With Valentine's Day right around the corner I've been trying to get ahead of the last minute rush that I face every year. These Montessori inspired Valentine's are making that a lot easier! See, Nora's school highly encourages handmade cards that can be passed out to her friends in the Children's House at their celebration. I love this tradition, it means that we don't have to buy anything and avoid getting candy or little junky toys that break or end up in the landfill within a few days.
But, it also means that my small human needs to make 25 or so cards by February 14! And in a Montessori environment where I don't feel super comfortable requiring her to work on a project like this (at least not at her age) there have been some stressful last minute card making (by me) nights in the past.
So, this year, I thought we will do something a bit differently and we'll get all the kids involved! I set up a simple paper punching and gluing tray for the kids in their new playroom. This tray is simple enough that either Nora or Gus can make cards and by starting out nice and early, I've just been saving their final products so that they are all ready to hand out on Valentine's Day!
How to Make Montessori Inspired Paper Punched Valentines
If you need a simple idea, the tray includes:
- a paper punch
- white hearts (I cut these out but an older child could do this part of the work too)
- Red/pink construction paper squares (again, I cut)
- a glue stick
To make the cards, a child can simply punch as many holes as they want into heart and then glue it on to one of the cards. Boom, done. It's great fine motor work and not so restrictive as a project that it feels completely adult led. Nora has been taking many of the hearts further (under her own direction) and been coloring them in with markers or Stabilo Woodies.
Now, without any pressure and with lots of time to go, we are well over 50 percent done with the cards we need for February thanks for these Montessori inspired valentines! And I call that a win!
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