Love Bug Headbands

I first made these in 2015 as a class party activity in Young 5’s. I thought it would be fun because the class talked a lot about nature and being outdoors, and the word “bug” was something the kids could easily recognize and read. And because all the kids were love bugs, of course.

With any class activity, I want the kids to be as hands-on as possible. It’s way more fun when they have ownership of a project and can work independently. For this project, that meant doing a lot of prep work. Assorted colors in all the materials gave the kids more choice and chance for personalization.

To make 24 headbands, I came prepared with:

• 25 large felt hearts, about 2″ (I found these pre-packaged, so helpful)
• 25 medium felt hearts with a “B” on them, about 1.5″ (I cut them out and wrote the B on with glitter glue)
• 25 medium felt hearts with a “U” on them, about 1.5″ (I cut them out and wrote the U on with glitter glue)
• 25 medium felt hearts with a “G” on them, about 1.5″ (I cut them out and wrote the G on with glitter glue)
• 50 pieces of pipe cleaner, cut to 2″
• 100 adhesive googly eyes
• 25′ of elastic (if color choices are available, great)
• Fabric scissors
• Glue gun (guard carefully, keep way out of reach of little hands)

(If you’re wondering about my math, I always bring extra materials to account for mistakes, extras, or sometimes even little siblings.)

At the party, I laid out all the pieces and essentially formed an assembly line. Students chose:

• A big heart, googly eyes and antennae for the head
• A B, U, and G for the body
• A piece of elastic for the headband

A parent then quickly measured their head (to get the length of elastic right) and hot glued the pieces together. (A sewing machine works, too, but that’s a lot of gear to lug to school.) When cool, the student could bend the antennae any way they’d like and wear for the remainder of the party.

They were adorable and I saw them for years to come. I think it’s my favorite class activity to date.

Another option is to ask students to bring in their own headbands and hot glue letters directly to the headband. (Forewarn parents ahead of time you’ll be doing this.)

I know I have more pictures from this project, but six years ago is a long time and I can’t find them. Posting as-is because done is better than perfect. I’m happy to answer any questions if you have them. Comment below!

Megan