Valentine’s Day Boredom Busting Basket
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Holidays are the perfect time to put together new boredom busting baskets. Kids love Valentine’s Day. It tends to be very commercial, as far as holidays go, but it is also festive and fun. February can feel very bleak, so Valentine’s Day is a nice way to find joy during all of the grey weather.
Boredom busting baskets are my secret weapon against bored kids. They ensure that fun and educational activities are always ready and available. Spending a few minutes prepping these boredom busting baskets helps my week run a little smoother.
I’m always on the lookout for boredom busting basket items. They do not need to be expensive. I like to check out Michael’s Craft store whenever I am in town. They usually put holiday craft supplies on sale a few weeks before the holiday hits. Google searches and Pinterest are wonderful ways to find free educational printables. I like to laminate the activities if I think it is something that will be useful for a few years.
It is a good idea to splurge on a few basic items that will last a long time and can be added to almost any boredom busting basket. I bought these alphabet stamps when I taught kindergarten twelve years ago. They have been used by many children and are still going strong.
Valentine’s Day Boredom Busting Basket
Sun-catcher – These cupcake-shaped sun-catchers were calling to me from the craft section of Wal-Mart. Sharpies are perfect for coloring the sun-catchers, but are not exactly washable. If you have little ones in the house you might want to keep the Sharpies out of reach and make decorating the sun-catchers a supervised activity.
Heart bracelets – I bought a Valentine’s Day bracelet kit from Michael’s, but you can recreate it with red and pink pipe cleaners and pink beads. Pipe cleaners are great for threading bracelets because they are not as flimsy as string. It helps prevent beads from spilling all over your table which inevitably leads to tears..
Paint with water – Did you have those books that you ‘painted’ using a q-tip dipped in water? I remember loving those as a kid so I grabbed a few for my kids at Michael’s. It is a quiet activity that can give a child space to calm down without the pressure to ‘create’.
Valentine’s word search – The internet is full of holiday word searches so I almost always include them in holiday boredom busting baskets.
Love in other languages word search – My kids LOVE word searches so I was excited to find this word search. The kids find the phrase “I love you” in multiple languages. It is a fun way to learn a little bit of other languages.
Fraction task cards – These free printable fraction task cards are perfect for putting in either a Valentine’s boredom busting basket or a Valentine’s Day math center. Children can do one task card or twenty, either way they are getting a little extra math practice.
History in numbers – This free printable is a great way to combine math practice with the history of Valentine’s Day. Children can practice multiplication, division, and order of operations.
Stickers – Stickers can be used to create an illustration or as a jumping off point for a story idea. They are just a fun addition that kids, especially young kids, seem to love.
Blank books – I picked up these blank books from the Target Dollar Spot a few months ago and I am still sprinkling them in boredom busting baskets. Kids can use them to journal or draw. My kids like to use them to write and illustrate their own stories.
Alphabet stamps and ink pad – Alphabet stamps are a fun way to practice spelling words. They can also be used in combination with the blank books. I just add the stamps and ink pad and let the kids create.
Have you tried a boredom busting basket with your kids?
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