Diy Robot Valentine Gifts

January 24, 2023 Kylie Tuosto

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Valentine's Day Kissing Booth Dramatic Play Kit

January 25, 2022 Kylie Tuosto

This year for Valentine’s Day we decided to put together this fun and unique sensory activity. I got out the lipstick and some white paper and let Sofie make kisses all over the paper. She absolutely loved it! Usually sensory play is with her hands, but this was such a great way to engage new senses and let her play with her mouth — normally I have to find taste safe activities because she still likes to put things in her mouth. But this was so much fun and she enjoyed it when daddy and I stopped by for some kisses. And even our labradoodle Milo joined in for the fun! He manned the kissing booth for a bit while Sofie went to gather more supplies.

Here’s what you’ll need to bring this together:

Valentine’s Kissing Booth Kit - $7 - This kit is so adorable and it includes the Pennant Flag, Bunting Banner, Paper Letters, Paper Mailbox, Cut out hearts, and more!
Flisat Table - $185 - We do all of our sensory play and kits on our table. It’s the perfect height for her size and the bins help us contain the mess and keep everything organized.
Wooden Toy Cash Register - $36 - Sofie loves to play with this! It gives us a good excuse to talk about money and how it’s use and what it’s for.
Pink Ribbon
Hole punch
Scissors
Tape

6 Taste Safe Toddler Valentines Activities

January 22, 2022 Kylie Tuosto

Valentine’s season is here and it’s so inspiring to see all of the adorable small shop goodies out to celebrate the love in the air. I’ve done so many Valentine’s Day Toddler activities that I figured it was time to do a little round up. Looking back, check out these awesome taste safe, Valentine’s Day inspired activities.

Moon Sand - This was super fund and super simple. Just ground up graham crackers, cornstarch and I think I used the opportunity to get rid of some cheerios.
Love Machine - Last year I was looking to get rid of some old boxes and pulled together this awesome little Love Machine using an empty wipes package, tops of baby food, empty boxes and some pink & red ribbon.
Heart Water Beads - Obviously water beads aren’t edible, so we cut a heart shape hole in a cardboard box and sealed the water beads inside with a plastic bag. This made it easy for Sofie to play and poke without getting messy or throwing beads around the room. Perfect for those 10-18month olds.
Cloud Doh - This doh is so easy to make and while sugary, you don’t have to worry about your toddler putting it in their mouth. Just mix frosting, cornstarch, and powdered sugar and you have the perfect doh!
Valentine’s Jello - Everyone forgets how easy Jello is to make and what a great sensory activity it is. We filled a baking pan with red jello and then I let Sofie use some hearts sprinkles on top to make it festive. She scooped in this tub mixing and stirring for hours!
Taste-safe Finger Paint - This one was by far the simplest to make, but not so fun to clean up. I’d recommend doing this one in the bath tub next time. But it’s super easy — just mix food coloring in yogurt, spread a mat of paper out on the floor and let your toddler paint (I’d recommend doing it naked).

There you have it! 6 awesome, Pinterest-worthy toddler taste-safe Valentine’s Day sensory activities. You can easily fill up the weeks leading up toward the holiday with all of this fun!

Lady Bug Valentines Day Basket

January 18, 2022 Kylie Tuosto

This year we got inspired by one of Sofie’s favorite books and Slumberkins and did a Lady Bug themed valentines basket and sensory bin. We started by making a bright red colored rice using vinegar and food coloring. Unfortunately the vinegar made the rice really smelly so we’ll be doing it with paint next time around. To create this cool ladybug effect we started with uncooked black beans for the head and inner wings. With those shapes in place we poured a vase layer of rice and then went back and forth until we filled the dish. Then we used an empty toilet paper roll to funnel the black beans on top for some nice round spots. The contrast of the black and red created quite a stunning effect. And Sofie loved scooping and pouring the rice. It’s the only activity she’s been talking about for the last two weeks! I wasn’t loving the mess of rice all over the room but luckily Sofie was happy to help me clean it up.

Valentine’s Basket Fillers:

Cuddle Bug Book: This is one of Sofie’s favorites and since we were doing a Lady Bug theme, I had to include it. Even though she’s already read it, she’s still at the age where I can repurpose gifts which is awesome for me.
Slumberkins Love Bug: I love that Slumberkins did a lady bug this year! It’s so stinking cute. And the set even comes with classroom Valentine’s cards. Sofie will be taking hers to the park along with these cute little Valentine’s Memory Game sets since over here we’re big fans of non-candy Valentines.
Colored Rice & Black Beans Jar: I made this one by hand, but I highly recommend checking out @busylittles on instagram for great sensory kits pre-made and mailed directly to you!
Bugs Flashcards: These are so great for expanding your toddler’s vocabulary and teaching new words in both English and Spanish. Sofie loves using these to match things like toys to each flashcard as she learns the words. These are also great mealtime distractions for quizzing her when she’s getting challenging at the dinner table.
Floss & Rock Magnetic Dress Up Character: Sofie absolutely loved the one that she got for Christmas so I bought her another doll in the set for Valentine’s day. This little dress up down keeps her entertained for at least and hour. She loves taking the clothes off and on and the more dolls you have in the set, the more outfits you have overall.

For our sensory bin we paired the rice play with the Cuddle Bug book and our favorite letters from Chars Jars shop.

Valentine’s Day Waterbeads

February 13, 2021 Kylie Tuosto

Still looking for that last minute Valentine’s Day activity? Setting up these water beads was so fun and so simple! Inspired by @mama.jots I cut a heart out of card board and placed it on top of an old box. Then I filled a plastic ziploc freezer bag with water beads. Sofie loved scratching at and poking at the texture. She played with it for like 30min and then again while I was getting dinner ready. It was the perfect toddler Valentine’s Day activity. And it took maybe 10minutes to prep. We did go to the park while we waited for the water beads to expand.

Pink and red water beads
Old cardboard box
Tape
Plastic ziploc bag
Water

Looking for more great Valentine’s Day Activities?

Check out GoodnightFox for these awesome Valentine’s Day toys & games.

Valentine's Gift Basket for 1 Year Old Girl

February 10, 2021 Kylie Tuosto

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I decided to put together a little Love Basket for Sofie. But what could I possibly come up with that she doesn’t already have!? Since we’re planning a little vacation in March, I figured a back pack would be a great way for her to tote around her toys. And she’s been needing shoes the next size up so I snagged these super cute pink sneakers from H&M. Of course she needed a new game, so I tucked this sweet Rainbows & Unicorns memory game into the pocket of her backpack. Along with some new books, a teddy bear with an adorable bow from thepurplewagon.com and voila!