Sunday, February 5, 2017

Out of this World Valentine's

 (This post does contain affiliate links for your convenience.) 
It is that time of the year again! (well almost!) Valentine's Day is quickly approaching and I know you are all fast and furiously preparing those Valentine's for your child's classmates...right? lol. Don't worry, if you haven't even thought twice about it yet, you are not far from where I was a few days ago! However, Rex and I did get these crossed off our "to-do" list today, and I am glad!



My son loves is obsessed with the planets, space, solar system, stars, and well, anything along those lines. He will be six in May and is like a sponge! A friend of mine knows how crazy he is about planets and suggested these Valentine's. (Thanks Ashley!) 

Now, before you start judging me as one of those "Pinterest Moms" with too much time on my hands. No. No, no and no. I do love Pinterest, and yes this idea is on Pinterest, but I looked for space themed Valentine's at the store and the closest I found was Star Wars. Not the same. Believe it or not, these were easy, cheap, and perfect for a six year old! I do not have an ample amount of time on my hands, and let's face it...if I did, I would be reading a juicy book or watching Netflix...not making Valentines. (ammmiiiiright?) 

So, in a few easy steps, you can have these done in a flash! 

Materials: 

I bought a heart stencil to use, and if you have one around, it is great. Honestly though, I wouldn't spend the money. I have provided a heart template. Just print it on any color of cardstock, cut it out, then place it on the black cardstock and trace around it. You can get two hearts per page. 


Now, I am big about making my son do things for himself for school. I definitely helped, but he traced, he cut, and he wrote most of the cards. I wrote a few as an example for him, and those are the ones I used in the blog pictures. Is his cutting perfect? No. Is his writing perfect? No. Was his tracing perfect? No. But, it never will be and it is better that he practices and feels a sense of ownership in these. Besides, I believe if I make him do these things now...I won't be completing his senior projects when he is 18. (I hope.) 

After tracing, just cut the hearts out, the hole punch the hearts. 



I did do the hole-punching because it needed to be done off to the side.  After he messed up three of them, I took it from him. :)

After that, write "You are out of this world!" -(your child's name) in the silver marker, or crayon. We used silver Sharpies but you do not have to do that, crayon works great! However, FYI...IF, by some chance, you ever get Sharpie on your wood table...toothpaste will remove it. I may be speaking from experience here. 

Lastly, place the rubber ball snugly in the hole. On this part, it really depends on the type of ball you get. I wish it was an exact science, but look at the dimensions of the rubber balls you buy, then buy a hole-punch accordingly. Some of the rubber balls fit perfect, others did not (which is weird) but if it was too snug, I just cut two slits in the hole-punched part and it gave it more room. 


Now, I have teacher brain...all the time. So I can see my son's sweet teacher thinking "is she KIDDING me?? Bouncy balls?? For Kindergartners??" lol. So, as an extra added dose of kindness, I did put all of these in individual Ziplock baggies. Really for two reasons: 1. If the ball does come out while Rex is passing them out, he isn't chasing rubber balls all over the room. (My son is the equivalent to a bull in a china shop...I am not kidding.)  2. The kids will not take them out immediately. The teacher has time to say, "oh, no...please wait until you get home." :)

These were so fun to make and Rex is crazy about them. In the end, the lack of perfection doesn't matter to me. (And trust me, they are not perfect!) I just want my kid happy and to have learned something along the way. 

Have a great week!
Hillary






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