If you’d like to have a copy of the weekly play planner delivered straight to your e-mail in box, just sign up in the ‘Receive our weekly Play Planner’ box over on the right. The planner will arrive on a Sunday, ready and waiting with . . . → Read More: Winter Play Planner # 11]]>

Receive your own copy of the Play Planner

If you’d like to have a copy of the weekly play planner delivered straight to your e-mail in box, just sign up in the ‘Receive our weekly Play Planner’ box over on the right. The planner will arrive on a Sunday, ready and waiting with a week’s worth of play ideas for the week ahead.

Monday’s child is… 

in love with playdough with this free printable recipe card

Tuesday’s child is…

exploring symmetry

Wednesday’s child is…

making touchy-feely Valentines (great for babies and toddlers)

 Thursday’s child is…

giving thanks with a Gratitude Tree

Friday’s child is…

exploring lots of textures in a Valentine’s sensory tub (thanks H is for Homeschooling)

Saturday’s child is…

racing balloon-powered cars (thanks Red Ted Art)

Sunday’s child is…

making marbelised paper (thanks Juggling with Kids)

Join us on Facebook or on Pinterest for more fun ideas

This activity is part of the heart project: a collaboration of over 100 creative ideas raising . . . → Read More: Valentine touchy-feely hearts]]>

This activity is part of the heart project: a collaboration of over 100 creative ideas raising money for the American Heart Foundation. You’ll need to check back tomorrow to find out all about the project but for now, here’s how to make these touchy feely hearts.

Valentine touchy feely hearts

Start by drawing lots of heart shapes on some card – all shapes and sizes, let the kids have a go!

Spread on some strong clear drying PVA / craft glue and your love heart canvas is ready to decorate.

Invite the children to sprinkle and press on all sorts of materials. Try to provide as many different textures as you can find.

Ideas to try include
:: tissue paper :: wrapping paper :: tin foil :: sequins :: glitter :: sandpaper :: wool :: string :: card :: ribbon :: velvet :: bubble wrap :: sand :: rice :: pasta :: cotton fabric :: lentils :: silk :: hessian :: chiffon

Toddlers can certainly join in with all this and even babies might help. If your baby is too young to do some sticking they can explore some of the materials while older siblings (or you!) create the hearts for them to explore once they’re finished.

As you’re using a strong craft glue most items should stick well to the hearts and still allow you to feel the full variety of different textures. If you’re using small items, such as glitter and sequins, an extra layer of glue over the top helps to hold the materials together. Adding extra folds and crinkles to the papers and fabrics adds even more texture.

The finished hearts look wonderful as a touchy feely art gallery. Hang them where your children can reach them to feel the different textures. You could also stick them in to a journal or scrap book to create a sensory book to share with babies, but be sure to read the book along with them to make sure none of the materials get free and end up in their mouths.

This project is one of over 100 creative ideas joining the very special heart project. Find out all about it here

But if you really can’t wait, why not have a look at our other Valentine craft ideas, such as our water painted hearts and our valentine gratitude tree and our symmetry art love hearts.

If you’d like to have a copy of the weekly play planner delivered straight to your e-mail in box, just sign up in the ‘Receive our weekly Play Planner’ box over on the right. The planner will arrive on a Sunday, ready and waiting with a week’s worth of . . . → Read More: Winter Play Planner # 10]]>

Receive your own copy of the Play Planner

If you’d like to have a copy of the weekly play planner delivered straight to your e-mail in box, just sign up in the ‘Receive our weekly Play Planner’ box over on the right. The planner will arrive on a Sunday, ready and waiting with a week’s worth of play ideas for the week ahead.

Monday’s child is… 

mixing playdough and cocktail sticks, exploring maths and construction

Tuesday’s child is…

joining the Mad Hatter for tea 

Wednesday’s child is…

creating art with drinking straws 

Thursday’s child is…

making a lift-the-flap love book 

Friday’s child is…

printing a Valentine

Saturday’s child is…

writing in the salt tray (thanks Teach Preschool)

Sunday’s child is…

a superhero! (thanks Mama Smiles)

Join us on Facebook or on Pinterest for more fun ideas

This idea for contact paper art is the result of my 5-year-old’s love of scissors. She sat listening to an audio book last week, all the while cutting away at a pack of drinking straws with her scissors. I’m not quite sure what it is about snipping she finds so appealing but she loves it at . . . → Read More: Contact paper art]]>

This idea for contact paper art is the result of my 5-year-old’s love of scissors. She sat listening to an audio book last week, all the while cutting away at a pack of drinking straws with her scissors. I’m not quite sure what it is about snipping she finds so appealing but she loves it at the moment and will cut paper, playdough, card, whatever. Not wanting to put a stop to her current craze, but also not wanting to see all our art supplies vanish into pieces quite so quickly, we gathered up all the drinking straw remnants to use for some contact paper art.

Contact paper art

We decided to make some frames from card and drew out some irregular shapes.

Once the frames were cut out we placed them onto contact paper (which you might also know as sticky backed plastic).

Then it was time to fill in our gallery with the drinking straws.

Putting the contact paper frames up in the window, with the light shining through, creates a beautiful effect. With the bowl of drinking straws placed on the window ledge it’s an invitation for whoever is passing to add a few pieces. The contact paper is strong enough to hold the straws in place, but it’s very easy to peel them off, move them around and try different arrangements.

You can fill in the whole frame, make faces, create a stained glass effect, make stripes, patchwork, whatever you like. Have you ever tried contact paper art with your kids?

Join the Kids Art Explorers

If you enjoy trying out new art materials and techniques why not join the Kids Art Explorers project?

happily shared with friday’s nature table and it’s playtime and kids get crafty