Father’s Day Easy Kids’ Craft: Super Hero Card

A card from the heart

How do we honor the people in our lives that mean the most? A simple card hardly seems like enough. But if that card is created from the heart, with your own hands, then it is a different matter altogether. The most cherished gifts that I have received are those that my children made me over the years, from the hand print molds to the tissue paper flowers. Those projects are like little time capsules. My boys are practically grown now, and when I look at those mementos I am immediately taken back to fond times of their childhood, days playing in the sprinklers in the front yard, family vacations, reading Shel Silverstein poems before bedtime, lots of snuggles and cuddles. It’s true that I didn’t keep every single macaroni art frame that they made, but I have preserved enough to take a glimpse back at those younger days. And so we make this very special Father’s Day easy kids’ craft card for a special person, our super hero…DAD.

SUPPLIES FROM THE BAG

*If you haven’t yet filled your bag so that you can easily craft along and never be missing an “ingredient”, click on the link above or check out the “Fill Your Bag” page to learn more. Let me make crafting with your kids fun, easy and do-able. Let’s start a revolution…more hands-on learning and less screen time for our little ones!

• Full piece of construction paper (any color-we use yellow)
• Popsicle stick
• Scraps of red construction paper
• Scissors
• Medium pompom
• Clothespin
• Markers
• Washi tape (2 bright and graphic patterns)
• Glue stick
• Elmer’s glue
• 2 small googly eyes
• Royal blue paint
• Newspaper
• Crayon

Step 1

• Pinch the pompom with the clothespin to form a “paint brush”
• Lay out the newspaper and place a small amount of blue paint in the corner
• Use the “paint brush” to paint the bottom 2/3’s of the popsicle stick
• Allow the paint to dry

Step 2

• While the paint is drying, cut a small rectangle from the scrap of red construction paper. Use the popsicle stick as a guide for what size to make it.
• Use the glue stick to adhere to the popsicle stick as pictured. This is the hero’s mask
• Cut a triangle from the remaining red construction paper. Again, use the popsicle stick as a guide for what size to cut the triangle.
• Use the glue stick to adhere it to the back of the popsicle stick (If the paint is not yet dry, hold off on gluing and skip to steps 5 and 6 while you wait for the paint to dry completely. Then come back, finish this step and proceed.)

Step 3

• Glue the googly eyes onto the strip of paper using the Elmer’s glue
• Set aside to allow for glue to dry

Step 4

• With the crayon, draw an “S” (or other letter if you have something in mind) on the chest of the popsicle stick hero
• Draw on a smile
• *Alternate Option: Cut out a small tie for your super hero. Mark with an ‘S’ and glue in place with the glue stick.

Step 5

• Fold the full piece of construction paper in half
• Open the paper back up and fold it again also as pictured, length wise slightly off center
• With the paper still folded, cut a half shape. I did a square, but you can make a circle, heart, star or any other shape. Just be sure to keep it in the same place and same approximate size as the one pictured.

Step 6

• On the front of the card, place washi tape across the bottom and on the side, weaving them together at the corner.
• *You can use any bold colored, graphic patterned washi tape in your collection (like a red polka dot or an orange stripe). If you just love the special super hero tape that I used (because I definitely love it!) and must have it, you can purchase it HERE.
• Write your message on the outside of the card using markers

Step 7

• Open up the card and place the hero so that he/she is looking out the window on the front of the card.
• Adhere in place with the glue stick
• You can also add washi tape to the inside and write a message

For little ones who are learning to write their names, give as much assistance as needed for them to accomplish the task. If they don’t know any of the letters, help them by giving hand over hand assistance, saying each letter as you write it and the direction that the lines are going. For example, if printing ‘B’ you would say, “Big line down, little bump, little bump.” as you write it. And then repeat that it is the letter ‘B’ that you have formed.

Not yet writers (3-5yo)

If your kiddo is just learning letters and is able to trace but not yet copy, you can first draw the letters in a yellow marker and have them trace over each letter for name writing. Help them know where to start and follow the same technique with name the letter and the strokes, then renaming the letter when you are finished. For early writers, I print the first name in all capital letters as those are easy to master. Once they have it down in all caps, then move to what I call “the kindergarten way” of writing their name, with a capital at the beginning and then lower case letters.

Beginning writers (4-6yo)

For kiddos who can now form some basic shapes and are beginning to get the hang of letters, given them a defined area in which to print the first name. Rather than just giving a line, make connected blocks for each letter. Without this, most early writers make very large letters which may even fill an entire page. These subtle guidelines are very helpful. Again give them a dot or help them place the marker where the letter is to start and say out loud how the letter should be formed. I always tell my kids that if we practice something over and over the incorrect way (like just letting them go at it however they want), then we are only learning to do it the wrong way. Start out practicing proper letter formation from the beginning so that bad habits are not formed. This will improve success and decrease frustration in the long run.

Step 8

• The last step, of course, is to give your card to someone special. Give this very special Father’s Day easy kids’ craft card to you super hero dad. But before you do that, share it with use too please.

You can load up your picture to the comments section below, enter it on the contact page or email it to me at hello@inthebagkidscrafts.com. Then I will include it in the gallery (with credit given, of course). I cannot wait to see what you do with this project!