Valentine's Day Printable Fine Motor Mats are a fun and engaging way to incorporate math and fine motor skills practice into the holiday. These mats feature different Valentine's Day-themed pictures, such as hearts, flowers, and cupids. To complete the activity, students can use pom poms to create the images on the mats.
Valentine's Day Printable Fine Motor Mats are a fun and engaging way to incorporate math and fine motor skills practice into the holiday. These mats feature different Valentine's Day-themed pictures, such as hearts, flowers, and cupids. To complete the activity, students can use pom poms to create the images on the mats.
Mathlink Cubes are perfect for creating fun and engaging Valentine's Day themed math activities. Additionally, Mathlink Cubes can be used to create patterns and sequences, such as making a pattern of hearts and counting the number of cubes used. These activities will help students practice their math skills in a fun and festive way.
Mathlink Cubes are great for kids for several reasons:
Overall, Mathlink Cubes are an excellent tool for kids to learn and practice math in a fun and interactive way.
Mathlink Cubes are perfect for creating fun and engaging Valentine's Day themed math activities. Additionally, Mathlink Cubes can be used to create patterns and sequences, such as making a pattern of hearts and counting the number of cubes used. These activities will help students practice their math skills in a fun and festive way.
Mathlink Cubes are great for kids for several reasons:
Overall, Mathlink Cubes are an excellent tool for kids to learn and practice math in a fun and interactive way.
Looking for a fun and cost-effective way to celebrate Valentine's Day? Look no further! These cards are perfect for bringing a special touch to your Valentine's Day celebrations.
These cards are colorful, fun, and, most importantly, free! You can print as many as you need!
Printable Dinosaur Valentine's Day Cards!
Check out a unique and fun alternative for candy - using Learning Resources Dinosaur Counters and our FREE Valentine's Day Card Printables.
Cut out and give to friends and loved ones this Valentine's Day!
Big Feelings Pineapple and Learn-a-Lot Avocados Valentine's Cards.
Valentine's Postcards
Make your very own postcard to send to a friend or family member!
Looking for a fun and cost-effective way to celebrate Valentine's Day? Look no further! These cards are perfect for bringing a special touch to your Valentine's Day celebrations.
These cards are colorful, fun, and, most importantly, free! You can print as many as you need!
Printable Dinosaur Valentine's Day Cards!
Check out a unique and fun alternative for candy - using Learning Resources Dinosaur Counters and our FREE Valentine's Day Card Printables.
Cut out and give to friends and loved ones this Valentine's Day!
Big Feelings Pineapple and Learn-a-Lot Avocados Valentine's Cards.
Valentine's Postcards
Make your very own postcard to send to a friend or family member!
It's almost Valentine's Day, and if you're looking for a fun and unique way to show someone you care, why not try a printable dinosaur Valentine's Day card? These cards are perfect for kids of all ages and make a great addition to any Valentine's Day celebration.
Whether you're looking for something to give to that special someone or want to add some extra fun to your Valentine's Day celebration, these cards are sure to be a hit.
1. Use scissors to cut along the outer edge of the border on each valentine.
2. Place a dab of hot glue on the section of the dinosaur that will touch the paper and press it down. Allow it to dry for a few minutes. (The hot glue will peel off and not damage the dinosaur)
3. Punch a hole through the paper above and below the dinosaur using a hole punch.
4. Run a string through the holes on the valentine and tie a bow in the front.
It's almost Valentine's Day, and if you're looking for a fun and unique way to show someone you care, why not try a printable dinosaur Valentine's Day card? These cards are perfect for kids of all ages and make a great addition to any Valentine's Day celebration.
Whether you're looking for something to give to that special someone or want to add some extra fun to your Valentine's Day celebration, these cards are sure to be a hit.
