Valentine’s Day Writing Tray with Free Printable Heart Letters
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Salt trays are fantastic for writing practice – kids love the sensory aspect and it’s such a fantastic way to learn. In honor of Valentine’s Day, we colored our salt pink and included a free set of printable uppercase and lowercase letters in a fun heart shape to celebrate the holiday. Read on below to see how we put together our Valentine’s Day writing tray with free printable heart letters.
What You’ll Need
- Salt
- Pink food coloring
- Plastic bag
- Tray
- Letter heart printable
- Printer paper
- Scissors or 2″ hole punch (this is our absolute favorite brand – they are sturdy, easy to use, and fold for easier storage)
- You could also laminate the heart letters to ensure they last (don’t forget the laminating pouches)
Related: Calming lavender playdough
What to Do
Begin by downloading and printing the uppercase and lowercase alphabet hearts printable. This will make this writing tray activity easy peasy!
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Next, cut out the hearts (or hole punch them out). If you plan on laminating them, simply print your letter sheets out, laminate them, and then cut or punch each letter out. Set them aside while you prepare the salt.
Now, pour about 1/3 cup salt into a plastic bag and 2-3 drops of pink food coloring. Seal your plastic bag and squish until everything has been mixed well. You could also add in a couple drops of lavender essential oil to the colored salt while it is still in the bag. We’ve done this in the past and it’s a great way to add another layer of sensory fun to this activity. Lavender oil is a great calming oil that is also kid-safe, so we often find ourselves adding it into our crafts and activities.
Related: Lavender Scented Slime Recipe
Next, pour your salt in the tray and insert a letter card or spell out a word with the letter cards.
We discovered that it easier to trace letters in the salt if there isn’t too much salt in the tray, so if your child has a difficult time making letters in the salt, try removing some of the salt.
Invite your child to trace the letter or word in the salt.
Our children love practicing their letters and words this way. You could also practice patterns, numbers, or even math problems with this Valentine’s Day writing tray.
Free play is also something our children love when it comes to the salt tray. They love creating pictures this way as well.
This Valentine’s Day writing tray activity can be adapted to many different ages and skill levels.
If your child is a little older, and working on their spelling skills, this would be a great time to work on that too. You could invite them to spell out a word with the letter cards and then make that word in the salt.
You could even add a few heart-shaped confetti pieces to make this Valentine’s Day writing tray even more festive!
Related: Calming Lavender Salt Tray Writing {With Kid-Safe Essential Oils}
Does this activity sound like something you’d like to try? If so, please share it on social media. Or, pin it to save for later.
How to Get this FREE Printable
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Looking for more simple + fun educational activities? Be sure to check out our other fun ideas:
- Arctic Playdough Recipe + Play Activities
- Alphabet Critters
- Paint Your Own Alphabet Rocks {Make Learning Fun}
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- Valentine’s Day Washi Tape Hearts {Easy, No Mess Craft}
- Oven Bake Heart Pinch Pots {Easy DIY Craft}
- Calming Lavender Playdough Recipe {With Lavender Seed Mix-Ins}
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Cherie
Friday 28th of January 2022
Hi, how do I print this? I already subscribed and put the password. Thanks
The Art Kit
Friday 28th of January 2022
Hi! This printable can be found on page 14 of the resource library. Here is the direct link: https://www.theartkitblog.com/resource-library/14/ Once there, simply click on the image of the printable and the file will open. Enjoy! :)