By: Val Drapeau
Education Coordinator
Download a PDF of the instructions here!
Materials
Construction Paper
Crayons or Markers
Stickers
Gallon size storage bag
Pre-packaged treats
Length:
Set up: 5 minutes to gather materials
Activity: 15-20 minutes (or as long as the children are interested in making them!)
Academic Subject(s):
English Language Arts (ELA) and Art
So many heroes have been working the front lines through this entire pandemic. They are nurses and doctors, workers from grocery stores, sanitation departments and the postal service to name just a few! With many of us spending more of our time at home due to Covid, why not take this opportunity with our kids to spread some cheer? Sending homemade decorated cards to local heroes will put a smile on their face guaranteed! Any age of child/adult can participate in this activity, so making it a family project could be fun!
Directions:
Step 1: Choose a piece of construction paper and fold in half.
Step 2: Have children think of appropriate sayings that could be put on a card that would be received by someone that they don’t know. Sayings like, “Thank You!” or “You’re a Hero!” or “We’re sending some cheer!” would all be great choices. A teachable moment for continued learning could be asking your child what different things they would say to someone close to them versus someone that they didn’t know or just met. Talk about how they came to those conclusions and why.
Step 3: Take some time to write on the front covers and insides of the cards with a marker or crayon. Remember that whatever is created will brighten a person’s day; so don’t worry too much about it being perfect!
Step 4: Add some stickers that you have available around the house or have children draw some small pictures all over the cards of things like smiley faces, stars, etc. It is a parent’s discretion on whether or not to have children sign their name.
Step 5: Place cards in a gallon sized storage bag with a few pre-packaged treats for the recipient(s) to enjoy. Knowing that kids are thinking of them will bring such joy to the heroes in your community! Allow the bags to sit for a few days to ensure sanitization before delivering them to a local hospital, post office or any other place that you can bless a hero! For this community service project, any number of cards/treats that you give would be great! Encourage your friends to try this project too, and let’s see if we can flood our community with a lot of kindness!
Vocabulary Words
- Hero – a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities
- Conclusion – a judgment or decision reached by reasoning or the end of an event or process
- Community service project – voluntary work intended to help people in a particular area
