Stegosaurus B-day card

A homemade birthday card for a mom, dad, grandparent, aunt or uncle can be the most favourite gift received! It also teaches kids that it is a thought that matters, not the size of a present. Our boys, Einstein E and Power P, made these cards as presents for two of their kindergarten friends. We made one of them when they were three, and the other when they were five and a half years old. So, there is no age limit. These cards are easy and fun to make. And before you start making these, how about learning something about stegosauruses? 

Interesting facts about Stegosaurus:

• Stegosaurus had a brain the size of a walnut - only 3 centimetres long and weighing 75 grams.
• The largest plates were around 60cm (2ft) tall and 60cm (2ft) wide.
• Stegosaurus intentionally swallowed small rocks (known as gastroliths) that helped mash up the tough vegetable matter in its enormous stomach.

Interesting, right? Now, back to the birthday cards :)

Materials:

• paint (we used finger-paint)
• paintbrushes
• paper, construction paper and/or card stock

Step 1.

Paint the hand. Oh, this is so much fun for kids. Well, most of them. Our two boys loved it when they were younger. As they were growing up, the idea of getting their hands covered in paint and washing it off afterwards was less and less attractive. 

Just make sure you use kids-friendly paint.

Step 2.

Talk. Don't forget to use this activity to work on your kid's speaking skills. Ask them about the colours, to describe how the paint feels on their hands and the sounds it makes when they squish it in the palm of their hands.

Step 3. 

Handprint. Stamp your kid's hand covered in paint onto a piece of card stock or a paper. We did this on a piece of paper, cut it out and glued onto a card stock.

Step 4. 

Draw legs and a tail.

Step 5. 

Add an eye.

Step 5. (optional)

Write a note. When they were younger, Einstein E and Power P would write just their names. When they were making this card, they wrote a happy b-day note, and Einstein E included from: and to: part.

The other option is to turn the palm fingers down. This way your kid's fingers become dino's legs, and make a slightly different stegosaurus. The procedure is the same. You just have to paint its plates on the back.