Weekly Activity
Our activities section suggests things for you to do with your children. Most of these will have educational value, which we'll point out. However, the main idea is just to have fun with them. We'll also suggest ways you can extend them.
Valentine's Day Cards
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Valentine's Day is coming, and its surprising how many children like to send cards - not just to someone they've got a crush on, either, but to friends, parents, teachers... the list can be almost as long as one for Christmas cards. Here are some simple ideas for making Valentine's Day cards - though they can be adapted for use at other times of the year, too. |
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You will need:
- Thin sheets of card of a suitable size
(A4 or 5, say)
- Scrap paper or card to use to make a template
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Poster paint
- Sponge
- Felt tip pens
- Glue stick
- Tissue paper
- Coloured foil
- Sparkles
What to do:
For the simplest kind of card,
simply fold the card in half (using a ruler and perhaps scoring
the fold with the back of a blade of the scissors to make it
sharp), and draw or paint a picture on the front. You could decorate
it with stuck on bits of foil, or sparkles.
However, there are lots of things you can do to make your cards a bit more exciting. For most of them - these cards being for Valentine's day - you'll probably want to use a 'heart' theme, so it might be worth making a template (or possibly several, in different sizes).
Get a piece of scrap card or paper and fold it in half. Draw half a heart shape on it, using the fold as the vertical centre line of the shape. When you cut it out it will open into a complete - and completely symmetrical! - heart. You will also have a 'hollow heart' - the space left by the template - that will be useful for some activities.
Here are some things to use your heart template for:
Sponge Printing
Pour a little paint into a flat tray. Wet a sponge with it. Put the 'hollow heart' template on the front of your card, and dab through it with the paint sponge to make a design.
You could also try using the 'solid heart' template - this time, you'll end up with a heart the same colour as your card, with an outline sponge painted around it.
You can change colours part-way through, for a dappled effect. Or use a small template, and do a design using several hearts - if you use different colours, you can explore colour mixing.
Collage
Draw round your template (again, you can use one heart or several
smaller ones). Tear tiny bits of tissue paper or coloured foil,
and twist them into miniature rosettes. Stick them to the card
inside the outline - it could take a bit of time, but eventually,
you'll have a heart of roses!
Cut Outs
Small children may need a bit of help - or at least close supervision
- if they try these ideas.
Cut a heart shape in your folded card. To do this, draw lightly round your template. Push a blade of the scissors into the centre of the card, then cut to the outline, being careful not to go over it. Using this slit as a starting point, cut round the heart.
Now you can decorate inside the card - perhaps using sponge painting or collage. When the card is closed, it will look like it has an ordinary heart design - but the inside pattern will be revealed when it is opened.
Another idea is to cut a heart shape out of the card as you did to make the template - except that this time, you leave a couple of tabs at either end of the heart connecting it to the rest of the card. When you open the card and stand it up, you get a sort of 3-D effect. You can decorate both inside and outside the card.