Craft Stick Valentine’s Day puzzles

Is your child’s classroom requesting a non-candy Valentines to be sent to school this year? If you have little ones at home this might be the perfect idea to send.

These homemade Valentines are fun little craft stick puzzles that your kiddos can help create! Add them to your Valentine’s Day crafts for kids to-do list!

We usually send Valentines without candy each year, we have done beaded necklace Valentines, and glow bracelet ninja Valentines, but this is the first year it was actually requested!

I was happy when I figured out a fun homemade Valentine that V could actually help me create. She will be proud to pass them out to all of her little friends at school.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we may receive an affiliate commission.

What you need for your Homemade Valentines:

• Craft Sticks. (We buy these in bulk!)
• Permanent Markers.
• Washable Markers.
• Tape.
• Snack Size Baggies.

How to make your Craft Stick Puzzle Valentines:

Start by taping your sticks together. I used 8 sticks each.

Then flip over and draw a fun Valentine’s Day design using your permanent markers.

Hand it over to your little one to fill in your hearts and swirls. Or even the whole thing…

Washable markers will be a bit lighter letting your design show through.

Once they are all colored, take the tape off, and place the pieces in a snack bag. Seal and write on the front. “Love you to pieces!” and your To: and From:

These will be so fun for them to pass out. Make sure to make one or two extra to keep at home for your little one to play with!

The post How to make easy craft stick Valentine’s Day puzzles for the classroom appeared first on Twitchetts.

As you know even if we are learning we like it to be fun. We created these dice with this in mind. As soon as your little one can color you can play this game!

Setting Up Your Dice Games:

Print off your dice. If you want them to last longer print them on cardstock. Cut them out and fold along all of the gray lines. Attach together using tape or glue (whatever you have handy). Grab another sheet of paper and colors. You can use anything you have… markers, crayons, or colored pencils. You will need red, blue, and yellow.

Playing Your Dice Games For Kids:

Have your little one roll the dice. If you have 2 kids they can each pick a dice to roll. Draw on your sheet what you roll. If they are old enough to do this on their own that’s it! Let them roll over and over creating a fun design on their page. If they are younger you can outline the shapes for them to color in.Make sure to count the dots on the dice together. If they are close to drawing the shapes, but aren’t quite there, draw the shape with a pencil and let them try to trace the shapes before coloring.

No matter what age your kids are they can find a way to play!

So grab your printable and have some fun!

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Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission.  Thank you for supporting Twitchetts!

After some digging I found (I think) the original idea over on Skip to my Lou.  However, I wanted to get the whole family in on it… and of course, make it into a fun craft too. Getting your kids to find things they love about each other can sometimes be like pulling teeth, so this Valentine’s activity is aimed for them to see there is plenty. Our hearts tend to stay up far longer than I will admit, but you could easily add them to a key ring and save them to reference when your kids might be fighting.

What you need for your Watercolor Hearts:

• Watercolors. I love liquid watercolors. They are vibrant and last a long time.
• Paper. We used a large roll of paper, but any thicker paper will do.
• Paintbrush.
• Water (in a dish)
• White crayon.

Creating your Watercolor Hearts:

Place out your paper and draw all over it with your white crayon. Swirls, little hearts, etc. This really helps your little one paint the whole paper because they are finding the pictures. When you are done drawing your design set up your kiddo with their paint, water, and brush.  If you have younger kiddos, check out our tips for painting with toddlers. Only give them one or two colors per sheet of paper. We want pretty hearts, not brown ones. When they are done with one page give them another with different colors. Continue this until your child is “done” with it. I did this over the process of a couple of days. Let your paper dry then cut into hearts!

Valentine’s Activity for the Family:

Place all of your watercolor hearts in a bowl or on a plate accompanied by a marker and tape. Each morning everyone picks a heart to write something on for another member of the family. Like a conversation heart. Then have them place it on that family member’s door! We always start on February 1st so that we have two weeks of adding hearts. Every day as they go into their room they will see all of the nice things that their family members think of them. It is really quite endearing to see. I hope you enjoy this Valentine’s tradition with your family!

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Rainbow Hearts:

This Valentine’s Day activity is great for those working on those fine motor skills. We have used this process before to make our rainbow bookmarks and our fine motor turkeys. You can head to either of those posts for more details. You can simply stick the dots in the shape or turn it into a piece of art to hang in the window. I still have mine from last year!

