Valentine's Day has come and gone. The kids have come down from their sugar high (mostly). Now I'm left with a handful of colourful paper Valentine's Day cards just waiting to be recycled. I hate to just recycle them without reusing them in some way, so instead we came up with four ways to reuse Valentine's Day cards for play and fine motor skills.
Lacing Cards
Lacing cards are a great way to work on fine motor skills and can make a great busy bag to take on the go. Simply hole punch around the edges of the card and pair it with some string or ribbon. The kids will also love to help with the hole punching — at least mine do!
Puzzles
These DIY puzzles also make a great busy bag to take on the go. Simply chop up those Valentine's Day cards into pieces and let the kids assemble their cute little puzzles.
Paper Airplanes
I loved making paper airplanes as a kid! My kids enjoy making them too. So why not reuse those Valentine's Day cards to make a bunch of colourful paper airplanes. Some of the airplanes may end up really small, but think of all the fine motor skills and hand strength the kids are developing as they fold up those tiny airplanes. Challenge your kids to discover which cards make the best flying paper airplanes!
Slotted Building Set
Use those Valentine's Day cards to build a structure! Thick and sturdy cards work best for this activity so make sure to chose the most durable cards possible. Simply cut slits on each side of the cards and build! You can also turn this building set into a busy bag just like the DIY puzzles and DIY lacing cards.
Dyan Robson
Read more from Dyan here.
Married to her high school sweetheart, Dyan is mom to two boys, J and K, who also teaches piano out of her home. On her blog And Next Comes L, Dyan shares her story of raising a child with hyperlexia, hypernumeracy and autism, amongst a variety of sensory activities for kids. You can find out more about their story on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and Google+.
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