1. Use scissors to cut along the outer edge of the border on each valentine.
2. Place a dab of hot glue on the section of the dinosaur that will touch the paper and press it down. Allow it to dry for a few minutes. (The hot glue will peel off and not damage the dinosaur)
3. Punch a hole through the paper above and below the dinosaur using a hole punch.
4. Run a string through the holes on the valentine and tie a bow in the front.
Plenty of exciting changes will occur to your child in their first few years, but one of the changes you should pay attention to is their communication skills. Adena Dacy of the National Association for the Education of Young Children explains that children are expected to achieve average communication milestones by a certain age. Dacy states that these milestones help parents and teachers assess if a child's development is on track because each stage contributes to the further growth of their communication skills.
So if you want to monitor their progress, you should pay attention to these milestones of language acquisition:
Image credit: Pexels
Source: https://images.pexels.com/photos/6667303/pexels-photo-6667303.jpeg
Are you hearing a wide variety of sounds from your newborn? Though they may sound odd, this indicates that they're on track with learning languages.
A study by the University of Würzburg researchers shows that healthy infants up to six months of age vocalize to interact with people or communicate any discomfort. These sounds may sound random to most parents, but the researchers pointed out that this allows infants to expand their sounds by their fourth or fifth month. By this time, they'd add consonant- and vowel-like elements into their babbling in preparation for the next milestone.
Your baby will continue to make non-verbal replies, or fun animal sounds around their first two years. These sounds are important because they set the stage for the next milestone: words!
The language acquisition milestones listed by Maryville University indicate that babies between six and eleven months will attempt to say their first words. This is also usually when they first say "mama" or "dada," making it an exciting milestone for parents to look forward to. They should be able to name objects or people using two to three words once they turn one and speak brief phrases before they turn two.
Kids need to learn phrases before they turn two because typical kids speak in two- to four-word sentences by age two to three. Their progress will get even more exciting by the time they reach five, when they should be able to use different types of sentences.
Our article entitled 'What Should My Six and Seven-Year-Old Be Learning?' shares that their ability to express themselves will expand by the time they reach six and seven. Typical kids at this age could speak in complete sentences and even crack a joke during conversations due to their advanced language skills.
You still need to pay attention to several language milestones, even when your child can speak in complete sentences. After all, their vocabularies are still expanding as they grow older.
The Verywell Family's article on how kids learn languages shares that kids do not resemble adult language until they reach the age of eleven. So, during the pre-teen years, parents should assess if their kids can create although-type sentences and form more complex sentence constructions. For instance, they may say, "Although I had no money, I looked for ways to help my friend." instead of "I had no money, but still helped my friend."
These language acquisition milestones aren't only fun to look forward to and important for parents and teachers to take note of. You can assess your child's language abilities through these milestones and help them get the proper support they may need.
This article was written by Rosetta Joseph
Exclusively for Learning Resources
Plenty of exciting changes will occur to your child in their first few years, but one of the changes you should pay attention to is their communication skills. Adena Dacy of the National Association for the Education of Young Children explains that children are expected to achieve average communication milestones by a certain age. Dacy states that these milestones help parents and teachers assess if a child's development is on track because each stage contributes to the further growth of their communication skills.
So if you want to monitor their progress, you should pay attention to these milestones of language acquisition:
Image credit: Pexels
Source: https://images.pexels.com/photos/6667303/pexels-photo-6667303.jpeg
Are you hearing a wide variety of sounds from your newborn? Though they may sound odd, this indicates that they're on track with learning languages.
A study by the University of Würzburg researchers shows that healthy infants up to six months of age vocalize to interact with people or communicate any discomfort. These sounds may sound random to most parents, but the researchers pointed out that this allows infants to expand their sounds by their fourth or fifth month. By this time, they'd add consonant- and vowel-like elements into their babbling in preparation for the next milestone.
Your baby will continue to make non-verbal replies, or fun animal sounds around their first two years. These sounds are important because they set the stage for the next milestone: words!
