A great way to increase language skills with your children is through crafts. Not only does your child end up with an object to admire, but you can work on many skills such as vocabulary, following directions, and requesting. Please continue reading to create an easy Valentine’s Day craft with your child.
I Love You to Pieces
1 piece of computer paper/construction paper
Small pieces of tissue paper
1. Have your child draw a large heart on a piece of paper. Help your child with this step if needed.
2. With your child, rip up pieces of tissue paper into small pieces.
3. Ask your child to help you crumble up the pieces of tissue papers into balls.
4. Next have your child request for colors of tissue papers to glue onto the heart. For example, if they are able to label colors then they can say “red” or “pink” and then you can supply them with the color. If they are working on expanding utterances/sentence length, then have them use a phrase or short sentence to request for the color such as “want red” or “I want red”. If your child is not yet using words then model the colors for them.
5. You can also practice following directions. Ask your child to put on a white paper or a pink paper. To increase the difficulty, give your child a 2-step direction such as “put on the white paper and then put on the pink paper”.
6. Remember to praise your child for using words or following directions so well!
Have fun with your child when creating this Valentine’s Day craft!