The kids really enjoyed helping me make this heart themed sensory board, and it makes a great Valentines’ Day themed activity for kids! Making the board was easy! We took a sheet of cardboard I had been saving for just such an activity, and went through the house looking for fabric and other materials to use to cover the board with hearts. From left to right, top to bottom, we wound up with:
- A heart sticker
- A piece of a plastic bag (barely visible in these photos, but very touchable)
- Wool plaid I bought in high school. I made some of it into a jacket in college that has since vanished from my wardrobe, but there is quite a bit left in my stash that I can’t seem to part with. Any suggestions for uses?
- Hot pink tissue paper
- Pink corduroy – a remnant from some family member. As the only sewing member of my generation, I get lots of random fabric scraps that are awesome for projects like this.
- Pink fleece from Emma’s winter toddler dress. Do any long-term readers remember that post? Emma wore that dress to pieces. Maybe I will make Anna one, if it looks like we will get any more cold weather in California. Temperatures were up in the 70s yesterday, which I find a big alarming in January.
- Red polyester plaid. Another hand-me-down from family.
- Tin foil
- A heart jewel – from the stick-on jewels I bought to go on crowns at Johnny’s birthday party.
- Red burlap. Did you know that burlap comes in colors? I got a care package of all sorts of beautiful burlap from BurlapFabric.com and I have a personal fondness for burlap, difficult fabric that it can be, so you will be seeing more burlap on this blog in the future.
- Red felt. I have felt in all sorts of colors, because I love felt so much that I even have a felt category for this blog.
We used Mod Podge for the aluminum foil and burlap (it’s still drying in the photos, which is the white you see through the holes; it will eventually be clear) but a glue stick for everything else. Burlap is a little fragile to use a glue stick on and aluminum foil can rip if kids are using glue sticks on it. I wasn’t sure it would adhere as well as I wanted it to if I had the kids put glue stick glue directly on the cardboard (that would work fine for plain paper or card stock). A hot glue stick would work well, and so would glue dots, but then you get glue bumps. I didn’t want to use Mod Podge with the thinner fabrics, because it would leach through. The sticker and stick-on jewel came with their own adhesives.
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The kids enjoy exploring this board, and they have come up with all sorts of games to play with it! Their current favorite is where they close their eyes, and someone else guides their hand to a heart. They have to figure out which material the heart is made from! Interestingly, the two plaid hearts are the toughest to tell apart! Throwing our bean bags and aiming for particular hearts was also very popular!
If you have older kids, this is a great opportunity to talk about different types of materials and their properties. Why does aluminum foil wrinkle, but not fleece? Why is some fabric stretchy? Which of these materials on this board would you use to make a dress? How about a napkin? Would you cover a couch with any of these materials? Why or why not?
This project also inspired the Valentines that Emma is making for her classmates – more on that tomorrow!
More Creative Valentine’s Day Activities for Kids
A bunch of my blog friends are sharing their creative Valentine’s Day activities for kids today! Check them out:
- Preschool Fun: Painting and Lacing Hearts from Bare Feet on the Dashboard
- Paper Heart Bunting from Peakle Pie
- Heart Themed Sensory Board from Mama Smiles
- Wax Resist Valentine Cards from The Gingerbread House
- Heart Cracker Crisps from Betsy’s Photography
- Valentine’s Day Blessing Activity from Betsy’s Photography
- Valentines Heart Painting with Waterbeads from Multicraftingmummy
- Valentine Sensory Soup from Learning and Exploring Through Play
- Salt Dough Hand Keepsake from Learning and Exploring Through Play
- Heart Sensory Bag from Learning and Exploring Through Play
- Salt Dough Heart Candle Holder from Messy Little Monster
- Sensory Friendly Valentines from Mosswood Connections
- Paper Weight Rock Valentine’s Day Gifts from Teach Me Mommy
- Paper Bag Tea Cups from KidPep
- Ten Fun Valentine Ideas for Tots from My Bright Firefly
Looking for more Valentine’s Day activities? How about these adorable color-me heart friends?
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MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
So clever!
I love all the different textures of the fabrics! Did you have these all in your scrap bag?
Yes! I’m a little bit of a fabric hoarder…
What a great use for lots of things you’ve collected! I especially like how your kids are coming up with their own games for it.
That was my favorite thing. They have come up with all sorts of creative uses for this board! Today the different hearts were homes for their little counter bears.
Don’t you love it when you can use materials from around the house!
I like how the kids participated in making their sensory board. (I’m not ready for Valentine’s Day this year!)
Yes! We are trying to just use what we have wherever possible this year.
Make a Scotty dog with the red plaid, that would be so cute.
Brilliant! Thanks for the inspiration :)
I think I’m going to have my eldest make his Valentine’s for his classmates too instead of me making it or buying something store bought. I might suggest some themes like hearts or colors but let him go to town with painting the cards and writing their names on it.
I love creative handmade kids’ valentines.
Great minds think alike :) I am also sharing our favorite hearts today. This sensory board is too cool!
We have had a lot of fun with this board! Today the kids were using the hearts as homes for their little bear counters.
What a fun way to play with textures and heart shapes!
All of my kids have really enjoyed this.