Mini Valentine's Day Play Dough Kits for Preschoolers

After our Mini Christmas Play Dough Kits for Preschoolers proved to be a success, I couldn't wait to put together some Valentine's Day themed ones. All the heart eyes for these cute invitations to create for little ones.

Valentine's Day is such a cute theme for all types of sensory play. As soon as I got the go-ahead to run another play dough kit fundraiser at my daughter's preschool, I hit the usual haunts of Dollar Tree, Walmart and Target, and pretty much swiped them clean of all things cute and heart-shaped! Here's what the kits include and also how my own daughter has been enjoying playing with hers.

As I gathered materials it was important to keep an eye on the cost of each kit, but most importantly I really wanted to include materials which are open-ended, encourage role play and creativity, and also help to develop fine motor skills.

What You Need:

- Mailbox tin (from Walmart but similar are also available at Dollar Tree and Target)

- 2 heart-shaped cookie cutters (from Walmart)

- Selection of loose parts - heart gems, rose petals, and heart confetti from Dollar Tree, heart box and mini cupcake liners from Walmart, heart cupcake mold and paper straws from Target, and finally a cute little duckie from Michaels (also available at Walmart).

- All loose parts are presented in a sealable Valentine's Day treat bag from Dollar Tree

The Play Dough:

I always think it adds an extra fun factor to make the dough match the theme of the kit. For the Valentine's Day kits I therefore opted for some gorgeous Kool Aid red, purple and sparkly blush play dough in each kit. I always follow the Best No Cook Scented Play Dough Recipe from @mamapapabubba. The dough is super soft and stretchy and lasts for months.

Each batch makes eight play dough kit portions:

- 2 cups all purpose flour

- 1/2 cup salt

- 2 tablespoons cream of tartar

- 1 individual sachet of Kool Aid (I used Cherry, Grape and Pink Lemonade)

- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

- 2 tablespoons glycerin

- 1 and a 1/2 cups boiling water

Mix all of the dry ingredients first, including the Kool Aid, and then add the glycerin, oil and water. Give it a quick mix together with a wooden spoon but there's no need to spend too long on this part. The mixture will still appear pretty wet and sticky. Let it cool down for approx. 5 minutes. Add some flour to your surface and knead the dough well. If you want to add glitter, which we did for the pink lemonade blush play dough, just knead it in by hand at this final stage. Let the dough fully cool before dividing into eight small balls and wrapping in cling film.

The Valentine's Day Play Dough Kit in Action:

My two year old literally could not wait to get her hands on her kit! She even gave a darling little 'woooow' when she woke up from nap to find it set out waiting for her. She headed straight for the red play dough and got to work squishing, tearing and shaping. This is such an important stage of play with these kits. It can be tempting as an adult to make suggestions for how they use the materials and to want them to use it all straight away. Try to take a step back and simply support their creativity. Ask them what they are making? What does the play dough feel, look and smell like? What shapes can they see? Simple prompt questions like these will inspire so much conversation and provide the opportunity for new vocabulary to be explored.

Once your little one has enjoyed opening all of the materials and exploring them in their own way, you can help to prolong the play by modeling some role play opportunities yourself. We started off by cutting and decorating heart cookies together.

Using the cookie cutters is good fine motor practice, as well as helping to build sensory confidence with the play dough. Some kids don't naturally enjoy the sensation of playing with the dough so using tools is a great way to engage them without creating any anxiety. The loose parts make for perfect 'chocolate chips' and 'frosting'.

For my toddler, I know she loves making cupcakes in her pretend kitchen, so I rolled a ball of grape play dough and put it in one of the mini cupcake liners. This helped to inspire the next round of play with our kit.

Her little face lit up and she got to work decorating her cupcake with some of the loose parts. It might seem like a simple task to stick confetti, gems and straws into the dough, but this is a great way for kids to work on their fine motor skills. These small hand movements are crucial for helping to develop writing skills in later years.

The more we talk to our kids about their play, the more opportunities we are providing them to develop their imagination and vocabulary. Be sure to use this opportunity to ask questions like 'what can we use the straws for', 'how many candles are you adding to the cupcake', and 'what flavor toppings are you adding'.

When your child is finished playing with their kit, you can rinse off the loose parts if needed, package it all back up, and then bring it out on another day. Kids love repetition so don't be afraid to keep setting up the kit. If you feel like your child is loosing interest you can always add some different loose parts or tools, pair a Valentine's themed book with the set up, or even just simply add a dice to work in some numeracy (e.g. roll the dice to see how many heart gems to add to each cookie). The play possibilities are endless!