SMMARTideas

SMMART Reading: 

Valentine Scratch-offs

My neighbor friend across the street showed me a fun idea for a valentine... a scratch-and-reveal valentine.  She was making several for her son's class.  She had a picture of Gavin inside a heart.  Then she covered the picture with the scratch-off paint so the students could have fun discovering what was hidden inside the heart.

I was thinking this would be a motivating valentine for beginning readers.  Little love notes written inside a heart and covered with the scratch off paint.  I'll set them out in the morning beside their little Valentine's Day breakfasts.

First, write a little love note on cardstock.  Then, cover the cardstock with a piece of clear contact paper and cut out the hearts.

Mix together 1 part dish soap to 2 parts metallic craft paint.  Just squirt a little bit of dish soap and then two equal squirts of paint into a small cup. 

Paint the mixture over the contact paper-covered hearts you cut out.  I had a metallic silver paint that was painting on quite see-through, so I ended up adding a squirt of white craft paint and it helped with coverage.  You will want to let the first coat dry and may need one to two more coats to fully hide the writing.

Give your child a coin to rub off the scratch-coat and watch your eager little readers share the hidden message of love.