Valentines Day Sensory Bin:

Preschool activities don’t have to be a one and done thing… A sensory bin is always fun to set up for your little one. When they are done throw a lid on it and bring it out tomorrow! They are easy to customize to any theme you want! Start by cutting out some cardboard hearts and let your little one paint away. Make sure to tape them down from behind. This will make things go much smoother. While those are drying make your homemade colored salt. Add a few scoops and spoons and you are set!

Shaving Cream Marbling Hearts:

Here is one we got from Red Ted Art. This is one of the many Valentine’s Day cards for kids on her blog. This process uses shaving cream to create a fun marbling effect. Kids of all ages will really enjoy this one!

Melted Crayon Hearts:

One of my favorite Valentine’s Day activities are these melted crayon hearts. We have been making them for years! Both of the kids enjoy watching the crayons melt and blend together. They also look great taped up along the top of our windows and doors. Check out these step by step instructions from our melted crayon turkeys!

Wrapped Nature Heart:

Anytime we can bring a piece of nature inside to craft with we do. This activity for kids starts with a trip outside. Have your child help pick out the perfect sticks for your creation. Then using yarn or pipe cleaners assemble following the directions here from our nature ornament. They can wrap and unwrap their hearts over and over again.

Lacing Hearts:

These cardboard lacing hearts are a great little boredom buster to keep on hand. You can let your kid help in the creation by painting your cardboard hearts before attaching your yarn. Make sure to use a piece of tape on the tip to act like a needle. This will help the yarn from fraying at the end. They can go along the edges or criss-cross the top of the heart.

All of these projects make great Valentine’s Day activities for preschoolers. Some of them will even entertain your older children too! We will be adding to our Valentine’s Day archive all season long so make sure to check back soon!

Don’t forget to Pin these Valentine’s Day Activities to your Valentine’s Day Board on Pinterest!

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Whether you are expecting to be at an airport or have a few holiday dinners to attend, you can never go wrong with bringing a few boredom busters along. All of these fall busy bags were so much fun for my little one that I needed to come up with something for the next season. I made each of these Christmas themed boredom busters with just a touch of holiday fun to make them unique for the season. Not only are these fun, they are also full of play-based learning opportunities!

#1 Mini Christmas Tree Boredom Buster

Grab a piece of cardboard and cut 6 small slits down each side. Take 3 pipe cleaners, cut them in half, and fold one end in each slit. Next, start stringing on green beads. One on the top pipe cleaner, two on the second, and so on until you have six on the last one. Fold the other side of the pipe cleaners into the opposite slits. Then tape the back. Mix it up and hand it to your little one to create a Christmas tree! You will be surprised how many times your little one will do this. Or what kind of pattern they create on their own…

#2 Fine Motor Pipecleaner Boredom Buster

For this quick kids activity, you just need 2 supplies. An empty spice jar and Christmas colored pipe cleaners! Trim down your pipe cleaners to fit inside your spice jar. Let them dump them out and stick them back in through the holes. They can work on twisting the lid on and off and focusing on getting the pipe cleaners through the holes is excellent fine motor practice!

#3 Mini I-Spy Christmas Boredom Busters

Look around for pieces to use in a mini I-spy jar. Buttons, beads, trim some ribbon… anything will do. I stuck to Christmas colors, but you can make these in any theme. Make sure they are small enough to fit inside a spice jar. Fill your jar with a little bit of rice and then some of your pieces. Add more rice, more pieces, and then more rice. Leave enough space to move the rice around. Since they are young you don’t want to make it too hard. You can attach a key on the side so you don’t forget what all is inside.

#4 Pom Pom Sorting Christmas Boredom Buster

For this fine motor Christmas boredom buster, you need a spice jar, pom-poms (different colors and sizes), and tweezers. You want enough pom-poms to pack them in your spice jar tight. If you would prefer not to use your tweezers you can easily create your own using 4 pop cycle sticks and 3 rubber bands.  If you want a bit more instruction on these, check out our tongs video. These are the same concept only smaller. Using their tweezers have them take all of the pom-poms out of the jar. Once it is empty have them stuff them all back in! This part is equally fun for them.

