Love Bugs

For this Valentine's Day project we started by making pompoms using the 'doughnut' method. I have made pompoms with my group before and it is a nice activity which students find quite absorbing. I pre-cut lengths of wool and also provided plastic needles. The needles are easier for students to hold and their weight makes it easier to pass the wool through the hole. It is important not to make the hole in the doughnut ring too big or else it will take all day to finish. A smaller hole results in quite scruffy looking pompoms but students can give them a haircut at the end to neaten them up if they like. To turn them into lovebugs students used templates to cut heart-shaped feet from felt and made eyes from white felt circles which they drew on with black markers. You could use a glue gun to attach the feet and eyes but I find the best method is double-sided carpet tape (which is VERY sticky). I pre-stuck tape to the back of the felt before they cut out the shapes.