Spring

I absolutely LOVE celebrating Mother’s Day in my classroom!  Our Mother’s Day Celebration is probably one of my favorite days of the school year.  I was going through some old pictures on my iPad, and came across the pictures I took from last year’s celebration.  It made me a little sad because I will not be in my classroom this year for this special day.  {I decided to extend my maternity leave, and take the remainder of the school year off.  I will be returning to my classroom in August.}

I realized that I never shared these pictures from last year on my blog because our celebration had to be pushed back later into May due to state testing.  Just one more reason to dislike testing!

 We prepare for the day by completing some Mother’s Day activities to present to our moms (grandmas, aunts, or special ladies).  As we complete these activities, the students place them in a folder that they decorate for the occasion.

This packet includes versions for Mom, Grandma, Aunt, & Mum (for my Aussie friends).  I also went ahead and included Dad, Grandpa, & Uncle, so you are all set for Father’s Day as well.  You can find these booklets by clicking HERE and heading over to my TpT store.

We also use a lot of the activities in Cara’s Precious Parents packet.

I split my students into 4 groups, and each group practices a Mother’s Day poem to read during our celebration.  I did NOT write these poems.  I found them from a couple of different sources a few years ago and retyped them.  You can click on the picture below to download the poems.

 

 

 

My FAVORITE activity to do during our Mother’s Day Celebration is our “Mom.  Let’s Talk!” bags.  This was a last minute idea that I came up with three years ago, and I love it!  Before the special day, print off the discussion questions and place them in a bag for each student.  Cut out the “Mom. Let’s Talk” labels and glue them onto each bag.

During the celebration, the child and their mom, or other special guest, will take turns pulling out a question and discussing the answers.

It is seriously SO heartwarming to hear your students having these wonderful conversations with their mothers.  Just click on the picture above to download this FREEBIE.

 Some questions that I have been asked in the past include:

 

What do you do if a student does not have a mother that can come?

On the invitation, I say that if a mother cannot come, a grandmother or another special lady may come.  For those students that do not have anyone coming, I ask my colleagues to fill in for them.  I have always been fortunate that teaching assistants or Reading Recovery teachers have been able to come into my room to be a special guest for my students.  If this is not a possibility, I am sure that you have other mothers in your room that would be willing to let another child join their conversations during the celebration.

 

How far in advance do you send home an invitation?

I like to send it home as early as possible so mothers can plan to take off work if necessary.  At least 2 weeks prior, but 3-4 would be ideal.

 

Do you write a grant for the materials used for this celebration?

No.  I purchase everything myself, but you certainly could write a small grant for parent involvement.

 

 

When do you do this during the day, and how long does it last?

I have always done mine in the morning around 9:00, and it lasts about an hour.  My students come into the room at 8:00, so this gave us time to get everything set out, and to practice our poems one last time before “show time.”

 

Hope that helps!  Even though I will miss out on this year’s opportunity to do a Mother’s Day celebration, I know it will be a tradition that I will continue to carry on throughout the years.