Help your child craft an adorable personalized card this Valentine's Day! Using a heart template, your child will create a lovely flower for the front of the card, entirely made out of hearts. This homemade gift—crafted with love—is sure to capture a smile from a very special someone on February 14! Not to mention, your little card designer will boost his fine motor skills, creativity, and understanding of shape.
What You Need:
- Construction paper (red, pink, yellow, and green)
- Heart Template (Download here)
- Card stock
- Markers
- Glue stick
What to Do:
- Have your child fold a piece of yellow construction paper in half, and set it aside.
- Print the heart template onto card stock, and cut it out.
- Ask your child to trace the heart template marked "vase" onto red construction paper. Cut it out.
- Have him also trace the small heart template marked "stem" onto green paper. He should duplicate this tracing. creating 10–15 hearts. Ask him to cut them out.
- Invite your child trace the heart marked "petal" onto pink construction paper. He can create five of these, and cut them out.
- Ask your child to trace one heart marked "leaf and middle of flower" onto green construction paper, and then one onto yellow construction paper.
- Now your child is ready to assemble his card! Help him glue the red vase onto the bottom of the folded yellow construction paper.
- Encourage her to glue the stem hearts on, starting with the top of the vase and continuing in a straight or slightly curved line. These small hearts look cute when they are slightly overlapping each other, but challenge him to use his creativity to create his own design!
- It's finally time to create the flower! Have your child glue the five petals to the top of the stem in a circle shape. These petals can either be arranged one next to the other, or in an overlapping design.
- Have him glue the yellow heart onto the middle of the flower and the green heart onto the stem, to form a leaf.
- Ask your child to decorate the inside of the card with writing, drawings, or both. Challenge him to personalize the card for the extra special recipient.
Help your little artist address the envelope to the recipient. Show him where the mailing address and return address goes, taking the opportunity to discuss the different elements of an address. Once it has his stamp of approval—along with a real postage stamp—drop it in the mailbox a few days before Valentine's Day!
