Valentine Rubbed and Framed Hearts

I saw a Pinterest post that used cutouts to frame children's scribbles. Well we do a LOT of scribbling around here, but one thing we haven't done in a while is use the rubbing mats. I got these from a client years ago that worked for an architectural firm and these were commercial wall paper samples they were going to pitch in the trash. They are the perfect size and nubby enough for even the ones to get some wonderful texture out of with little effort. 

While removing the paper from crayons is a great fine motor skill, it's not something I encourage due to the mess generated. So, they got to pick their colors and then I removed the papers while lurking in the corner out of view, so as not to give them any ideas.

B at 3 could do most tasks for this art craft independently. Just a little older and I would have just given her a demo and let her do her own thing. But none of them are quite at that developmental level yet, so it was hands-on teacher time. But not for the rubbings....these they were all able to go to town on.

 Next they each chose the color of their construction paper, we folded it in half, and the children traced a heart blank. B was old enough to do it relatively well on her own. The others need a little hand guidance.

None of the children are proficient with scissors at this time, so we used the teacher-assist scissors and everyone cut out their hearts. I tossed the center heart out of the way, since it wasn't part of the activity I was focused on. The girls were a little upset by this. I think they thought the center heart was the important part since they didn't have my vision. They asked if they could color them and I of course said yes. 

 Then they glued the back side directly around the heart shape with a glue stick, which was fine for this activity and gave them a measure of independence they wouldn't have had with liquid glue.

 Then they glued around the outer edge on the FRONT of their rubbings [YES, the first one we glued on the back out of habit, so don't make that mistake.]

 Then they got to SHMOOOOOSH them together. Easier to center from the back side, and it's kind of a kick when they turn it over and see the finished product.

 Especially at this age, even though they see the heart, see the rubbing, and put them together, they just can't forsee the finished project and it is a wonderful surprise for them.

I think they turned out pretty great.

SKILLS: 
Math symmetry, heart shape, rectangle, pattern
Fine motor rubbing, trace, cut, paste
Art creative expression, color usage, media manipulation, composite construction

Tags: Valentine's, craft, rubbing, art, colors, coloring, cut, paste, shapes, heart, holiday, preschool, pre-k, kindergarten, childcare, daycare, homeschool, craft, Valentine, day