The language acquisition milestones listed by Maryville University indicate that babies between six and eleven months will attempt to say their first words. This is also usually when they first say "mama" or "dada," making it an exciting milestone for parents to look forward to. They should be able to name objects or people using two to three words once they turn one and speak brief phrases before they turn two.
Kids need to learn phrases before they turn two because typical kids speak in two- to four-word sentences by age two to three. Their progress will get even more exciting by the time they reach five, when they should be able to use different types of sentences.
Our article entitled 'What Should My Six and Seven-Year-Old Be Learning?' shares that their ability to express themselves will expand by the time they reach six and seven. Typical kids at this age could speak in complete sentences and even crack a joke during conversations due to their advanced language skills.
You still need to pay attention to several language milestones, even when your child can speak in complete sentences. After all, their vocabularies are still expanding as they grow older.
The Verywell Family's article on how kids learn languages shares that kids do not resemble adult language until they reach the age of eleven. So, during the pre-teen years, parents should assess if their kids can create although-type sentences and form more complex sentence constructions. For instance, they may say, "Although I had no money, I looked for ways to help my friend." instead of "I had no money, but still helped my friend."
These language acquisition milestones aren't only fun to look forward to and important for parents and teachers to take note of. You can assess your child's language abilities through these milestones and help them get the proper support they may need.
This article was written by Rosetta Joseph
Exclusively for Learning Resources
From fine motor fun to building your own sensory bin, here are a few fun St. Patrick's Day activities for you and your children this season!
St. Patrick’s Day brings with it so many fun colors to enjoy. With the obvious heavy splash of green at this time of year, we also like to incorporate the rest of the rainbow. Here are four simple sorting trays to help keep little hands busy and little minds engaged.
This is probably the most simple of the sorting activities. Place a selection of these cute little rainbow erasers (from Michael’s Store) on a tray, along with three empty bowls and some Learning Resources Gator Grabber Tweezers™. Ask your child if they can sort the rainbows into color categories.
The Gator Grabbers are great for younger children. They encourage the whole hand to work hard and help to avoid frustration. My 4-year-old did a great job picking up the rainbows and sorting them into the three bowls. When she was done, she carefully counted how many of each color she had, a fun numeracy link.
Adding dice to your sorting setup is a great way to build some early numeracy skills. For this specific activity, we used our Dice Poppers! Single dice. Using the popper style dice really adds excitement and engagement for little ones! I put out our fun collection of mini St. Patrick’s Day-themed erasers (from Party City), along with an ice cube tray and a set of Handy Scoopers™.
My preschooler popped the dice and then identified the number. She then used the Handy Scoopers to grab a scoop of the erasers, from which she counted the correct number into the ice cube tray section. Several stages to this sorting activity helped to maximize fine motor skill development and counting practice. My daughter also thought the tiny size of these erasers slotting into the ice cube tray compartments was really neat.
Using a muffin tin as a sorting tray is such a great play and learning hack. I like to add these vibrant silicone cupcake liners (from Amazon Basics) to the muffin tin to instantly turn it into a color sorting tray. The erasers for this activity are little Crayola crayons (from Dollar Tree). This time around, the tool provided was a Squeezy Tweezer™, my daughter’s favorite!
My preschooler had to be patient and carefully manipulate the crayon eraser into the Squeezy Tweezer and then drop it into the correct color cupcake liner. The uniqueness of these little erasers made the activity really fun. It also lends itself well to talking about color mixing. We speculated what color we would get if we mixed different combinations of little crayon erasers.
This one really was a big hit with my preschooler. I simply added three different colored pom-poms (from Dollar Tree) to a bowl of water and provided some Handy Scoopers and three empty bowls. There was lots of excitement at exploring how the pom poms absorbed the water like a sponge. My daughter spent ages using the pom-poms like a sponge, slowly squeezing them dry.
After the initial exploration time, the attention shifted to using the Handy Scoopers to rescue the pom poms from the water and sort them into their color bowls. Using this particular fine motor skill really makes the whole hand work hard. It is also amusing how the water drains out of the holes in the scoop. This activity definitely kept the play going the longest!
