Throughout the year, we’ve celebrated many different events, but nothing is more wholesome and natural than celebrating Mother’s Day with kids. It’s a time of the year when we say thanks to our mothers for everything they’ve done for us, reflect on our bond, and show our gratitude in many different forms. In this article, we’ll share some Mother’s Day activities through which kids can say thanks and show appreciation for their mothers.
But, before we dive into practical activities, it might be wise to spend some time on the theoretical background in order to understand more about this holiday. We can even say that teaching kids about Mother’s Day might constitute the first activity in your lecture plan. After all, learning can be fun and it will give deeper meaning to the actual crafts that follow. So, without further ado, here’s how to structure a full lecture plan with both theoretical and practical Mother’s Day activities.
The Meaning and History of Mother’s Day
Just like the name suggests, Mother’s Day is an annual holiday that celebrates motherhood. It’s observed in all countries throughout the world, although the celebrations and dates vary. In the United States, the holiday is observed every second Sunday in May, which falls on the 14th of May in 2023.
The concept of celebrating motherhood is not new. The origins of the holiday can be traced back to ancient times when the Greeks and Romans held festivals honoring mother goddesses. However, we can’t really draw a clear line between those festivals and the modern observations of Mother’s Day. For these reasons, the origins of modern Mother’s Day are usually associated with the Christian festival – “Mothering Sunday.”
While Mothering Sunday was mainly associated with a church service in the beginning, with time, the traditions took a more secular form, and children giving their mothers gifts emerged as a custom.
In the United States, celebrating Mother’s Day was popularized in the 19th century thanks to Ann Reeves Jarvis. She, in a way, started American Mother’s Day through her workshops dedicated to teaching local women how to properly care for their children.
Ann Reeves Jarvis’s work culminated into a so-called “Mothers’ Friendship Day” promoting reconciliation after the Civil War. On the other hand, another similar observance was initiated by Julia Ward Howe – a suffragette. Howe’s idea was for mothers to celebrate “Mother’s Peace Day” and promote world peace.
But, historians agree that Ann Reeves’s efforts turned the local observance into a national holiday, which is a little ironic seeing how Revees later disowned the holiday and wanted it to be removed from the calendar.
What made Reeves take such action and how did the holiday traditions change throughout the years? The answer to these and many other questions can be found in our Mother’s Day Facts and Worksheet Pack.
Teaching Kids About Mother’s Day Through Printable Worksheets!
Of course, we can’t cover everything in this article, but with our worksheets, you can engage kids in fun and educational Mother’s Day activities – at least for the theoretical part of the lecture.
Thanks to our 19-page worksheet bundle, kids will be able to learn a lot more about the origins, history, and ways of honoring Mother’s Day throughout the world! This way, they’ll be more mindful when creating something from the activities we’ve prepared below!
Ideas for Practical Mother’s Day Activities
As a teacher or a homeschooling parent, Mother’s Day is a great opportunity to teach kids to reflect on the love and appreciation they have for their mothers and to dedicate one day to make them feel special. In addition, we’ll share six activities that will help you achieve just that!
Mother’s Day Activities for Kids: Thank You Cards
Let’s start with the most traditional Mother’s Day activity for them all – creating a Mother’s Day card. Mother’s Day cards never go out of style because when executed right, they represent a unique and thoughtful gesture that harbors all the love children have for their mother. This is especially true when there’s a lot of effort involved such as DIY Mother’s Day cards.
Here are some awesome tutorials on how to make DIY Mother’s Day cards! They’re all simple and easy to follow, but also look cute and wholesome.
Easy and Beautiful Handmade Mother’s Day Greeting Card
Subscribe to KidsKonnect on YouTube →How to Make a Beautiful Mother’s Day Card for Kids
15 Awesome Mother’s Day Card Ideas
5 Special DIY Mother’s Day Card Ideas for Kids
Other Fun Mother’s Day Activities
Of course, greeting cards are not the only Mother’s Day activity kids can engage in. Here are some other examples of what they can do for this holiday.
DIY Photo Album
A DIY photo album is an amazing sentimental gift that would send every mother down memory lane and remind her of all the precious moments she got being a mother. Plus, making a DIY photo album is easy.
Instruct kids to bring family photos and photos of themselves as babies. Then, prepare colorful constriction papers, glitter markers, or other beautiful pencils for writing a personal message, and glue.
To make the album, simply fold the construction paper in half and cut it in the middle. Then, fold the two cut papers in the middle and place one inside the other – like making a book. You can add as much paper as you want, making the album thinner or thicker. Glue the center of each paper with the one above it or alternatively, make two small holes in the center of the papers and run a string of yarn through them to secure the pages of the album.
Then, decorate the front and back page with colorful drawings or glue heart-shaped paper and tell kids to write a personal message to their mothers.
Finally, on every page glue one photo and ask kids to write a description or something personal below the photo.
Gratitude Letter
Yet another way for kids to express appreciation to their mothers is to write an honest, heartfelt letter in which they’ll write how they feel and why they’re grateful.
This is also a great educational exercise for kids in elementary school and above, as it will help with their emotional development and maturity. Plus, reflecting on the bond they have with their mother is a therapeutic experience that builds a solid emotional foundation.
DIY Flower Bouquet
Let’s get back to the traditional Mother’s Day gifts, but kids will be making them from scratch. With a little help and creativity, kids can make a DIY Mother’s Day bouquet.
There are two ways to approach this. First, you can buy or gather real flowers and then together with kids you can make flower bouquets for their mothers. Second, you can do a full DIY craft by creating paper flower bouquets.
For the first option, you’ll need a variety of flowers, ribbons or colorful strings of rope, and tissue paper. Divide a couple of flowers for each kid and together make a covering for the bouquet with the tissue paper and secure it with the rope strings. Additionally, you can place an “I Love You Mom!” card inside the bouquet.
For the second option, here are some great tutorials on how to make paper flower bouquets for Mother’s Day.
Paper Flower Bouquet Craft
How to Make a Paper Flower Bouquet
DIY Paper Flower Bouquet Craft
Mother’s Day Hamper
Finally, the last Mother’s Day activity on our list is making a thoughtful Mother’s Day hamper. While there are plenty of fancy hampers you can buy online, a DIY hamper with interesting gifts from the child is a great alternative.
To make a DIY hamper, first, you’ll need a gift basket. Here’s an easy tutorial on how to make a DIY paper gift basket that kids can follow.
Next, you’ll need chocolate treats, her favorite coffee, small aromatic candles, soap, or anything that the child knows their mother will enjoy. Place all the contents in the gift basket and write a thoughtful message on a card to say “thanks mom for everything you’ve done for me!”
Before You Go
Let’s recap everything that we’ve learned so far and focus on what’s really important. Mother’s Day is a special occasion that all children should learn to honor! This doesn’t always have to involve special gifts of DIY crafts. You can celebrate Mother’s Day by picking the phone and telling your mother that you think of her and you love her (especially for college students and adults). Furthermore, Mother’s Day can be celebrated by spending quality time with family, whether that’s watching a movie, enjoying a shared hobby, or anything else.
It would be wrong of us to try and define how one should celebrate Mother’s Day, but it would be also a pity if we didn’t try to inspire you with fun and educational Mother’s Day activities for the little ones.
And, while talking of inspiration, if you need more ideas on how to celebrate a seasonal event, organize a lecture, or face a teaching challenge, subscribe to our newsletter as we have a lot of content coming up. Plus, our website is always here for teachers and homeschooling parents from all around the world, so don’t hesitate to visit our worksheet library if you’re in a need of affordable and high-quality teaching resources.
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