#5 Fine Motor Pom Pom Boredom Busters

Grab the smallest pom-poms you have, a ziplock baggie, and coordinating permanent markers. Create two squares on the outside of the bag. Add in your pom-poms and seal the bag with as little air as possible. This way they can smash and move them around to try to get all of the pom-poms in their correct box. The older they are the smaller you can make the squares… or add a third color!

All of these Christmas boredom busters can be made in minutes and are easy to bring along with you anywhere you go. They are quiet to play with and shouldn’t make too much of a mess!

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This fine motor activity is perfect for hand-eye coordination and let’s face it… teaching them to button and unbutton is pretty important too. We created no-sew button snakes a while back if your little one isn’t a flower lover. My daughter loves to create flower crafts, so I wanted this project to be something that she loved making and working with. She can sit and create flowers for long chunks of time so that’s a win in my book!

What you need for your Button Practice Felt Flowers:

• A jar lid.
• Pipe Cleaner.
• A button. Size doesn’t matter too much. A larger button is easier for a younger child to manipulate.
• Felt. Green and any color for flowers.
• Scissors.
• Hot glue and a hot glue gun.

Making your Button Practice Felt Flowers:

Start by taking your pipe cleaner and threading it through your button. Twist off to attach. Using hot glue attach the pipe cleaner under the rim of the jar lid. Then bend and glue so that the button comes away from the center of the jar lid.

Next, make petals and leaves. Cut the felt into different sized squares. Fold into quarters and cut into a petal or leaf shape. Play around with different sizes and shapes to give them a lot of variety!
Then cut a slit in the middle of each shape. You want it to be about the size of the button.
The felt will stretch a bit. The older the child the snugger you want it to be. This way they have to actually button on the flower petals and leaves!

They look so pretty! You could even add a magnet on the back to keep them on your fridge!

You can even customize them for the holidays… anyone thinking about Christmas yet…

We like to hold onto random things to craft with… jar lids happen to be one of them!

See more crafts using jar lids here:

Diwali Light Holders // Sand in My Toes
Preserved Kids Art Magnets with Recycled Jar Lids // Views From a Step Stool
Button Practice Felt Flowers // Twitchetts
Easy Christmas Craft: Jar Lid Baubles // Arty Crafty Kids
Mason Jar Lid Crafts: Melted Crayon Suncatchers // Schooling a Monkey
Kids Christmas Craft Idea: Upcycled Photo Frame Ornament // Books and Giggles
Squeeze n’ Croak Frog Craft // Kids Craft Room

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Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission.  Thank you for supporting Twitchetts!

[ess_grid alias=”2016 Babies and Toddlers”]
While I shopped researched for this gift guide, I was amazed by the number of shops that create such amazing products made with love and care.  These gifts for babies and toddlers are just the beginning of what these shops have to offer.  So if you see something you love, be sure to check out what other treasures the shop has to offer.

On top of amazing products.  Shopping on Etsy is supporting small businesses and providing makers an opportunity to create beautiful treasures that will be enjoyed for years to come.

Gifts for Babies and Toddlers

Busy Board  //  TMSToysLLC
The busy boards at TMSToyssLLC are crafted with quality, safety, and care.  Plus all of his boards are made in the USA, which was actually really hard to find in the busy board market. While you’re shopping, check out his fun play sets!

Custom Board Book  //  ToddlerToppers
We absolutely love the idea of a board book that contains pictures of loved ones. But the ideas don’t end there. Check out ToddlerToppers shop to see what other types of books she can create.(also, she makes the most adorable baby Santa hats!)

Busy Book  //  DesignsByRAJA
The pages in this picture are just the beginning. DesignsByRAJA has plenty of matching, sorting, and any other educational page you want. Check out her shop to create the perfect busy book for the toddler on your list.

Puzzle  //  RedBarnToys
Play kitchen accessories, lacing boards, and puzzles are just the beginning of RedBarnToys shop. Their motto: Expand your child’s imagination through play, resonates with us and our love for play-based learning.

Baby Gym  //  HaddonCo
Don’t you just love this beautiful baby gym? Check out HaddonCo for the gym and don’t forget to browse the most adorable baby bow ties and cardigans. I only wish I knew about this shop when Mr. Monster was a baby.

