Designing Note Cards

What better way is there to involve young children in writing than by creating their own cards? It provides practice and develops life long social skills that never go out of style. These handy note cards say thank you, get well, or congratulations. 

Materials: plastic table cover, card stock paper or card, FOAM shaving cream, food coloring, cookie sheet, scraper (credit card type edge), spatula, stick, crayons or markers.

What to do:

  Cover the workspace with plastic.  Help children squirt a large mound of FOAM shaving cream on a cookie sheet. Show children how to spread foam with a spatula a little larger than the card.  Help them leave the cream thick as it is being spread. Next children drop a dot or two of food colors at different spots on the foam. Discuss the choice of colors. Teach or let them guess what will appear when they swirl the colors together. While swirling with a stick discuss what is happening. Be careful not to swirl too much as the design will turn gray.

  Children are ready to create a card. Help them place the paper on the foam, coating one side. Remove it carefully. Scrape off excess foam with a scraper. This is the outside of the card.  Children may choose to do the other side of the paper which would be the inside design.

  After an hour, the card is ready for your children to print inside.

Help them print a very short note if they are ready. Absolute correctness isn’t as important as the message. Some adults use dots to print a short note, and children follow the dots. Correct manuscript handwriting guides of upper and lower case letters are available at stores and on-line. Be aware that children’s skills are different from child to child even in the same family. A certain age does not guarantee a certain skill. Sometimes is it best for children to draw a picture or make some scribbles, and then adults print the scribble meaning. Children can also dictate a sentence to an adult. Keep it fun. Friends and relatives will love the thoughtful notes regardless.

How does this help my child?

  By swirling primary colors of red, blue, and yellow your children create secondary colors of purple, orange, green. Adults are also providing practice with letter recognition, sounds, holding a printing tool, quiet discussion, and creating contemporary art.

What else can I do:

Use blue paint tape and tape off shapes.  Remove the tape once the card is dry. Print inside the blank spot. Your child might want to add stamps, stickers, or draw pictures.

Find More Activities: 

For more help to prepare young children for success in school see the authors’ web site www.grandparentsteachtoo.org.

Also check our audio Podcasts WNMU Radio 90; Youtube video activities; and join us on Pinterest.

Picture: Gray, Ann. background.jpg. December 1, 2006. Pics4Learning. 2 Feb 2014