Making Valentines with Young Children

I must confess: I love Valentine’s Day! I particularly enjoy making handmade Valentines with the girls each year. It has become a yearly tradition for us to venture out to a craft store together and handpick the decorations for their creations. It is amazing how the nature of this endeavor has changed over the years as their writing skills and tastes have evolved…

2007
Ages Two & Four
When the girls were younger, we kept their designs on the simple side—basically colored paper and stickers. I encouraged them to write the first letter of their own names and I wrote the rest.

2008
Ages Three & Five
The following year the girls wanted to try out some stamps, and their little hands were ready to take on the challenge. As their fine motor skills progressed, they started to write their own names and the first letters of their friends’ names.

2009
Ages Four & Six
Last year the girls were ready to add a new dimension to their cards, so they painted the background and attached some fun erasers. They could both write out their own names as well as their friends’ names at this point. A lesson in perseverance was learned as they experienced the whole process from start to finish for the first time.

2010
Ages Five & Seven
This year our two little misses had their class lists by their sides and checked off each name as they went along. They even counted their cards at the end to make sure they didn’t forget anyone. Our oldest (now age seven—ouch, did I really say seven?!) worked on perfecting her lowercase letters and diligently remembered to start everyone’s name with a capital. Our youngest (age five) proudly showed off her newly mastered uppercase letters. It was an amazing experience to sit back and watch it all unfold.

 While our five-year-old went with the heart-themed pencils, our seven-year-old decided to go with the rock star motif—hmmm, times sure are changing!

I will happily continue to assist my daughters in their Valentine-making adventures for as long as they will have me. I can hardly wait to see what they come up with next!