If you are a fan of The Kissing Hand, you’ll love these hand-shaped, pop-up cards! This back-to-school craft is perfect for making together with kids and would be sweet little notes to put in your child’s lunch box too!

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The Kissing Hand

We’re kicking off our latest round of children’s books and activities with The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. This is the perfect story to read at the beginning of the new school year! In this story Chester the Raccoon is nervous to go to school so his mom shares a special secret with him called the kissing hand. The kissing hand always reminds Chester of his mom’s love!

With Lucy entering first grade and Theo starting preschool this year, I thought it’d be fun for us to all make “kissing hand” pop-up cards for each other. I plan on saving all the cards and sticking them in both kids’ lunch boxes as a special surprise on the first day of school!

The Kissing Hand Pop-Up Card Activity for Kids

Materials for the Pop-Up Card

Construction paper or cardstock
Pencil
Scissors
Glue
Heart stickers (optional)
Heart punch (optional)

Directions for the Pop-Up Card

1. Fold a sheet of construction paper in half.

2. Place your hand on the folded paper and trace it with a pencil. Be sure the bottom of your hand is along the fold.

(I had to trace Theo’s hand, but Lucy did hers on her own.)

3. Cut out your hand shape, being sure not to cut the folded side.

4. Open your hand card and write your message on the top half.

5. Now it’s time to decorate your card! Start by making the pop-up heart. To do this, cut a small strip of construction paper and accordion fold it.

6. Glue a heart to one folded side of your strip of paper.

(We used a heart punch to make our hearts, but you can also cut them out by hand.)

7. Glue the other folded side of your strip of paper to the bottom half of your open card. (We used glue dots so we wouldn’t have to wait for the glue to dry.)

8. Add some more hearts to decorate if you’d like!

I know the kids will be so excited to open their lunches on the first day of school and find notes from each other and from me reminding them of how, even when we’re apart, our love is still with each other- just like in The Kissing Hand!