Sorting trays are a fantastic way to explore colors, counting, shapes, size, and so much more. With Learning Resources' fine motor skills toys, they also ensure a full hand workout, helping to develop those all-important muscles for writing.
Looking for more St. Patrick’s Day activities for kids? Try out this activity which will allow kids to get their minds in science.
Break out the Borax for this colorful St. Patrick’s Day craft! Grow your own crystal rainbows overnight by applying simple principles of chemistry and suspension science.
You will need:
Boil 3 cups of water. While your water boils, place your pipe cleaners in spectrum order and shape then into a rainbow. Note: unless your heatproof container is deep and wide enough, you will probably have to trim your pipe cleaners down to almost half.
To bind the rainbow together, use a white pipe cleaner as a “cloud” on either end.
Once your rainbows are shaped, tie a kitchen string or thread around the top pipe cleaner. This is how you will hang it over the Borax solution.
With some probable trial and error, tie your rainbow around your dowel and hang it from your heatproof jar. You want to make sure that the rainbow will not touch the sides of the jar or the other rainbow. This needs to be true when the liquid is poured into the jar, as your rainbows need to be submersed. This is where using a glass measure cup was helpful. The three-cup marking made it clear where to hang the rainbow.
Remove your dry rainbow for the heatproof jar and have it at the ready. Scoop out 9 tablespoons of Borax into a separate, heatproof bowl and pour in the three cups of boiling water (it proved easier to stir in a big bowl, then transfer the solution to the measuring cup). Stir with a metal spoon until Borax is dissolved. The solution will be cloudy.
With your rainbows attached to your dowels, lower them into the solution. Again, you want to make sure they are not touching the sides of the jar or each other.
Let your rainbows hang overnight. It is important to NOT touch them or move the jar around. Your jar must remain in an undisturbed state. After a few hours, crystals will begin to form.
And now the true reveal: the next morning. Loads of crystals!
Pull out the rainbows slowly, and then give them a quick rinse.
The results are amazing. The kids will be so impressed!
The science behind it: When you mix the Borax with the boiling water, it may look like it completely dissolves. However, solid particles are still left over because you stirred up a saturated solution: a mixture where there’s more powder than the liquid can hold. As the solution cools down, these particles have to settle somewhere, and in this case, it’s on the fuzzy pipe cleaners provided. The important part is to leave it all undisturbed, allowing the particles to become bigger than the solution. This is known as suspension science.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Still need more ideas for activities for kids for St. Patrick’s Day? You’re in luck! Have your kids, in the classroom or at home, try out this St. Patrick’s Day sensory bin for fun and learning engagement.
St. Patrick’s Day is the perfect opportunity for a DIY rainbow rice sensory bin! Kids will love to stimulate their senses with different textures, colors and fine motor sensory bin accessories. It’s super easy with these steps and the help of Learning Resources Tri Grip Tongs and Learning Resources Squeezy Tweezers, which conveniently are rainbow colors! This activity is great for families looking for any opportunity to engage their kiddos through play, or as a sensory center in any daycare or classroom! I’ll even share some inspiration for how to differentiate it for higher leveled learners.
In order to get started with dying the rice, you’ll need to gather the supplies below:
Step 1:
Evenly distribute the rice into Ziploc bags (in increments of cups). About 2 cups of rice are pictured in each bag.
Step 2:
Measure 1 tablespoon of vinegar per 2 cups of rice in each bag.
Step 3:
Plan out the desired colors and add about 5 drops of food coloring. Add more color in order to achieve brighter results.
Step 4:
Carefully secure the Ziplock bag, shake and spread/mix the color and rice evenly with your fingers.
Step 5:
Set the rice out on a plate or baking tray to dry for about 24 hours. The color won't mix if you decide to add the rice before it’s fully dry. The only thing is your hands might smell a little like vinegar.
