Put aside the commercialised version of Valentine’s Day and use the day as an excuse for some fun and to show some more love.
Here is a minimal-mess painting activity to help the kids join in with some of that fun and love.
Gather your supplies:
- Large, lidded glass or plastic jar (for younger children, empty plastic Jalna yoghurt or peanut butter jars are safer)
- White and/or pink cardstock
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Scissors
- 2 or 3 different colours of washable paint e.g., red, pink, gold, silver
- 3 round nuts (for glass jar) or marbles (for plastic jar) or 6 large dried beans
- Scrap paper to protect your table
- Heart template
Steps:
- Measure the height of the flat part of the jar and cut the cardstock to fit inside.
- Add to the jar two or three drops of different coloured paint.
- Add the nuts, beans or marbles, screw on the lid, and shake the jar until you get the desired result. I used large macadamia nuts, so I kept checking every five shakes.
- Grab the corner of the cardstock (use tweezers if you like), gently pull out of the jar, and lay out to dry on some scrap paper.
- Once dry, use the heart template to draw your hearts to cut around.
- Use your beautiful hearts for card motifs, window stickers, a chain of hearts, or for love notes placed around the house or as a little lunchbox surprise.
