I Love Love!

Growing up, my family didn't do much to celebrate Valentine's Day.  My mom would pick up cupcakes or cookies with hearts on them and we would make cards for school, but that was it.  It was nothing against love or anything like that, it just wasn't one of those holidays we paid much attention to.  When I began working with children, I realized that there were so many great learning opportunities that could come out of the holiday and started to do more with it.  Now that I have my own daughter who loves pink, red, hearts and all the other things that you think about when it comes to Valentine's Day, I've gotten way more into it.  And since Pinterest makes it so easy to come up with ideas, I have found that I enjoy it so much more!  Here are a few of my favorite projects that I plan on doing with the kids I work with over the next weeks.  I have tried to find projects that can be completed over the course of one or two sessions so the kids don't get too frustrated or bored by it.


I Love You to Pieces Picture Frame-Whether you have old puzzles that you no longer use (maybe because you have lost a few pieces or kids just aren't into it any more), or have those blank do-it-yourself puzzles, this activity is quick and totally personal. You will need:

*Glue
*Popsicle Sticks
*Crayons, Paint, Markers, Etc.

1.  Color 4 popsicle sticks and a handful of puzzle pieces in whatever medium and color your child chooses.

2.  Glue the popsicle sticks together and place the puzzle pieces along the sticks.

3.  Once dry, have a grownup write "I Love You to Pieces" along the frame.  Turn around and glue a picture to the backside of the frame.

Fingerprint/Eraser Heart Picture-you can make this on whatever background you want.  I am going to get some heavy stock paper and cut them into an oversized postcard so the kids can decorate the front with a heart and then turn around and work on their writing skills by writing messages to the recipient  on the back of the card.  I have seen this done on a canvas and a blank tote bag/apron (just remember you will want to use something more permanent on these things).  There are a couple of ways to do this.  The first way is that you can cut a large heart, tape it onto the surface you are working with and either use the eraser or your fingers to make different colored dots all around the heart.  Remove the heart when you are all finished and you will have a plain heart in the middle that you can write a message in.  The other way to do this is to cut a large heart out and tape the outline of the heart onto your working surface (so it looks like a stencil).  Use the eraser or your fingertips and fill in the blank space.  Be sure to have the children put dots all around the edge of the stencil so there is a definite heart shape when you pull the stencil off.  You will need:
*heavy stock paper/canvas/blank tote bags
*pink and red washable inkpads
*pencils with brand new/unused erasers
*wipes for cleaning hands between color changes
*canvas, tote bag, etc.

1.  Depending on the skill level of the child you are working with, you can have them cut out a heart or you can it out and have it ready for them.  This will be placed in the middle of the surface you are working on and the kids will work all around it.

2.  I have kids use one thumb for one color ink and the other thumb for another and first tell them to place their prints all around the edge of the heart.  Once they are done with that, they can fill the blank space all around the heart.

Toilet Paper Tube Heart Stamp-a very easy and inexpensive craft project to do with even your youngest of kids.  Take a paper tube and push the middle down until it makes a heart; take a piece of tape and wrap it around to hold the shape. You can use paint or a stamp pad and have the kids dip the end of the stamp into it and have them place it on a piece of paper after.  Depending on the age of the child you are working with, you can grade the activity.  For the little ones, let them go crazy and put them all over the paper.  For older children, you can place targets on the paper that they have to place the hearts on.  Once the hearts are dried, you can have them color the hearts in.  For even older kids, you can practice working on handwriting by having them write messages to their loved ones.  You will need:
1.  Toilet paper/paper towel tubes
2.  Red and pink paints or stamp pads
3.  White construction paper
4.  Crayons, markers, colored pencils

Hole Punch Hearts-another very easy, fun and quick activity that your kids will love to do and that
can be adapted for each child's individual skill set.  For younger children who haven't yet mastered cutting, give them pre-cut hearts and let them punch holes all over the heart.  For older children, have them cut out the hearts independently and then let them use the hole punch after.  You can set some guidelines to work on improving attention and organizational skills like punch holes only around the border of the heart.  This is also nice because it leaves space in the middle of the heart for children to write personal messages to their loves ones.  You will need:
1.  Pink, red, white paper
2.  Hole puncher (you can use a circle one or if you are really fancy, find a heart shaped hole puncher)
3.  Scissors
4.  Yarn or string

Arts and crafts can be great for working on so many occupational therapy skills/goals including:
*improving grasping skills
*improving eye-hand coordination
*improving bilateral coordination skills
*improving creativity
*improving self-esteem and confidence
*improve executive functioning skills such as focus and attention, sequencing and organization

One of the things I love most about Valentine's Day is that you can talk to kids about empathy and how you can make other people feel happy.  Too often, holidays are about getting things from others but this day should be more about giving to others to show them how much you love them.  I've been working on making Valentines with my almost 5 year old daughter, and I love watching her work so hard to make them just right for her friends and family.  The level of pride she feels just making them is great, but I can't wait for her to see how happy she is making people when they receive them.

