Our Favorite Valentine Craft

I know it's late, but I didn't want to post our favorite Valentine's Day activity before it arrived at the homes of grandparents and aunts.  This activity took up an entire day, and Adrienne (and Noah) absolutely loved it.  For once, both children were more excited about a craft than I was!

We bought some Crayola Model Magic because it air dries and feels really good on little hands.  It rolls smoothly, breaks easily, and I love its stretchy quality.  Noah can use it easier than Sculpey or salt clay, and after it dries, it has a spongey texture.  In any event, I like it, and the children do, too.

We made pendants for each of our grandmothers, aunts, and one for Adrienne and myself.  We then had enough clay left over to make approximately 50 beads.  Here are some pictures of the kiddos making their beads.

We then waited for the beads to dry, and played several counting games with them.  Adrienne enjoyed counting them out into lines of ten, and we also experimented with some patterning.  All in all, I think our pre-math bead games lasted 45 minutes.

After that, it was time to string the beads onto the laces, which again took forever.  For some reason, Adrienne really loves stringing beads, and it occupies her full attention for a long time.

Here's a picture of the finished product that we promptly mailed off to relatives.