Here's another project that the big kid brought home from preschool the other day: a handprint calendar.
I'll admit, my eyes got a little misty when I pulled this out of his backpack. I feel so lucky to have found a preschool where he's thriving and learning. I thought I was going to have to leave most of my other passions behind after I had kids, since it was so hard for me to trust anyone else with them. It's been a long road, but to see us at this place where we're all so joyful and creating beauty both independently and together…I'm proud of our progress. I'm proud of myself for learning how to ask for help. It takes a village, you guys.
Handprint Calendar, Month-by-Month
All you need to duplicate this at home is the printable below:
This will send you an email with a link to the printable PDF with all of the pages laid out. Depending on your printer capabilities, you can actually hit “double-sided” in your printer options box to print the phrases on the back of the previous month, or you can print each sheet separately. They're in order so either way totally works.
And a few supplies:
- Cardstock or printer paper to print it on
- Hand-safe paint
- Sharpies for accenting the handprint pictures
- A way of binding the calendar together (like a 3-ring punch with brads or even just staples)
You could even get it laminated at a local print shop!
January handprint calendar phrase: “I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony” – The New Seekers
February phrase: “Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.” – Winnie the Pooh
March phrase: “I am a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.” – Thomas Jefferson
April phrase: “March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers.” – English Proverb
May phrase: “A mother's arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them.” – Victor Hugo
June phrase: “You're my Nemo. If you get lost in the great, big ocean, I'll find you.” – Marlin
July phrase: “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
August phrase: “I tried to draw my soul but all I could think of was flowers.” – Natalya Lobanova
September phrase: “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn.” – Benjamin Franklin
October phrase: “Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter.” – Carol Bishop Hipps
November phrase: ” We should be thankful too. We should be thankful for being together. I think that's what they mean by Thanksgiving.” – Peppermint Patty
December phrase: “It came without ribbons, it came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more!” – Dr Seuss
Pin this idea for later and have fun making your own handprint calendar with your kids!