In the meantime, gather the supplies below for a St. Patrick’s Day sensory bin.- A bin or sensory table- Learning Resources Tri Grip Tongs -Learning Resources Squeezy Tweezers-Gold coins-Glitter four leaf clovers and stars-St. Patrick’s Day goodies found at your local dollar store or party store (green metallic confetti and green cups/leprechaun hats are a great option)- You can even add green pom poms for a different texture.
Step 6:
Add the rainbow rice into the bin carefully. I added one color at a time and gathered it in layers after each pour. Below you can see a side angle. Admire its beauty before being mixed indefinitely!
Step 7:
Choose how much or how little of the goodies and accessories you’d like to add to the St. Patrick’s Day sensory bin. I think it’s always fun to “hunt” for items in the rice so don’t be afraid to only add a few items.
Using the Learning Resources Tri Grip Tongs and Learning Resources Squeezy Tweezers to scoop rice into the cup to collect coins in the leprechaun’s hat can be the perfect fine motor activity. I love how perfect they are for a wide age range of primary learners. Lucky for you, there are so many ways you can modify this to meet the needs of your learners. Rather than simply thinking of it as a St. Patrick’s Day sensory bin with holiday goodies to improve fine motor skills, you can easily incorporate it as a number/letter seek and find, or even sight word and addition and subtraction math fact center. Or, save the rainbow rice and use it from season to season!
From fine motor fun to building your own sensory bin, here are a few fun St. Patrick's Day activities for you and your children this season!
St. Patrick’s Day brings with it so many fun colors to enjoy. With the obvious heavy splash of green at this time of year, we also like to incorporate the rest of the rainbow. Here are four simple sorting trays to help keep little hands busy and little minds engaged.
This is probably the most simple of the sorting activities. Place a selection of these cute little rainbow erasers (from Michael’s Store) on a tray, along with three empty bowls and some Learning Resources Gator Grabber Tweezers™. Ask your child if they can sort the rainbows into color categories.
The Gator Grabbers are great for younger children. They encourage the whole hand to work hard and help to avoid frustration. My 4-year-old did a great job picking up the rainbows and sorting them into the three bowls. When she was done, she carefully counted how many of each color she had, a fun numeracy link.
Adding dice to your sorting setup is a great way to build some early numeracy skills. For this specific activity, we used our Dice Poppers! Single dice. Using the popper style dice really adds excitement and engagement for little ones! I put out our fun collection of mini St. Patrick’s Day-themed erasers (from Party City), along with an ice cube tray and a set of Handy Scoopers™.
My preschooler popped the dice and then identified the number. She then used the Handy Scoopers to grab a scoop of the erasers, from which she counted the correct number into the ice cube tray section. Several stages to this sorting activity helped to maximize fine motor skill development and counting practice. My daughter also thought the tiny size of these erasers slotting into the ice cube tray compartments was really neat.
Using a muffin tin as a sorting tray is such a great play and learning hack. I like to add these vibrant silicone cupcake liners (from Amazon Basics) to the muffin tin to instantly turn it into a color sorting tray. The erasers for this activity are little Crayola crayons (from Dollar Tree). This time around, the tool provided was a Squeezy Tweezer™, my daughter’s favorite!
My preschooler had to be patient and carefully manipulate the crayon eraser into the Squeezy Tweezer and then drop it into the correct color cupcake liner. The uniqueness of these little erasers made the activity really fun. It also lends itself well to talking about color mixing. We speculated what color we would get if we mixed different combinations of little crayon erasers.
This one really was a big hit with my preschooler. I simply added three different colored pom-poms (from Dollar Tree) to a bowl of water and provided some Handy Scoopers and three empty bowls. There was lots of excitement at exploring how the pom poms absorbed the water like a sponge. My daughter spent ages using the pom-poms like a sponge, slowly squeezing them dry.
After the initial exploration time, the attention shifted to using the Handy Scoopers to rescue the pom poms from the water and sort them into their color bowls. Using this particular fine motor skill really makes the whole hand work hard. It is also amusing how the water drains out of the holes in the scoop. This activity definitely kept the play going the longest!
