Valentine Hot Pads

So this week we had a Valentine themed class. It was super fun and we certainly had difficulty trimming down what projects to do. We read about where Valentine's Day came from and who they claim Valentine was. We asked the children what they thought it was all about and why we celebrate it. To my surprise the children had spectacular ideas, and in fact, one child knew exactly who Valentine was. We talked about how to say "I love you" in different languages, and what things are giving for Valentine's day. One of the projects we made with the children is a fun heart shaped hot pad. The kids got to pick out the patterned back fabric, and draw a design on the front plain fabric. They were shown how to assemble the hot pad with fabric on the back, cotton batting in the middle, and their beautiful design on the front. We then helped them pin it all together, and then they got to help sew it on the sewing machine. Most children just powered the machine, while a few others also wanted to help guide their hot pad. We used fabric markers so their beautiful designs will be permanent.