Home » Kids Activities » Fine Motor Activities » Anti Valentine’s Day Crafts and Activities for Kids
I enjoy Valentine's Day Activities as much as the rest of them, but sometimes it's fun to think outside of the heart-shaped box. Here are some fun Anti Valentine's Day Crafts and Activities for kids!
I have seen people doing baked cotton balls before around the interwebs. I thought it looked neat, but I wasn't sure what to do with them. It's because I didn't “get” it. I'd never handled one before so I didn't really know that just doing them WAS the thing to do. Oh – really quick, affiliate links are used in this post, which just means that if you buy something via those product links I get a small commission at no cost to you.
So. Like I was saying, I didn't know that baked cotton balls were cool on their own, so I wanted something with a theme to do with them. I thought I'd try making heart-shaped ones for Valentine's Day, but then…we'd be breaking hearts so is that weird?
Eh. I was over-thinking it. Just do it. You too, just do it! Try it! Heart shaped or not! They are fun, odd and curious!
If you want to make special shapes you can use silicone molds. I know that hard plastic ice cube trays are also available in various shapes but those are not oven proof, nor are they flexible to allow you to pop the hardened cotton balls out. So. Stick with silicone if you are molding them into shapes. Otherwise you can just place them onto a baking sheet, without any mold. If you skip the shaped molds and use just the baking sheet you can skip the second baking session.
Anti Valentine's Day Baked Cotton Balls
Materials:
- Water
- Flour
- Bowls
- Whisk
- Cotton balls
- Liquid Watercolors
- Silicone Heart Molds (We used these Wilton molds, but they seem to go in and out of availability. This set appears to make fewer of the same size hearts, maybe slightly deeper. This set looks to make slightly smaller hearts but is cheaper.)
- Baking sheet
- Hammer or other tools if desired
- Protective eye wear if desired
Prep:
Preheat oven to 350. While it heats, prep the hearts as follows.
Place your silicone heart mold onto a baking sheet for stability when transferring to the oven.
Mixflour and water into a roughly equal ratio. (I used about 3/4 cup of each but I didn't make a ton.) Split it into containers for as many colors as you want to make. Add liquid watercolors to the mixturesyou want to color, leaving one white if desired.
Grabtwo cotton balls together with yourthumb and pointer finger and dip them into one of the bowls, covering fully. Allow the excess to drop off and put the two cotton balls together into one of the heart molds. Try to manipulate the cotton balls into a slight V shape so they fill out the entire heart shape. Do your best not to completely flatten them.
Repeat with as many hearts and colors as you want. Feel free to wipe the excess flour and water off the pan edges if desired. If not, it's okay.
Bake for 45-60 minutes. Set out to cool slightly. As soon as you are able to handle the silicon pan, move it to the counter so the baking sheet is empty nearby. Slowly pop the hearts out of their molds and set them onto the baking sheet. Some will be pretty hard already and some will still be a bit wet and squishy.
Once all are out of the heart mold, pop them back in the oven for 20 minutes or so, until they are all hard. When they are done allow them to cool fully before playing with them.
If the hearts have edges due to the excess flour mixture spilled on the pan, you can just crack these off if desired, or not. It's fine either way. 🙂
Play:
Decide where you want to play. Protect the surface with a flattened cardboard box if you plan to use a hammer. Otherwise, lay out your hearts and invite your child to play. It is fun to break the hearts with the hammer, pull them apart with your fingers or a pliers, and squish them with the palm of your hand!
If you like this activity, be sure to check out 7 more Anti-Valentine's Day Activities below, and please do pin this post!
More Anti Valentine's Day Fun
I'm teaming up with some bloggy friends to bring you a Heartbreakers Anti Valentine's Day Blog Hop! Check out these other fun ideas!
Breaking Hearts: Fine Motor Play from Still Playing School
Fine Motor Gelatin Heart Sensory Play from And Next Comes L
Candy Heart Breaking Fine Motor Activity from Fun-A-Day
Catapult Science for Kids- Can You Break My Heart? on Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tail Heartbreaker Smashing Peanut Shells from Sugar Aunts
Color Mixing with Heart Snowball Smashing from How Wee Learn
Bubble Wrap Heart Breaking from House of Burke
For anyone looking for NON Anti Valentine's Day Activities…..or rather Valentine's Day Activities, be sure to follow my Valentine's Day Pinterest Board too!
