Early Childhood Education-"Benefits of making Valentine's Dat Crafts in Childcare"

Valentine's Day can be an exciting time for children to exchange cards or notes. There are many projects one can make with there children in preschool or daycare. This activity is fun and encourages children to work together by sharing the materials and a great use of there fine motor skills. Your children will love it!

Materials:

• Cereal box
• Construction paper: red, white, purple and pink
• Glitter glue or glitter
  
• White craft glue or glue gun
  
• Scissors
• Heart-shaped cookie cutter (optional)
• Heart-shaped craft foam, felt
  

How to make it:

1. Cut cereal box in half, keeping the bottom half.
   
2. Cover the entire box with felt, foam or red construction paper using white craft glue or glue gun.
3. Trace cookie cutters, or draw freehand, to create hearts from construction paper. You will need two of each color for a total of six.
4. Use glitter glue to write short on the hearts.
   
5. Allow the glitter glue to dry completely, this can take several hours.
6. Glue three hearts, one of each color, to one side of the box, overlapping the hearts, tops of the hearts should stick out above the top of the box.
   
7. Glue foam hearts to the sides of the box.
   

Early Childhood Education-"Encouraging children to work together and make Valetines Day Keepsakes"

With Valentines around the corner, why not create a fun fine motor activity with your children in daycare or preschool? This activity encourages teamwork and for the children to interact with each other. It's a great gift for our mommy's, daddy's, grandparents, family to display in there home.
Materials needed:
-Ribbon
-Writing Pen
-Green Floral Tape
-Terracotta Pot
-Plastic Flower, Grass and Leaves
-Glue Gun
-Foam
**All of the above materials can be purchased at a craft store

Directions:

1. Glue the ribbon around the rim of the terracotta top.
2. Take the lid of your pen and wrap the pen in your green floral tape.
3. Cut the stem off of your fake flower, and glue the flower head to the top of your pen (not the part that writes.)
4. Glue your fake leaves to the middle of the pen.
5. Set a chunk of flower foam into the bottom of the pot and glue into place.
6. Fill the pot with your dried grass until you reach the top of your pot
7. Stick your pen into the flower foam. If the pen won't stand up, try adding more dried grass.

Early Childhood Education-"Encouraging children to work together and make Valetines Day pops"

Looking for yummy ideas for Valentines Day? This is a great activity for children to make at preschool or daycare. It encourages teamwork and also a great fine motor skills activity.




INGREDIENTS

1	package (18 oz) Pillsbury® Ready To Bake!™ refrigerated sugar cookies
15-20	flat wooden sticks with round ends
1 1/4	cups vanilla creamy ready-to-spread frosting (approx 1-lb container)
	small candy, sprinkles
10	yards red, white or pink ribbon

DIRECTIONS

1.	Heat oven to 350°F. On ungreased cookie sheets, place cookie dough pieces 2 inches apart. Into side of each piece of dough, insert wooden stick 1 inch, overlapping wooden sticks as necessary.
2.	Bake 12 to 16 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets. Cool completely, about 10 minutes.
3.	Spread frosting on one side of each cookie; decorate with sprinkles. Tie 18 inches of ribbon into bow around each stick next to cookie. Eat and enjoy!

Early Childhood Education-"Encouraging children to make a Valentine Day Wreath"

With Valentines Day around the corner, this is a great activity for children to make in daycare or preschool. It's also a great fine motor activity. By having children cut out red, white and pink hearts. Making a Valentine wreath decorated from paper hearts and paper plates is very easy to make.

Materials:

• Red, white and pink construction paper
• Paper plate
• Scissors
• Glue
• Optional - glitter