Do you have any fabulous, quick and simple activities that you enjoy making with your children that you want to share with me and my readers?  I am looking forward to focusing on love and crafts next week during all of my sessions and would love to have a variety of activities for the kids to choose from.  I'm always a click away and love hearing from you!

All You Need Is Love

As a child, Valentine's Day was just like any other day.  As a family, we didn't do much to celebrate the day.  We would make homemade cards to give all our classmates, but my sisters and I weren't one of the girls that got called down to the office to have flowers delivered to us from our dad.  Now that I work with children (and have one of my own), I try and do some fun things related to the holiday with the kids I work with during our sessions.  

Looking for some cute activities to be used both at home and during your sessions?  Here are a handful of ideas for your little loves.

1.  Sweethearts Sorting-using a pair of Zoo Stick chopsticks, empty a box of candy Sweethearts and have a child sort them by color.  This works on improving grasp strength, visual motor and visual perceptual skills.  Depending on a child's skill level, you may limit the number of colors to increase the chances of success.  For those children who are able to read, you can have them sort by the phrases written on each heart.  

2.  Valentine's Day Yarn Hearts-I don't know about you, but I don't ever know what to do with those wire hangers I get from the dry cleaners.  Here is a simple idea that will make a perfect gift for a loved one.  You will need yarn (of any color) and a wire hanger.  Take the wire hanger and bend it into a heart.  Begin wrapping the yarn around the heart.  You may need to wrap around a couple of times in each place in order for the yarn to stay in place.  This is great for working on visual motor and bilateral coordination skills.  

3.  I Love You To Pieces Heart-I made this card with my daughter a couple of years ago and it was simple, fun and made those she loved feel very happy.  This is a great activity because it can be graded depending on a child's skill level.  For a young preschooler, give them strips of colored paper and have them tear them into small pieces.  For older preschoolers and school age children, draw lines on colored paper, and have them cut out the strips and then tear the strips into pieces.  Once they have all their small pieces, they can glue them onto a heart.  This project is great for working on a variety of occupational therapy goals, including bilateral coordination (tearing paper) and improving cutting skills.

4.  Cereal Hearts-using Cheerios (if you want to be more healthy) or Fruit Loops and a pipe cleaner, you can make a cute heart for someone you love.  A fun way to work improving grasping, beading and bilateral coordination skills.  Depending on the skill level of your child and what cereal you use, you can change what you want from each child.  If you have a younger child who is working on improving fine motor skills, you can keep it simple; put all the cereal in a bowl and have them place them on a pipecleaner.  If you are working with an older child, use a set of Zoo Sticks and have them take out a certain number of cereal.  Want to throw in an extra challenge, using Fruit Loops you can have a child follow a pattern as they place them on the pipe cleaner.

5.  Paint Chip Bookmarks-I have seen so many great projects with those paint chip samples that you find in the paint section of hardware stores.  I have used them to practice cutting and color recognition in the past.  If you grab a bunch of the pink samples (which I plan on doing tomorrow), you can make some really cute bookmarks.  In addition to the paint chips, you will need a heart hole puncher and some pink ribbon.  Have the children punch a single heart on each color/rectangle and one in the middle of the top rectangle.  Help them string the ribbon through the top hole.  Great for working on increasing grasp strength, bilateral coordination skills and color recognition (you can do this with any color paint chip sample).

Here are just a handful of ideas that will not only end up being cute, they are easy and require very little supplies or setup.  While I have tried some of these, I look forward to testing out the new ideas with my kids at work and with my daughter at home.  Who out there has some great Valentine's Day craft ideas that they have had great success with that they can share with me and my readers?  Would love to have a bunch of ideas to choose from in the next few days.  I am always a click away and love hearing from you all.  Share the love with us please!

May you all have a love-filled Valentine's Day with those you love!