Family Folding Hearts

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and I've been inspired by all of the fun heart decorations in the stores lately. This activity is more of a 'back to basics' family identification review, but that's great because it means it can be enjoyed by even the youngest children. Here are the supplies I used:

Construction paper
Scissors
Pencil
Ruler
​Family Photos
Glue Stick

I started with construction paper in fun Valentine's Day colors - purple, red, and pink. First, fold a sheet into thirds.

Next, with the sheet folded, draw a couple of hearts so that, when you cut, sections of the fold will remain intact and the hearts will remain connected. (Shown on pink paper below because you can see my pencil marks better.)

When you cut along your pencil marks, you should get a three-heart chain.

At this point, to make the simplest version of this activity, all you need to do is add photos and names. One person in the center heart and their mother and father on each side. Below, my daughter is in the center and Mom and Dad are on either side. You can make these three-heart chains for as many people in your family, past and present, as you'd like. Young children will love opening and closing them over and over again, and at the same time you can use the photos to teach them family relations. And, when folded, they are small enough to fit in a purse or coat pocket - great 'busy-bag' type activity to keep kids occupied during church services or car rides.

I went a step further and added another generation. This time, I put myself in the center heart. My parents were directly adjacent to me, but then I added flaps that open vertically, on which I put my parents' parents.

 Making this configuration requires two extra steps for each side. For the hearts that open upwards, fold your paper and trace your heart so that the top of the heart is in the fold (left photo). For the hearts that open downwards, fold your paper and trace your heart so that the bottom tip of your heart is in the fold (right photo). You will have to glue the vertically-opening hearts onto each side heart, so do not glue down Mom and Dad's photos until you glue the vertical hearts onto the horizontal one.

Here is a video showing how all the hearts fold outward from the center heart.

My daughter enjoyed looking at this one. Here is her mom and maternal grandparents and great-grandparents all in one place. Plus, from an appearance standpoint, it's fun to talk with her about who she thinks resembles who more.

©2016 Emily Kowalski Schroeder.

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