Looking for a non-sweet Valentine idea for kids? We recommend these DIY foam glider templates – they come with a card, and they actually work!
Last week, we made a couple of foam glider airplanes, based on a real MIG-15 airplane. We played with, modified, and decorated them, then flew them inside and outside. It was a whole day of airplane love.
With Valentine’s Day coming next week, we decided to share this love with friends and make some Valentine airplanes instead of cards. We based them on the same pattern, so like our previous airplane, this one will glide and can even carry messages across the room. For that purpose, we’ve including a set of small printable cards to write messages on.
Would you like to learn about Valentine’s Day? Travel the globe and discover how it’s celebrated in different countries with this pack of colouring pages that turn into a giant Valentine poster!
Materials You’ll Need
- foam craft board (we picked a 20×30″ foam board for $1 at the local Dollar Store and made 5 airplanes with it; for one airplane you’ll need one 11×8.5″ piece) or craft foam
- scissors, craft knife and glue stick
How to Make a Foam Airplane
Print the design, then glue it onto the foam board with a glue stick. When dry, cut the parts out. Foam boards can be cut with scissors, but a craft knife does a particularly smooth job!
Glue a couple of coins to the foam board underneath the wings and then cover it with the wing design. Glue the remaining design onto the bare sides of the foam board.
This is how I’d explain the process in a few sentences – for very detailed instructions, look up the post about our original airplane.
Test It!
Trying the airplane throughout its creation is a considerable part of the fun, but it’s very exciting to give it a thorough test once it’s all finished and assembled. If you make several airplanes for your friends or a party, you can have races, measuring how fast and how far each airplane flies.
And away it goes, leaving a heart-shaped vapour trail – or so we imagine!
By the way, if you don’t like the style of this airplane that we created, you can always use it as a pattern and let the kids draw on the foam board or wrap it with washi tape!
Get the Valentine Foam Glider Template Below!
Also Try!
Make a stained glass heart suncatcher! It’s surprisingly easy, with nothing but black glue, sharpie markers and some recyclables.
Learn how to make shadow puppets with moving parts and have playful shadow puppet duels with these articulated knight puppets!
If you make a foam airplane, please, share your pictures with us on our Instagram or Facebook pages,
