Activity:
Love Bug Craft
Valentine's Day is a great day to show loved ones how much you appreciate them, and this love bug craft is an adorably simple way to spread the love. Gather up some toilet paper rolls and construction paper, and soon your kid will be on his way to completing a cute little love bug. A whole family of love bugs makes a fun Valentine's Day decoration, or a thoughtful present for friends and family. And an extra bonus: the tracing and cutting involved is great for motor skill development in little hands.
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What You Need:
- Toilet paper roll
- Red, pink, and white construction paper
- Glue
- Scissors
- Newspaper or crumpled scrap paper
- Googly eyes
- Pipe Cleaners
- Pencil
- Decorations (such as puff balls and sequins)
What You Do:
- Measure the length of the toilet paper roll, and help your child cut some red or pink construction paper so that it fits around the roll.
- Using a glue stick or white craft glue, have your child wrap enough of the red paper around the roll so that it’s completely covered, and then glue in place. This is the body of his bug!
- Trace a circle on the white paper that’s twice the size of the opening of the toilet paper roll, and cut it out. This will be the bug's sweet face. In the center of the circle, glue some googly eyes on, or draw a happy face.
- After the face and the eyes are dry, ask your child to take some of the crumpled paper or newspaper and wrap the face around it. Press it through the roll so the face appears on the other side. The crumpled paper should keep it in place. If it feels loose, add more paper.
- Now for the wings! Have your child trace some butterfly-shaped wings on white paper using a pencil. Don’t worry if they aren’t exactly the same size. Decorate the wings as you wish: add stickers or glue gems on them! Go ahead and write a love note on the wings, too.
- When the wings are finishing drying, help your kid cut them out along the pencil marks, leaving some extra room at the tapered part of the wing to glue onto the body.
- Glue the wings on so the decorations are facing up.
- Once your child adds a pair of pipe cleaner antennae, the love bug is complete! If he wants, let him make a whole family of bugs to replicate your own family!