Sorting trays are a fantastic way to explore colors, counting, shapes, size, and so much more. With Learning Resources' fine motor skills toys, they also ensure a full hand workout, helping to develop those all-important muscles for writing.
Looking for more St. Patrick’s Day activities for kids? Try out this activity which will allow kids to get their minds in science.
Break out the Borax for this colorful St. Patrick’s Day craft! Grow your own crystal rainbows overnight by applying simple principles of chemistry and suspension science.
You will need:
Boil 3 cups of water. While your water boils, place your pipe cleaners in spectrum order and shape then into a rainbow. Note: unless your heatproof container is deep and wide enough, you will probably have to trim your pipe cleaners down to almost half.
To bind the rainbow together, use a white pipe cleaner as a “cloud” on either end.
Once your rainbows are shaped, tie a kitchen string or thread around the top pipe cleaner. This is how you will hang it over the Borax solution.
With some probable trial and error, tie your rainbow around your dowel and hang it from your heatproof jar. You want to make sure that the rainbow will not touch the sides of the jar or the other rainbow. This needs to be true when the liquid is poured into the jar, as your rainbows need to be submersed. This is where using a glass measure cup was helpful. The three-cup marking made it clear where to hang the rainbow.
Remove your dry rainbow for the heatproof jar and have it at the ready. Scoop out 9 tablespoons of Borax into a separate, heatproof bowl and pour in the three cups of boiling water (it proved easier to stir in a big bowl, then transfer the solution to the measuring cup). Stir with a metal spoon until Borax is dissolved. The solution will be cloudy.
With your rainbows attached to your dowels, lower them into the solution. Again, you want to make sure they are not touching the sides of the jar or each other.
Let your rainbows hang overnight. It is important to NOT touch them or move the jar around. Your jar must remain in an undisturbed state. After a few hours, crystals will begin to form.
And now the true reveal: the next morning. Loads of crystals!
Pull out the rainbows slowly, and then give them a quick rinse.
The results are amazing. The kids will be so impressed!
The science behind it: When you mix the Borax with the boiling water, it may look like it completely dissolves. However, solid particles are still left over because you stirred up a saturated solution: a mixture where there’s more powder than the liquid can hold. As the solution cools down, these particles have to settle somewhere, and in this case, it’s on the fuzzy pipe cleaners provided. The important part is to leave it all undisturbed, allowing the particles to become bigger than the solution. This is known as suspension science.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Still need more ideas for activities for kids for St. Patrick’s Day? You’re in luck! Have your kids, in the classroom or at home, try out this St. Patrick’s Day sensory bin for fun and learning engagement.
St. Patrick’s Day is the perfect opportunity for a DIY rainbow rice sensory bin! Kids will love to stimulate their senses with different textures, colors and fine motor sensory bin accessories. It’s super easy with these steps and the help of Learning Resources Tri Grip Tongs and Learning Resources Squeezy Tweezers, which conveniently are rainbow colors! This activity is great for families looking for any opportunity to engage their kiddos through play, or as a sensory center in any daycare or classroom! I’ll even share some inspiration for how to differentiate it for higher leveled learners.
In order to get started with dying the rice, you’ll need to gather the supplies below:
Step 1:
Evenly distribute the rice into Ziploc bags (in increments of cups). About 2 cups of rice are pictured in each bag.
Step 2:
Measure 1 tablespoon of vinegar per 2 cups of rice in each bag.
Step 3:
Plan out the desired colors and add about 5 drops of food coloring. Add more color in order to achieve brighter results.
Step 4:
Carefully secure the Ziplock bag, shake and spread/mix the color and rice evenly with your fingers.
Step 5:
Set the rice out on a plate or baking tray to dry for about 24 hours. The color won't mix if you decide to add the rice before it’s fully dry. The only thing is your hands might smell a little like vinegar.
