Valentine Station

 

Post by Contributing Writer Amy

 

“It’s kind of sad now.” That’s what one of my little ones said when we took down the Christmas tree. It really was. So we replaced our Christmas tree with a fun, easy way to do process art. A Valentine station! We set up a table right where the tree was and filled it with all the supplies needed to make Valentines. It’s hard to be sad when you are making a Valentine for someone who loves you. :)

Here’s what we did:

 

 

I took a plastic 5 foot table and left the legs folded up. I used two Rubbermaid tubs and set the table across them to make it a kid height table. I had the kids get stools from our kid table and we were ready to start!. I couldn’t get a picture without them in it because they were pretty excited about their new work space.

 

 

I found this cool caddy in the Target dollar bins recently. Cups or other separating dish you have would work great. I had the 4 year olds go and gather all the pinks, purples, and reds in all their crayons, markers, colored pencils, paint pens, dot markers…you name it! They liked sorting them all out. Glue and scissors are also a must!

 

 

We sorted our paper and paper scraps into reds, pinks, and patterns. If you know a scrapbooker, ask if you can look through their scraps for different types of paper.

 

 

I looked through our art supplies and added anything I thought they’d like and was ok with them using without constant supervision. I did not want to deal with glitter in my living room, but glitter glue has not been a problem. I also have a bag of  valentine stickers, which is not pictured. I only give them a couple sheets of stickers a day because we have one little sticker queen who would use every single sticker in one sitting and leave none for her sisters. :)

 

 

A heart stencil was used quite a bit. You can make any size you want out of cereal box cardboard.

 

 

A container of wipes and a small garbage bin really helped them clean up after themselves. I’ve been impressed with how well they have been doing in picking up when given the tools.

 

 

A stacking cooling rack worked well for pieces that needed to dry flat. Others were clipped with clothes pins on a string I taped up with masking tape.

 

 

The Valentine station has certainly kept them busy! We might need to make some more friends for all the Valentines they are making. Even baby sis (22 months) had to join in! I just need to sit by her as she “works” because you never know if she’ll wander off and give the walls a little love. :)

 

While I sat with baby sis, I would just cut different sized hearts out of their scraps for them to use anyway they’d like. I love that’s their space to create with no right or wrong way to do it. Most importantly, it’s a happy space now!

 

 

 

Amy is a former reading and third grade teacher as well as a mother to three little girls with big personalities. She believes joy can always be found in playing, learning, and ice cream.