This is the first Valentine’s Day that our boys have shown an interest in creating Valentines for their classmates. In past years I have come up with something for them to make and bring to preschool. This year is special because they are in Kindergarten and want to be involved. We decided to make cute monster valentines for everyone in class. Today I am sharing the monster valentines tutorial with you…
I always know when the teacher has talked to the kids about a special event or occasion because our boys come straight home from school ready to get crafty. When we were deciding on what kind of Valentine to make this year monsters were a must. My boys just love the whimsy that comes with creating monsters.
Here’s how to create our Monster Valentines:
We picked out Elmers foam sheets, clothespins, glue {of course} and this awesome craft pack. The craft pack was perfect because it included a variety of supplies in tons of bright colours! Pipe cleaners, googly eyes and pom poms are monster must haves.
I love to surprise the boys when they come home from school with a fun craft or activity. So I set out all of our supplies for an afternoon of Monster Valentine making! When the boys arrived home after school we were all set to go.
First we cut out circle shapes. I traced a circle onto the foam sheets and the boys cut them out. Elmers also had all sorts of pre-cut foam shapes so if you wanted to skip this step, you could just buy the shapes that you desire, all cut out. This would be a great option for younger children.
Next the boys cut zig zag mouths. I drew a zig zag through the first few circles but after that they caught on and were cutting out mouths free-hand. We used the Elmers glue to add googlie eyes to each monster head.
Then we created monster antennae using the pipe cleaners and more fun foam. They boys glued these to the back of the monster head.
Finally the monster was glued to the clothespin with a hot glue gun. We made sure that the mouth of the monster could open when glued to the clothespin and used hot glue so that it was good and stuck.
Watching my kids get crafty and create these Monster Valentines was so rewarding! I love seeing their little minds at work.
This was a great way for the boys to practise using scissors and work on their fine motor skills too.
Here is Isaiah with one of his creations.
Too cute right?!
I also created these funny little comment bubbles to go along with our Monster Valentines. The boys will be writing on the back of each one, who it is to and from. If you would like to use our free printables simply right click and save the image above or check out the links below.
I know that my guys really enjoyed making these and we can only hope that their classmates will have fun playing with their own Monster Valentine Clothespin Puppet.
This truly is an easy Valentine craft to make with the kids and would be perfect to create during a party or event!
We may have had just a bit too much fun!
Do you have a favorite clothespin craft or Valentine craft? Please share!
Thanks so much for reading.
