Make Valentine's Day Sparkly!

Valentine's Day crafts are a great way to theme an art lesson and this can also be a great way to develop some fine motor skills!

Last week I was about to teach a small group of children in a nursery when the teacher said they were making Valentine's cards but the two children with autism I was supporting hadn't been able to access the lesson.
So I came up with 'Heart Sparkle' to build into my attention autism session as a Stage 2 activity and then re-modelled it again just before the children went to the table to complete the activity themselves.  I found this activity supported recall, fine motor and sequencing skills so could be used as a literacy, history or maths lesson as well as an art lesson!

You will need:
A template of a heart
PVA glue
Glue pot
Glue sticks
Pink and/or red glitter
A tray
Marker pens

What to do:

• Place the heart template on the floor or table in front of the children
• Squeeze the glue into the pot
• Use the glue stick to dip into the glue and draw around the heart with the glue
• Sprinkle the glitter all over the heart
• Pick up the paper and shake the glitter into the tray singing "This little heart of mine, I'm going to let it shine!"
• Show the group the finished sparkly heart and say "Heart Sparkle!"
• Model using the marker pen to write your name on your work/inside the card
• Support the children to go the table/pass out the heart templates and then create their own sparkly hearts ready to be made into Valentine's Day cards
• Don't forget to encourage the children to use the pens to write/mark make their own names inside the card/on their work to include writing and mark making skills in your lesson

I found after modelling this activity twice all the children, including the two children with autism I was supporting, were able to create their own cards independently :)

Have fun making sparkly hearts and happy Valentine's Day!!