Teaching 22 second graders!

A few weeks before Valentine's Day I was asked to teach a craft project to my son's second grade class. I was excited but somewhat scared. What kind of project can I teach that will keep the interest of 22 kids? And have it be easy and fast?

I knew I wanted the project to be creative yet simple but something they might not have tried before. My first thought was doing an origami project but after discussing it with Lianne and posting it on Facebook I quickly switched directions.  So with a little cruising around Pinterest, I came a across this fun project that would be perfect and gave me an opportunity to show the kids something new.

After having the kids cut out their hearts for the butterfly wings. I showed how you can paint and stamp with everyday objects. Like making a paper towel roll into a heart shaped stamp, cutting up sponges to create texture, and Q-tips to make dots and toothpicks to create tiny hearts. The kids really seemed to enjoy knowing you don't always need paint brushes to paint with.

We also created book marks with the extra paper. These were my samples. The kids versions were so much more creative. Only wish I had a camera.  I had a blast with the kids but also have a whole new respect for the teacher. It was an eye opening experience working with 22 kids and seeing how different each child approaches a project.