Valentine's Day Playdough

I wrapped up a box with a lid today, in Valentine's colored paper, borrowing an idea from Joanne Ryder's First Grade Valentines.


In the story, a first grade teacher presents her class with a similarly decorated box, in the week before Valentine's Day. Each day the box contains a new set of supplies for a Valentine's themed class activity. The book contains several good math, and craft activity suggestions (including instructions for folding origami bunnies), a couple of which I hope to use with the children, but for today I decided to start things off simply with Valentine's playdough.


It's just normal, homemade, cream of tarter playdough (click the link for instructions), with a teaspoon of vanilla added to a third, a few drops of strawberry extract and red food coloring to a third, and double the red food coloring with a teaspoon of cinnamon added to the last third, before microwaving.


I bagged up the dough, and placed it in the box with a rolling pin, several heart shaped cookie cutters, aluminum foil (for play mats), and a couple Easy Bake Oven accoutrements. Then, placed the lid on the box, and the box on the table, to be discovered after nap time.


It's great to be a homeschooler.