'You blow me away' Valentines gifts

Today I received a letter from Bee's preschool asking her to bring in 16 Valentines cards/gifts for her friends. My first thought was "Oh no... do we have the time and what are we going to do?" After a quick rummage in the garage, I came across some bubbles, that were left over from Bee's birthday party... just enough for her school friends. We then set about transforming them into a cute Valentines offering.

Who can play?
Children aged 2 years and up will love sticking the love hearts on the bottle and mark making/writing their name on the card. Supervision is needed at all times.

Safety
When younger children are handling the bottle of bubbles, ensure that they do not drink the liquid. Please see warning sign on the bubble bottles.

What do you need?

• Small bottles of bubble solution. (I picked mine up from the dollar/pound store)
• Love heart stickers
• Card
• Hole punch
• Split pins
• Scissors
• Ribbon
• Pens

What did we do?

The first thing we had to do was decorate our bottles. For this we chose love heart stickers. Bee showed precision and concentration when placing them onto the sides of the bottle.

We then cut out two love hearts out of card. On the first love heart I wrote the words:

You blow me away!      

On the second heart Bee wrote her name. Depending on your child's age and stage of development they could write their friends name too.
The final thing was to use the hole puncher to create a hole in the top left corner of each heart. A piece of ribbon was then threaded through both hearts to attach it to the bubble bottle... and voila... a cute and home made Valentines gift.

Development outcomes:
Communication and Language- Following instructions
Literacy- Making marks for a reason, practicing writing their name and their friends names. Writing recognizable letters.
Mathematics- Talking about the heart shape. How may sides does it have. Does it have curved lines?
Design and Art- Creating their own gift. Using tools for a purpose.
Knowledge and Understanding- Learning about Valentines Day, what the festival stands for and what it entails.
Personal, Social and Emotional- Making gifts for their friends. Fun and enjoyment. Pride from finished product and working as a team. Cooperation.
Physical Development- Hand eye coordination and fine manipulative skills. Developing threading and cutting skills.

What could be done next?

• Wrap a note around a pencil and write "you are just 'write' for me!" You could also attach a small note pad.
• Make a flower out of some tissue paper and a straw. You could even perfume the flower with some essential oils.