In the meantime, gather the supplies below for a St. Patrick’s Day sensory bin.- A bin or sensory table- Learning Resources Tri Grip Tongs -Learning Resources Squeezy Tweezers-Gold coins-Glitter four leaf clovers and stars-St. Patrick’s Day goodies found at your local dollar store or party store (green metallic confetti and green cups/leprechaun hats are a great option)- You can even add green pom poms for a different texture.
Step 6:
Add the rainbow rice into the bin carefully. I added one color at a time and gathered it in layers after each pour. Below you can see a side angle. Admire its beauty before being mixed indefinitely!
Step 7:
Choose how much or how little of the goodies and accessories you’d like to add to the St. Patrick’s Day sensory bin. I think it’s always fun to “hunt” for items in the rice so don’t be afraid to only add a few items.
Using the Learning Resources Tri Grip Tongs and Learning Resources Squeezy Tweezers to scoop rice into the cup to collect coins in the leprechaun’s hat can be the perfect fine motor activity. I love how perfect they are for a wide age range of primary learners. Lucky for you, there are so many ways you can modify this to meet the needs of your learners. Rather than simply thinking of it as a St. Patrick’s Day sensory bin with holiday goodies to improve fine motor skills, you can easily incorporate it as a number/letter seek and find, or even sight word and addition and subtraction math fact center. Or, save the rainbow rice and use it from season to season!
3 EASY tips to get kids organized!
As the new year begins, it’s a great time to get your kids and space organized. Organization is an essential skill for both adults and children alike and helps to create a sense of order, focus, and confidence. Here are some tips on how to help your kids get organized in the new year:
Organization is an important life skill, and teaching your kids how to stay organized can help them succeed. With these tips, your kids can be well on their way to a successful and organized new year! ✨
Follow us on Instagram for more: @LearningResources
3 EASY tips to get kids organized!
As the new year begins, it’s a great time to get your kids and space organized. Organization is an essential skill for both adults and children alike and helps to create a sense of order, focus, and confidence. Here are some tips on how to help your kids get organized in the new year:
Organization is an important life skill, and teaching your kids how to stay organized can help them succeed. With these tips, your kids can be well on their way to a successful and organized new year! ✨
Follow us on Instagram for more: @LearningResources
Love is in the air this Valentine's Day, and what better way to celebrate than by creating these fun (and simple) love bug sensory tubes with your child! What child doesn’t love sensory play or bugs?
Before you learn how to make this sensory tube, let’s talk about why sensory tubes are beneficial! Sensory tubes are a great tool for children of all ages. They provide the calming element of sensory play, as they help with grounding. Sensory tubes also present various learning opportunities including language learning, math skills, science knowledge, and more!
What You Need to Create a Love Bugs Sensory Tube:
How to Create a Love Bug Sensory Tube:
You’ll be happy to learn that there are not too many supplies you will need to create these love bug sensory tubes. In fact, you may already have many of them right in your house!
First, you need a sturdy clear bottle or tube to create your sensory tube. The Primary Science Sensory Tubes from Learning Resources is our favorite because they are large, sturdy, and seal easily. They also come with eight sets of solid lids, perfect for creating fun liquid sensory tubes, and four vented lids. Another great thing about these tubes? You can change them up frequently, or keep them filled up for days on end.
To make your love bug sensory tube, you’re also going to need something with viscosity. What’s viscosity? A thick, sticky, semi-fluid consistency. Think liquid hand soap, clear liquid glue, baby oil, or corn syrup. I told you, you might already have this at home! All you need to do is fill 1/4th of the tube with whatever viscous liquid you choose.
Next, add some fun manipulatives like these Backyard Bug Counters make your sensory tube extra fun! For these specific tubes, we added about 5-7 bugs per tube. Not only will your child love adding in something unique, but manipulatives like these also provide language learning opportunities. For example, you can work on developing your child’s vocabulary of bugs or colors by labeling what you see or work on prepositions while putting the bugs in the tubes! Looking for other manipulative ideas? Pom poms are one of our favorite additions!
