Handprints & Heartprints Made It!

So every Monday this summer, I wish I were craftier and could make something, well, crafty, for Monday Made It at 4th Grade Frolics. And every Monday I come up short. I'm good at making peace, but that's so intangible. Then the other day when I went to my office to put up a bulletin board . . .

Adorable punch-out letters and matching border from Mardel!

. . . I glanced over at my rocking chair, which seemed to be calling my name.

Wait a minute, I said to myself, I helped make that quilt!

I helped my friend Nigs create both of these treasures using our students' little handprints and some fabric paint. The one to the left with butterflies, bumble bees, fish and flowers hangs just inside of our school's Nature Center door in honor of one of its very dedicated volunteers; the other is in my office as a visual reminder of the heartprints that each and every student leaves behind.

For parents looking for a unique way to hold on to their little one's hands just a little longer, a quilted wall hanging or throw would make the perfect item for them to bid on in your school's annual FUNdraiser. Or just have students leave their prints on a piece of card stock that can serve as a book cover or artwork that's suitable for framing.

You could use the butterfly handprint as a follow-up to
Charlie the Caterpillar by Dom DeLuise.

Make the bumble bee handprint after reading The Very Greedy Bee by Steve Smallman. Even their little faces match!

The handprint flowers would perfectly complement your reading of
Max's Magic Seeds by Geraldine Elschner.

We used Joshua's little third grade hands to make this fish; I'd give anything to have the original framed and hanging in my bathroom. Wouldn't this be an adorable follow-up to reading Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister?