Valentine's Day Nature Crafts for Children

Celebrate Valentine's Day with two crafts: heart-shaped decorations that serve as a bird feast and a Valentine card inspired by nature.

Valentine's Day... For Birds!

Why not express some love for backyard birds while decorating your yard for Valentine's Day, when food is short for wildlife?

These bright decorations are produced with things you may already have or can easily pick up at your local grocery and can be eaten by birds. They can even be manufactured by young children with with adult assistance. Hang them outside—when your feathered friends arrive to dine on the treats, it's a terrific opportunity for bird watching!

What you'll require:

• 12 cup oatmeal (instant is fine)
• 1 cup suet or vegetable shortening
• 12 c. p. p. p. p. p.
• 12 cup uncooked cream of wheat cereal
• 12 cup corn grits
• food colouring (red) (optional)
• a big bowl
• spoon for mixing
• cups for measuring
• cookie cutter with a heart shape
• For birdseed, use a shallow dish or pan.
• 12 inch lengths of any form of string, ribbon, or yarn
• a baking sheet
• bird seed (sunflower or other)
• pencil or chopstick

What you do is this:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Prepare oatmeal as directed on the packet (microwave in large bowl). Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and whisk with a spoon at first, then with your hands if the mixture becomes too stiff.

3. Dust your work surface as well as your hands with flour. Place a handful of dough the size of a tennis ball on the floured surface. Flatten the dough to a thickness of about 12 inches. Make as many heart shapes as possible. To coat the hearts, dip them in a bowl of birdseed or press seeds into the heart to make a design.

4. Make a hole in each heart with a chopstick or pencil (for where the string will go).

5. Arrange hearts on a cookie sheet that hasn't been greased. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool on the pan.

6. When the string is completely cool, tie it through the holes. Hang from trees or plants outside.

7. Watch who shows up to devour them!

Mice for Valentine's Day

Parents: With items acquired from the outdoors, assist your children in creating an attractive "mousy" Valentine's Day card.

What You Will Require:

• a piece of paper (recycle a brown paper grocery bag or use white copy paper or construction paper)
• Scissors
• For tracing the heart and writing your Valentine's Day message, use a pen, marker, or pencil.
• Elmer's, Sobo, or Tacky glue are all suitable options for white or craft glue.
• Tape
• If you wish to colour your mouse, use markers or crayons.
• To make the mouse's body parts, I gathered items from the outdoors. (Pine cones, small leaves, twigs, and pine needles are examples.) But don't be afraid to experiment and utilise your imagination. You can make your mouse seem whichever you want it to!)
• A bag or basket to transport the stuff you've gathered back to your house
• To protect your work surface from adhesive, use newspaper or something else.
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What you do is this:

1. Gather materials for your mouse's eye, ear, nose, whiskers, paws, and tail by taking a walk outside. Place them in your bag or basket and return home with them.

2. Make a half-fold in your paper. Draw a half-heart shape along the folded edge. Make a cut following the drawn line. (This may require some assistance for very small children.) You now have the body of a mouse. You'll find a Valentine heart when you open the paper!

3. Inside the mouse, on the heart, write or draw your Valentine's Day greeting. (Note: This is easier to perform before you glue the mouse components together.)

4. For the mouse's tail, choose something you've gathered. Tape it to the fold of the heart, allowing it to protrude a few inches from the top.

5. Fold your heart in half and turn it sideways to reveal the mouse. The tail of the heart should protrude from the rounded end. The mouse's nose will be made from the sharp end.

6. Use your acquired materials to glue an eye, ear, nose, whiskers, paws, and tail onto your mouse.

7. Give your mouse to a special person.