We accidentally stumbled upon The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn one winter day while we were at Barnes and Noble. It’s one of our favorite places to go on cold or rainy days. First stop, the coffee shop for a non fat latte, a milk and a chocolate biscotti. The smell of books and coffee! Heaven! Next stop, the children’s section. We love to grab a pile of books and take them to the little stage they have on one side. We curl up together in the corner of it and read the afternoon away. I always find myself whispering as I read until one day the nice woman who worked in the children’s section stopped and says, “You know you can read louder. It’s not a library. We encourage you to read and enjoy here.” And from that day on we have joyfully read our books at a comfortable and audible volume. Back to the Kissing Hand! I couldn’t stop crying while reading it that very first time! My 3 year old kept looking up at me and asking “What’s wrong mama?” Some books should come with a big fat “Mama Warning” stamped across the front cover. “Enter at your own risk”. It should be the law!! I mean, geeze, give a girl a little heads up. If you haven’t read it yet, I encourage you to find a copy quick. We checked it out the library and eventually bought a copy. I promise, you will love it! It would make such a lovely baby shower, first day of school, grandparent…. present. The touching book helps calm fears of separation from the ones that we love. Kindergarten teachers often use it on the first day of school to help both their students and their parents. Get your tissues ready!!
We decided to use this book as the inspiration for Valentine’s presents for grandparents and daddy. But wouldn’t it be a nice gift for Father’s Day? Don’t forget grandpa!
What You Need:
*Tempera Paints in various colors
*Canvas or poster board
*Paint brushes
*Heart stencil or cookie cutter
*Ice cube tray or other container for paint
We filled our ice cube tray with paint and got to work painting our backgrounds.
Now for the hand prints! It’s messy but so much fun too!
After our handprints dried, we traced a heart cookie cutter onto the palm of each hand.
We then carefully painted each heart with a contrasting color.
Aren’t these mini wooden easels adorable! Found them too at Hobby Lobby!
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