Candy Heart Experiment

To get things started, find some kind of container.  We used plastic cups from the Dollar Tree.  But you can use glass mason jars or water bottles.  Next, decide on what liquids you want to use.  We used water, soda, and vinegar.

Start with the one basic question.  What do you think will happen to the candy hearts when we put them in the liquids?  Explain what a hypothesis is, and then ask them to think about what might happen before recording it down on paper.  Have them record their hypothesis. 

Hypothesis- a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation.

What you'll need:

• candy hearts
• jars or plastic cups
• water
• soda
• vinegar
• other suggestions for liquids:  (corn syrup, rubbing alcohol, sanitizer, juice, soap)
• sharpie

Instructions:

• Label your cups with the liquids you use
• Pour the liquids into each cup 1/2 way full
• Place 3 or 4 candy hearts of the same color into each cup.  
• Let them sit for 15 to 20 minutes 
• Have them fill out the hypothesis sheet while you wait
• Record the results after the 20 minutes.  

You can get a free copy of the experiment sheet here to record your hypothesis and conslusions:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Valentines-Day-Science-Candy-Heart-Experiment-FREE-1634839

Valentine's Day Crafts for kids

Pom Pom Valentine Monsters

Supplies:

• yarn
• mouthwash paper cup
• cardboard
• scissors
• googly eyes (regular ones or the ones with eyelashes)
• foam stickers or dollar tree jewel stickers
• chenille stems
• glue gun or tacky glue

Instructions: 

• Wrap your yarn around the cardboard piece (long-ways) about 150 to 200 times.  
• After you have wrapped it the desired amount of times, one one side of the cardboard tie a know around the center of the yarn.  
• Flip the cardboard over and cut through the center of the yarn.  
• Take your mouthwash cup and flip it upside down and hot glue your pom pop to the dop where you tied the knot.  
• Make another pom pom by wrapping the yard (short-ways) around the cardboard about 20 to 30 times and repeat the process for tying the knot and cutting yarn.  (this is your hair for the pom pom)
•  Hot glue the hair on the top of the cup.

Now the fun begins 

• Add your googly eyes.
• Make some pipe cleaner antennas and hot glue them to the top of the head under some yarn hair and form them the way you want them to look with your fingers.
• Add your stickers to the top of the antennas.

My little monster enjoyed taking a break from her classwork to make a cute little monster to sit on her desk for Valentines Day.  

Finger Painting Art

What you'll need:

• paint
• paper
• paint brush

Kids love to get messy!  Here they just need to either use their paintbrush to make their tree, or dip their finger in the paint and smear it to make a tree.  Now just dip the fingers into the paint and make a leaves to form a heart.  Super cute! 

Heart Fireworks

What you’ll need:

• construction paper, cardstock, or canvas
• paints
• paintbrush, foam brush
• pencil

Instructions:

• Fold a piece of paper in half and draw half a heart.  Cut it out while folded and it open up to a full heart.  You'll need different size hearts.
• Place the hearts in different sections of your paper or canvas and trace the hearts.
• Paint the hearts with a foam brush.
• Now you will start painting around the heart in layers.  Choose your 1st color and paint around the heart.  You'll need to make it look like streaks.  So just keep swishing the brush from the traced outline of the heart then go outward with your paint brush.  
• Repeat the process with different colors and keep going until you reach the end of the paper/canvas.

Pointillism

 Valentines Craft

This technique is known as a "pointillism."  
Definition:  a technique of neo-impressionist painting using tiny dots of various pure colors, which become blended in the viewer's eye. It was developed by Georges Seurat with the aim of producing a greater degree of luminosity and brilliance of color.

This style of art uses dots of colors to make a picture.  When you look at the dots side by side, it connects the colors so you can figure out what the picture is, even though the colors don't actually touch each other or blend together on paper.  

For the older kids, you can use this activity as a way to introduce the child to a specific style of art.  Here are a list of artists that used this style of technique.  https://www.ranker.com/list/famous-pointillism-artists/reference  

Here is also a great link to help your children understand the art style and some art work.  https://www.widewalls.ch/pointillism-dotted-art/

There is a lot more to this art activity than just swapping out your paint brushes for cotton swabs!

What you’ll need:

• Cotton swabs
• Paint, either on an palate or plate, or in individual cups
• Paper

Instructions:

Dab the cotton head into your paint and then onto your paper.  You can dab your paint into creative patterns or shapes on your own, use coloring book sheets (focus on coloring books for younger children with large, simple designs), or print out any number of free cotton swab painting templates by searching for “q-tip painting.” To show their creative style, just let them make up their own.