Mother's Day

Mother's Day will soon be upon us. Of course, I always have my students do something to celebrate their mothers or, in the absence of a mother, another significant person in their lives.

When I taught Kindergarten, we would have a Mother's Day Tea. All mothers would be sent an invitation to join us in the celebration. I had the children make corsages out of coffee filters colored with markers, and sprayed with water (which gave them a beautiful effect when dry). I'd put a green pipe cleaner for the leaf and the stem, and add a safety pin for the mothers to pin them on. Click here if you'd like to see an example. I always had the children color more than what is shown.

One year, I also had the children make hats for their mothers in addition to the corsages. I'd cut the center out of a Chinette plate, glue a Chinette bowl in the center, have the children paint them in pastel colors, and tie tulle around the hat so it would tie around the mothers' chins. After finding out that the mothers didn't like wearing them very much, I decided to stop making them.

The tables were decorated with table cloths, and placemats made by the children. In the center of each table was a ceramic tea pot, which all of the mothers seemed to love. The mothers drank their tea from glass or ceramic tea cups. Over the years I found it was easier and more pleasant for the mothers if I put iced tea in the tea pots instead of hot tea.

When the mothers arrived, the children were instructed to greet their mothers and show them to their seats. They would then give their mothers the corsages and a Mother's Day book they had made (more on that below). While the mothers looked at the books, the children gave them massages. After everyone arrived, I would have the children "take their mothers' orders" as to what they wanted from the snack table. Then they would get the food and serve it to their moms. If their mothers offered them food, they were instructed to say, "No thank you. This is your day." They would get to eat later.

After everyone was served, I would call the children over to perform some Mother's Day songs (more on that below) we had practiced. The mothers always loved this part! They would then rejoin their mothers, have a snack, and enjoy the rest of the tea party with their mothers.

Every year, the mothers would rave about how much they enjoyed the Mother's Day Tea. Now that I'm writing about it, I'm actually considering doing it in 2nd Grade this year, even though I thought I wouldn't.

The Mother's Day books are something I've also done for years, and I'm doing them again this year with my 2nd Graders. They make great keepsakes as the children fill in the blanks and illustrate them. I still have my son's book from when he was in Kindergarten.

I have created a version of the book in my new Happy Mother's Day Pack, available at my TPT store.

The pack includes a variety of pages you can use to make your own books. There are 18 total book pages to choose from. Some examples are below.

For people who would like something similar to the book, but on one page, I have included a certificate with fill in the blank sentences. There is one for Mom and one for Someone Special (both in color and blackline).

There is also a coupon book for children to make and give to their moms. A few examples are below.

 Finally, I have included the lyrics to the songs we sing at the Mother's Day Tea. These include possible actions you may want your children to do with the songs.

Do you do anything special with your class for Mother's Day? Feel free to share your ideas below!