaur theme when I had come across super cute dinosaur Valentine’s Day window clings. They served as perfect transition décor from that winter wrapped dinosaur theme to a Valentine’s Day topic. And they provided lots of craft inspiration, which led me to tell my preschoolers we would do a dinosaur valentine craft.

So this is a very last minute dinosaur-themed Valentine’s Day craft project!

Supplies To Collect

dinosaur printable

12-inch x 12-inch cardstock

8 ½ x 11-inch cardstock

pompoms

wiggly eyes

thin felt pen

paper or foam hearts

thin ribbon strip

white glue

glue paddle

glue stick

Making The Dinosaur Valentine

Download one of these two dinosaur templates and print it on 8 ½ x 11-inch cardstock paper in the color of your choice.

Dinosaur template to use for a dinosaur-themed craft.

Dinosaur PrintableDownload

This printable is for individual or one classroom use only.

Rawr-y dinosaur template to use for a valentine craft.

Rawr-y Dinosaur PrintableDownload

This printable is for individual or one classroom use only.

Fashion a bow from a small strip of thin ribbon.

Cut out the dinosaur, and invite your early learner to use a glue stick to paste it on a 12-inch x 12-inch piece of complementary cardstock.

Then have your little one use white glue to add pompoms to the dinosaur back, wiggly eyes to the head, and a bow to the neck.

Next, have your little learner use the glue stick to add paper or foam hearts to the body, and use a thin felt pen to draw a smile on the head.

Cut out the “I Rawr-y Love You” greeting to add to the craft if desired.

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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.

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!

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.

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

This second tray includes:

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

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

Basic Playdough Recipe

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

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

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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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