Winter and yarn crafting go hand-in-hand around here. If you spend any amount of time on our farm you will likely leave with a hat. (Whether you want one or not…)
With big sister busily crocheting chicken hats for the flock, and Mama still making hats almost as fast as the little ones are losing them, there is yarn in all corners of this house.
The littlest two, not yet knitters or crocheters, have been eager to get into the yarn crafting as well. When I stumbled upon this post of Red Ted Art’s on yarn wrapped apples, I thought it would be a great activity for the boys. And since Valentines Day is just around the corner, I thought we could wrap some hearts!
My little ones all love making valentines. We have a good amount started after our last batch of celery heart stamping. And Sammy is really excited to mail some lovely homemade goodies to our loved ones.
These yarn wrapped hearts seem like they were exactly what we were after!
They were nice and easy to make. My 4 year old managed to wrap them all on this own.
We simply cut a heart shape out of thick cardboard. I then cut little snips all around the outside of the heart. I was thinking it would grip the yarn a little better. Whether it did on not, I’m not really sure.
Then we got to wrapping the hearts in yarn… and love…
Sam started this activity when Ben was {not} napping upstairs. We are in those weary days where my little Ben is just deciding he no longer needs wants his nap. So at first this was an activity Sam was doing on his own, nice and relaxed.
A little while later Ben arrived and began to ‘help.’ This actually went surprisingly well. Ben held the yarn and unrolled it, while Sam (keeping a good distance) wrapped.
I did have Ben try to do some wrapping, but it was too tricky for him (at age 2). Didn’t bother him at all, he was very content to be the yarn unroller. (Don’t mind the painters tape on the floor… it is still up from zooming and sorting the ABCs.)
Sam wrapped and wrapped the hearts for quite a long time. He started to improve upon his technique after each heart was finished, which was fascinating for me to watch.
This activity was helping his pincer grip, hand-eye coordination, and problem solving skills too. And he did it with so much love!
These yarn wrapped hearts would look darling hung from our barn beams, but Sammy is insisting they all get given away. My generous boy. Though Mama might have liked one…
Hope you and yours enjoy this activity as much as my little one did. Thank you for reading!
Just before you go, you might also want to grab this FREE Valentine’s Day Activity Pack! It’s filled with coloring pages, mazes, dot-to-dots, symmetrical drawings, and more—PLUS a 14-day countdown calendar with one simple activity to enjoy with your little one each day as you countdown to Valentine’s Day. Get yours here:
This Momma doesn’t get the presents either. ?
It’s always the way … sigh … well at least I am in good company Gilly!
Do you have a pattern for the chicken hats?
Hi Fawn, I am going to get on this!! I will have the post soon. Thanks!
Can you please give knitting directions for chicken hats. Trying to prevent frost bite here in Northern New Mexico.
Hi Barb, Thanks for your request. I have actually been meaning to write that post for awhile. I will try to get to it very soon – I hope your feathery ladies are keeping warm!
If I choose to do this in a prek classroom, how’ve long should I estimate it can take each child to complete it and how much yarn per child?
Hmmm – a great question. It might be tricky to do in a prek classroom, depending on how many little ones you have and their skill levels. But I would say maybe 10-15 minutes to complete. The length of yarn is also going to depend on the students you have I’m afraid! But I would think 1 ball of yarn would do 5 students at least.