Valentine's Day Activities

Valentine's Day Slime

Materials:

• Clear school glue

• Liquid starch or contact lens solution

• Pink, red, or purple food coloring

• Bowl and Spoon

• Measuring cup

• Beads, glitter, sequins, etc.

Directions:

• Pour 1 cup of clear school glue into your bowl

• Add a few drops of food coloring

• Slowly add 1 1/2 cups of liquid starch or contact lens solution to the bowl while stirring with a spoon. Keep stirring until the mixture starts to thicken.

• Remove mixture from bowl and knead it with your hands for a minute or two once the mixture is pulling away from the sides of the bowl and is forming a ball

• Once the slime is stretchy and no longer sticks to your hands, it is ready to play with!

Note: If the slime is too sticky, add a bit more liquid starch or contact lens solution. If it's too slimy, add a bit more glue.

You can also add small items like glitter, beads, sequins etc. to change the texture of the slime!

Benefits of Slime:

• Sensory Stimulation: Slime is a great sensory experience for kids, as it has a unique texture and can be squishy, stretchy, and slimy. This can help kids develop their sense of touch and improve sensory awareness.

• Fine Motor Skill Development: Squishing, stretching, and molding slime requires the use of fine motor skills, which can also help kids develop their hand-eye coordination.

• Relaxation: Playing with slime can be a calming and relaxing activity for kids, which can help reduce stress and anxiety.

• Creativity and Imagination: By molding and shaping the slime, kids can let their imaginations run wild and create different shapes and designs. This can help them expand their creativity and problem-solving skills.

• Receptive Language: As kids listen to others describe their creations and experiences with slime, they can improve their receptive language skills, as they learn to understand and respond to spoken language.

• Pragmatic Language: As kids engage in slime play with others, they can practice their pragmatic language skills, such as taking turns, asking questions, making requests, and using eye contact.

DIY Valentine's Day Card

Materials:

• Glitter glue

• Pipe cleaners

• Beads

• Ribbon

• Yarn

• Puffy paint

• Buttons

• Pom-poms

• Scissors

• Glue

• Construction paper

These materials can be used to create a variety of textures and sensory effects, allowing the creation of a unique and personalized heart decoration to give to those you love!

Instructions:

• Fold a piece of construction paper in half.

• Draw half of a heart shape on the folded edge of the paper. You can use a pencil to lightly sketch the heart shape

• Cut along the line you drew, making sure to cut through both layers of the folded paper.

• Unfold the paper to reveal a symmetrical heart shape.

• Take your sensory materials and begin gluing them to your heart.

Benefits of DIY Crafts:

• Language Development: As children decorate their card, they will engage in conversation with adults or peers, request, describe objects, explain steps, and follow directions.

• Sensory Regulation: Some children may struggle with sensory regulation, meaning they have difficulty processing and responding to sensory input. Handling different textures, especially touching glue, tape, or pom poms can help desensitize them if they have sensory aversions.

• Focus and Attention: Decorating card stock can be a calming and therapeutic activity that encourages children to maintain their attention.

• Imagination and Creativity: Decorating card stock can spark a child's imagination and encourage them to think creatively. This can help them develop problem-solving skills and a sense of curiosity about the world around them.

• Visual stimulation: Adding colorful and visually appealing decorations to the card stock can stimulate a child's senses. This can help improve their ability to recognize and differentiate colors and shapes.

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