After adding your manipulatives, you’re going to want to fill up the rest of your love bug sensory tube with warm water.
Food coloring and glitter are the next steps. These are of course optional, but they do add some excitement to your sensory tube. Two-three drops of your favorite food coloring will fill the entire tube with color, and just a sprinkle of glitter will create a fun contrast. For these specific love bug sensory tubes, we chose to use red, white, and heart glitter to follow our Valentine’s Day theme.
Whew, you made it to the last step! Seal up that tube and watch in wonder! Let’s be honest, this one isn’t just for the kids, even adults are mesmerized to watch the bugs and glitter float up and down the colorful tubes!
Ways to Work on Language Development While Creating Sensory Tubes:
Not only are these sensory tubes fun to look at, but there are several ways to build in language learning opportunities while creating these love bug sensory tubes. Here are a few ideas:
Now you know how to make a fun love bug sensory tube, and how to build your child’s language skills while doing it! Going to try this at home? Please share it with us! We’d love to see your creations!
Love is in the air this Valentine's Day, and what better way to celebrate than by creating these fun (and simple) love bug sensory tubes with your child! What child doesn’t love sensory play or bugs?
Before you learn how to make this sensory tube, let’s talk about why sensory tubes are beneficial! Sensory tubes are a great tool for children of all ages. They provide the calming element of sensory play, as they help with grounding. Sensory tubes also present various learning opportunities including language learning, math skills, science knowledge, and more!
What You Need to Create a Love Bugs Sensory Tube:
How to Create a Love Bug Sensory Tube:
You’ll be happy to learn that there are not too many supplies you will need to create these love bug sensory tubes. In fact, you may already have many of them right in your house!
First, you need a sturdy clear bottle or tube to create your sensory tube. The Primary Science Sensory Tubes from Learning Resources is our favorite because they are large, sturdy, and seal easily. They also come with eight sets of solid lids, perfect for creating fun liquid sensory tubes, and four vented lids. Another great thing about these tubes? You can change them up frequently, or keep them filled up for days on end.
To make your love bug sensory tube, you’re also going to need something with viscosity. What’s viscosity? A thick, sticky, semi-fluid consistency. Think liquid hand soap, clear liquid glue, baby oil, or corn syrup. I told you, you might already have this at home! All you need to do is fill 1/4th of the tube with whatever viscous liquid you choose.
Next, add some fun manipulatives like these Backyard Bug Counters make your sensory tube extra fun! For these specific tubes, we added about 5-7 bugs per tube. Not only will your child love adding in something unique, but manipulatives like these also provide language learning opportunities. For example, you can work on developing your child’s vocabulary of bugs or colors by labeling what you see or work on prepositions while putting the bugs in the tubes! Looking for other manipulative ideas? Pom poms are one of our favorite additions!
After adding your manipulatives, you’re going to want to fill up the rest of your love bug sensory tube with warm water.
Food coloring and glitter are the next steps. These are of course optional, but they do add some excitement to your sensory tube. Two-three drops of your favorite food coloring will fill the entire tube with color, and just a sprinkle of glitter will create a fun contrast. For these specific love bug sensory tubes, we chose to use red, white, and heart glitter to follow our Valentine’s Day theme.
Whew, you made it to the last step! Seal up that tube and watch in wonder! Let’s be honest, this one isn’t just for the kids, even adults are mesmerized to watch the bugs and glitter float up and down the colorful tubes!
Ways to Work on Language Development While Creating Sensory Tubes:
Not only are these sensory tubes fun to look at, but there are several ways to build in language learning opportunities while creating these love bug sensory tubes. Here are a few ideas:
Now you know how to make a fun love bug sensory tube, and how to build your child’s language skills while doing it! Going to try this at home? Please share it with us! We’d love to see your creations!
Shop UK Site 