Wooden Blocks  //  ManzanitaKids
There are a million wooden blocks on Etsy. What I loved about ManzanitaKids blocks were the hands on each one to help teach counting. Check out what other fun creations they make out of wood. You may find something for each kid on your list!

Colored Teethers  //  IndieBambinoToys
Sometimes you need a little color in your playing and IndieBambinotoys is a great shop to find them.  From teethers, to Waldorf toys, to bowling.  They have a toy that is great for all ages!

Wooden Teether  //  3PrincessesStore
You’ve gotta love the fun designs of 3PrincessesStore’s teethers. It doesn’t end with tech teethers either. Check out their shop to see what other fun wooden toys they’ve created.

Plush Game Controller  //  AnnsCraftHouse
In case you are wanting to go a softer route, AnnsCraftHouse takes the fun and makes them plush. Now you baby can be a gamer with Daddy!

Sensory Blocks and Tag Blankets  //  BabySewLovable
For the smallest babies, grabbing, feeling, and teething needs are covered with these beautiful gift sets from BabySewLovable. Buy the set or buy them individually, they are the perfect gift for the littlest one on your list.

Ball  //  TinyAndFree
Let your baby explore by pulling and poking at these fund puzzle balls by TinyAndFree. The tag toys in her shop are adorable too, so be sure to check them out!

Finger Puppets  //  AJoyfulBow
Time to entertain the little one with these adorable finger puppets. AJoyfulBow’s shop also has the most amazing masks that are perfect for imaginative play.

Stuffed Animals  //  TheHuggableHoots
Adorable and personalized. Win. Win. TheHuggableHoots have cute plush animals ready to be placed under the tree for you little one.

Plush Dolls  //  KatieBApplique
I love the uniqueness of the plush dolls created by KatieBApplique. It’s never too young for your baby to want to be a super hero!

Piggy Bank  //  Lizzabells
Lizzabells creates the loveliest piggy banks. There are banks to match every style and decor.

The fun doesn’t end here!  Check out more gift ideas!

If you loved these Handmade Gift Ideas for Babies and Toddler, please pin it to your Gift Ideas board!

Happy Shopping

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From fine motor to counting, pipe cleaners are the perfect medium for play-based learning! They come in just about every color under the sun and are easy for small hands to manipulate. We have gathered over 20 pipe cleaner crafts and activities to share with you from some of our favorite blogs across the web!

 We hope you try out at least one of these fun pipe cleaner crafts and activities! Don’t forget to share when you do!

The post Pipe Cleaner Crafts and Activities appeared first on Twitchetts.

Fun with Robots Crafts & Activities

The post Fun with Robots Crafts & Activities for Learning appeared first on Twitchetts.

Now my youngest doesn’t really get tic tac toe quite yet… But, her toddler learning sticks are still a favorite and since this was in her space she took some time and played around with the buttons too.
Fine motor practice through play is a win too!

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission.  Thank you for supporting Twitchetts!

Now J, he will challenge first thing in the morning. Which is always fun. Stealing a minute out of the blue for a quick game is really nice.

What you need to make your own Button Tic Tac Toe magnet game:

• 6 popcycle sticks
• Buttons. At least 2 different colors.
• Magnet strips
• Paint. Optional, but gives it a nice finished look.
• Hot glue gun and glue.

Get Your Buttons at Michaels!

How to make your Button Tic Tac Toe magnet game:

Start by making your grid. Use glue to hold your shape together. Next using the edge of your counter or a table break your last 2 popcycle sticks into pieces. These pieces will be used to fill in the back side of your grid so it will sit flush on your fridge. Use hot glue to secure in place. Next glue the magnet strips along the back. Make sure to line up your magnet as close to the outside edges as possible so that it will stay even on the fridge. There may be areas that your broken popcycle sticks leave space under your magnet. Just fill any open gaps with glue as well.

For game pieces I had these cute little button packs that had a lot of different sizes inside. I chose to make my button magnets 2-toned. Place a dab of hot glue and attach buttons together and then to a piece of magnet. Make sure to press tight when the glue is still wet so that it fills the button holes to create a great bond.

Add a quick coat of paint to your grid if you like and move to the fridge when dry! Please make sure to keep out of reach of small children that still put things into their mouths! Even when it’s not in use this button tic tac toe game looks really cute when you walk by!

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