A fun heart-themed sensory play with real crunch – your kids will break some hearts with this fun Baked Cotton Ball Sensory Activity for Valentine’s Day.

Baked Cotton Ball Sensory Play

Okay… this is a bit embarrassing.

It has been over a year since I mentioned this activity in our Chalkboard & Lovebugs Valentine’s Day Party. I think that’s my problem with being so holiday-obsessed, I’m constantly on to the next holiday and occasion… and sometimes things like this fun sensory play idea get left behind.

My daughter helped me prepare these baked cotton ball hearts for our Valentine’s Day parties and they were so much fun for the kids to hammer, rip apart and otherwise break! The kids loved the crunchy yet squishy texture of the baked cotton balls – you’re basically coating cotton balls in a paper mache mixture and hardening it.

They loved hammering and crunching through the tough coating and feeling it give way to the soft cotton balls. It is really satisfying sensory play – especially if you have a little one who loves hammering or using tools!

You can modify this recipe to fit just about any theme! We’re going to do a rainbow theme next (and with my current turn-around, you can expect to see that next year), and you can even just do individual cotton balls for kids to smash whenever they feel like!

They take about 5 minutes to make and then 2 hours to fully dry after the 45 minutes baking, so plan accordingly.

PS – I also have to give a shout-out to my friend, Mary Catherine’s heartbreakers candy activity which also lets kids use real tools to break some candy hearts. And my friend Laura has a similar activity for heart-shaped baked cotton balls – hers uses a heart-shaped mold to make the cotton ball hearts so it would use up less supplies and allow the kids to have more hearts to “break.”

Check out our quick video to see how to make your own heartbreaker baked cotton balls – and then how much fun they are to play with – and then don’t forget to scroll down to grab your free printable instructions:

If you’re looking for Valentine’s Day crafts for kids, check out:

Materials to Make Baked Cotton Ball Hearts

1 cup water
1 cup flour
Paint or food dye
Cotton balls
Cookie sheet
Tinfoil
Non-stick baking spray
Hammers, tools

Tip: have a surface or container for the kids to smash the hearts on/in. We put down a tarp and then used individual cookie sheets for each kid.

How to Make Baked Cotton Ball Hearts

Preheat your oven to 300F

Combine the flour and water, then dye as desired.

We wanted some purple hearts and some pink, so we split the paper mache mixture and dyed one bowl of each.

Draw your heart shapes on a piece of tinfoil and place on a cookie sheet.

I would also suggest using some non-stick cooking spray – we didn’t and bits of tinfoil stuck to the bottom of one of the hearts.

Dip the cotton balls in the paper mache mixture and coat thoroughly.

Arrange the coated cotton balls on the tinfoil in the heart shape.

Fill the heart shape, ensuring the cotton balls are touching so the shape bakes and forms together.

Bake for 45 minutes, then allow to cool and harden on the cookie sheet.

Then grab a bunch of tools, set the kids up somewhere where you don’t mind some “construction dust” and let them get to work!

Pin this Valentine’s Sensory Play Activity:

A fun heart-themed sensory play activity for Valentine's Day! Baked cotton balls are so much for for kids to smash and rip apart - especially little heartbreakers!

Grab your free printable instructions for our Valentine’s Day Baked Cotton Ball Play:

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Yield: 3 hearts

Heartbreakers Sensory Activity for Kids (with Video)

Baked cotton ball sensory play perfect for Valentine's Day or a party. Kids can use real tools to crush these crunchy baked cotton balls for a fun sensory experience.

Prep Time 45 minutes

Active Time 10 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Difficulty Easy

Estimated Cost $1

Materials

1 cup water
1 cup flour
Paint or food dye
Cotton balls
Tinfoil
Non-stick baking spray

Tools

Hammers, tools
Cookie sheet
Bowls
Spatula

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 300F
Combine the flour and water, then dye as desired.
We wanted some purple hearts and some pink, so we split the paper mache mixture and dyed one bowl of each.
Draw your heart shapes on a piece of tinfoil and place on a cookie sheet.
I would also suggest using some non-stick cooking spray - we didn't and bits of tinfoil stuck to the bottom of one of the hearts.
Dip the cotton balls in the paper mache mixture and coat thoroughly.
Arrange the coated cotton balls on the tinfoil in the heart shape.
Fill the heart shape, ensuring the cotton balls are touching so the shape bakes and forms together.
Bake for 45 minutes, then allow to cool and harden on the cookie sheet.
Then grab a bunch of tools, set the kids up somewhere where you don't mind some "construction dust" and let them get to work!