Thursday, February 6, 2014

Quick and Easy Valentines Day Crafts for Kids

Valentines Day Crafts for Kids Logo

Every day after school, The Kids come home and ask to do crafts. Correction. Even before they went to school, The Kids would ask to do crafts every single day.

Being the good Mom that I am, of course I agreed. I mean, crafts are beneficial for brain development, creativity and other good stuff (I’m sure). But, best of all, they’re great at keeping The Kids busy while I try and get things done.

A friend recently told me (and to quote) “The best Moms let them create and be messy. That is how you learn and try things out of the box or container!” To which I responded (and I quote) “I am not the best Mom”.

Crafts around here are an organized affair. Very organized. No paint, minimal glue, no sparkles. You know, everything that makes crafting FUN! For a Mom. So, when Cathy at Cathy Thinking Out Loud came up with some (This) Mom Friendly Valentines Day Crafts for Kids, I decided to give them a try.

The best part is that when she actually told me that I would have all the tools at hand to get the job done, she was right! In case you’ve forgotten, we are currently living in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico. If we can do it, you can do!

Valentines Day Fortune Teller

Remember this oldie but goldie from your youth. Except, instead of animals and numbers, you’d put the names of four boys you liked in the centre and then see who you’d marry. Twenty-three times in a row. No? Me neither…

Valentines Day Fortune Teller Kids Craft

Anyways, it’s pretty simple to make.

  1. Print out the template.
  2. Fold it.*
  3. Play.

If you can’t remember how to play, get someone to pick an animal or number and alternate pinching and pulling the tabs to reveal inner tabs. Do it a few times and then expose one of the inner tabs to reveal the persons fortune. Magic!

The Kids found the most joy in colouring the paper, naming the animals/numbers and working the paper back and forth. Really good for fine motor skills.

Valentines Day Fortune Teller Kids Craft Instructions

*Note that if you fold it and then wonder what you’ve done wrong because you can’t see your boyfriends name any of the animals or number, flatten the paper out, turn it over and start again. If this happens to you both times then we are related.

Valentines Day Finger Puppets

The Kids really got into this craft because it involved glue. Not just any glue but glue that came in special little plastic containers with caps that when turned oozed out white, sticky, probably toxic (although it said not) goo all over everything.

Let me segway.

The Kids wanted paint. I despise paint. Don’t even bother telling me that it’s water soluble and will come off with a damp cloth because it doesn’t. At least not on anything that I’ve ever tried to get it out of. So, we headed off to one of the three Paperlias (stationery stores) that’s within spitting distance of our house (I am not exaggerating by one store or the spitting distance) to reluctantly buy paint. And then I saw them. And then they saw them. And then we left without paint. Except we left with two containers of things that oozed glue. Where was I? Oh ya, the craft.

Valentines Day Finger Puppet Crafts Instructions

This one has a few more steps but I’m sure you can handle it.

  1. Print out the template (although technically, you could just freehand it).
  2. Cut out the hearts (the kids can help you if you let them use scissors, we do!).
  3. Trace and cut out the hearts on cardboard. Use a hold punch (which we had!?) to cut out the finger holes.
  4. Let the kids decorate and/or colour them.
  5. Let the Play begin.

The Kids had a blast with these and played with them all day. They even decided to put on a play for Ed and I although, I’m not sure if they even know what a play is. I’ll let you be the judge of that.

Have Any Easy Valentines Day Crafts for Kids of Your Own?

Please feel free to leave the link to any of your crafts below. We’d love to see what you’re up to.

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47 thoughts on “Quick and Easy Valentines Day Crafts for Kids”

  2. Rene

    You? Doing a craft post? Thanks Cathy! 😉
    But really, l love it – I had forgotten all about the fortune teller!

    Reply ↓
  9. Rajbinder Kaur

    These are some great ideas I can use to keep my little nephews busy for a few hours! Love the fortune teller idea, remember it from my childhood! thanks

    Reply ↓
  31. Elva Roberts

    I liked the Valentine Day Fortune Teller. This would be excellent for those five and up and keep them busy, with supervision and a little help, while you do other chores about the kitchen . Thank you for this one as It may come in handy for some of my family.

    Reply ↓
  33. KD

    I remember those fortune tellers! Except, we had numbers on the outside and inside, with a variety of fortunes on the inside. No names of boys or girls at our school…

    Reply ↓
  40. Tammi L

    It is now past Valentine’s Day but the paper Fortune Teller is always a blast… and what a blast from the past! I think I’ll be making one of these for my daughter! Thanks!

    Reply ↓
  41. Cheryl Grandy

    I’ve never seen a template for a Fortune Teller before. This Valentine’s Day template would be lots of fun. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply ↓

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