Thursday, February 2, 2023
💗 HAPPY FEBRUARY! 💗
Welcome to a brand new month! We are ready for it!
We are two Grands who love sharing our thoughts and ideas
as retired kindergarten teachers and newbie grandmas!
WELCOME!
Today is Monday, February 2... Happy Groundhog Day!
Will we have six more weeks of winter or is spring right around the corner?
We know what we’re hoping for!!!
(If you are looking for a yummy treat and a few other ideas to celebrate Groundhog Day,
be sure to check out Instagram!)
In addition to Groundhog Day, February brings lots of wonderful moments to celebrate with Valentine’s Day at the top of that list! In today’s post we are sharing simple and fun Valentine card ideas that - with your help - your Littles can create for loved ones!
Your Littles can make Valentine Creations for parents, grandparents, caregivers, siblings or friends. With your guidance, they will be able to do one or more of these projects - while your littlest Littles will definitely need your assistance, older ones will be able to complete the project(s) independently with minimal guidance!
Perhaps, you could even start a new family tradition this year!
Suggest to your Middles that they drop off the Little(s)
and head out for a quiet dinner together!
Then you and the Little(s) can get busy making some of these valentine creations!
VERSION #1
Ripping paper can be so much fun and provides great small motor practice, too!
Supplies Needed: a white piece of paper, strips of construction paper in a variety of colors, crayons or markers and a glue stick.
Directions: (1) Draw a large heart in the middle of the white piece of paper. (2) You or your Little (depending on age) can write the words “I Love You To Pieces” around the heart, as shown (Or you can draw bubble letters that your Little can color in, using crayon or markers.) (3) Encourage your Little to sign the card! (4) Give your Little different colors of paper to rip into small pieces. NOTE: This can be more difficult than it sounds so help, as needed! It REALLY does help develop small motor skills! (5) Using a glue stick, spread the glue on the heart in sections. (6) Your Little will then add the small pieces of paper where they like on the heart. Add more glue and paper pieces until the heart is filled in.
VERSION #2
Do you have a puzzle that is missing pieces? This is a great way to use it!
(also check for puzzles at places like garage sales, Facebook Marketplace, or friends)
Supplies Needed: puzzle pieces, spray paint/tempera paint (optional,) background paper (card stock/tagboard works the best), markers
Directions: (1) If you would like the puzzle pieces to be a certain color, lay them out and spray paint them or just paint them with tempera paint beforehand. (Using unpainted pieces can be very colorful and striking as well!) (2) Draw a heart and have your Little glue puzzle pieces in and around the heart. (3) Add the words to finish!
Supplies Needed: a photo of your Little, construction paper - any colors you want to make your card with, crayons or markers (optional), scissors and a glue stick.
Directions: (1) Cut out your LIttle from the photo. (2) Cut out a heart and large “U” from paper. (3) Glue on items. (4) Feel free to decorate as you wish!
Feel more ambitious? Try this one from Laurie & family!
When my kids were MUCH younger, I made this card for my husband for Valentine’s Day. This was about 26 years ago, and there were no digital cameras or cool editing tools. (We dug this out of the basement. The background was pink and the letters were bordered in bright red!) I did it all by cut and paste. With technology now, you could really turn this into a nice looking project!
Directions: Arrange your children in the formation of the letters and snap their pictures. Most of the letters I had them stand on the floor but for one of the O”s I had them lay on the ground and stood on a chair above them (use whatever method works best for your kids!). Trim around the letters and arrange them in order. I would LOVE to see what people can do with this idea now! Please share! I remember there was a lot of giggling when we originally did this, but my kids were SO impressed with the finished product!!
Supplies Needed: tempera paint, paintbrush or paint sponge, a white piece of paper (or any light color), 1-2 other sheets of colored construction paper, crayons or markers and a glue stick.
Directions: (1) Begin by making prints of your Little’s feet in a heart shape (as shown) on the piece of light colored paper. NOTE: We suggest brushing the paint on one of your Little’s feet at a time, adding that print to the paper and then washing the foot. Then repeat with the second foot. (2) When dry, cut a heart shape around the foot prints! (3) THIS STEP IS OPTIONAL: Glue the “foot heart” to the middle of a second piece of paper (in the sample, it is purple). Cut a heart shape again, bordering the “foot heart.” (3) Glue your heart onto a piece of paper (in the sample, this is the third color - red). Cut around, leaving a slightly wider border. (4) Using a crayon or marker, write the words “From the bottom of my heart… to the tip of my toes!” (5) To finish, you or your Little can write the words “I Love You” at the top of the heart.
Supplies Needed: Paper or foam hearts of different sizes and colors, sheets of colored construction paper, scissors, glue or glue stick, black marker, googly eyes (optional)
Directions: Depending on the age of your Littles you can either offer a collection of paper hearts you’ve cut out or you can provide various colors of construction paper and then teach them how to cut out hearts themselves. Here are four favorites with a valentine caption to go with each! (In the classroom, Laura would provide the examples, the construction paper hearts, scissors and glue. The kiddos took it from there, often coming up with their own ideas, too!)
While we love the ideas we’ve already shared in this post, our favorite activity is to set up a Card Shop by giving our Littles a bin filled with all kinds of art supplies to make their own Valentine Creations! We’ve been known to check out our cupboards at home or at school and collect anything and everything we think our Littles might enjoy using - different kinds of paper (including scrapbook paper), foil, a variety of markers and crayons, stickers, stamps, beads, glitter, lace, buttons, old cards that can be recycled, tissue paper, doilies, sequins, paper shreds… the possibilities are endless! We’ve also added a few stencils of various sizes (cookie cutters work well for this) and glue or glue sticks! And then… we just let our Littles get busy!! We are always amazed by their creations and we are sure you will be, too!!
While this project requires paint, it is a wonderfully simple card to make with three versions of the project offered! This project would prove successful for a preschooler or even some toddlers to complete… with a bit of help from their Grand, of course!
Paper Quilling Valentines from Red Ted Art
This card would be a bit more challenging to create and would be appropriate for school-age Littles or even older ones!
I Love You This Much Accordion Cards from Sugar, Spice and Glitter
How cute is this! Your Littles will love reading this card out loud as they say “thiiiissss much!” to loved ones!
3D Rainbow Heart Cards from Easy Peasy & Fun
This bright and colorful Valentine’s day card will brighten up someone’s day without a doubt. You can use the template included in the link or use your own heart pattern. Older Littles will especially enjoy this one! We’d recommend using colored copy paper to complete this project, when possible!
💗 Such Sweet Ideas… Don’t You Think? 💗
As Valentine’s Day approaches, we hope these creations provide
inspiration for you and your Littles!
Thanks for stopping by and being our valentines! 😘
We hope to see you back here next Monday (February 6) when our post,
Game’s On!
will include our suggestions for a Super Bowl celebration,
Including decor/prep ideas, activities for all and a menu option to consider!
We’re excited to share that we have created a Facebook page for our blog!
You’ll find our current Instagram posts, reminders of recent blog posts
and additional resources we wish to highlight! We also hope that this will be a great place for us to communicate with you all! We’d love to have you check it out!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
