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Mother’s Day Ideas

We compiled all of our best Mother’s Day activities from the previous years and added them to this post! We hope you can find something to use with your students this year!

**Before you go start any of these activities, if you know one of your students does not have a mother in their life, you can encourage them to think of any special lady who takes care of them- grandma, aunt, sister!***

First up, Mother’s Day Portraits! We began this project by first playing this song for our students:

You pressed play right??? You are not allowed to scroll down until you pressed play! Such a precious song!!! (Take us back to our high school days, too!)

We listened to the song, visualized the words, drew what we visualized, and shared our visualizations with our neighbors.

Of course, the students were visualizing their MOMMA!!! A great way to start this project- which here is a sneak peak:
Mother’s Day portraits
I know, so cute!

To make these Mother’s Day Portraits, the students had the opportunity to shop at the Ma’s Spa Shop, which was open today from 1:30-3:00. Ma Spa is a unique kind of store. It is only open in the days prior to Mother’s Day :)

And just like its name, Ma Spa is a special store that sells all things related to “mom.”
I gave each student a $5.00 budget.
They started by browsing the items in the store and created their shopping list.

These students are calculating the cost of the items on their list.
Mother’s Day portraits

Once their shopping list was approved by the store manager (ME!) they were able to purchase their items. We started with MUST HAVES first!
Mother’s Day portraits

These were some of the must have items that the students HAD to buy for their mommy portrait. Different colored construction paper for hair and light purple and blue construction paper for the background.


The other must haves for mommy: clothing and eyes! Clothing consisted of scrapbook paper in “girly colors” and cost $0.75. The eyes were $0.50 per pair.
After purchasing the “must haves” the real fun began! Students then purchased the accessories for their mommies!

Mother’s Day portraits
We had lots of steals: $0.50 per pair!

Mother’s Day portraits
Mother’s Day portraits
Buttons and ribbon were also some best sellers for accessories. I was very impressed with the creativity of how the students used the ribbon on their portraits!

Mother’s Day portraits
Can’t forget mom’s make-up! I didn’t allow my students to use any pencils, markers, or crayons for their portraits! Instead they used different colored pieces of chalk for the facial features and make-up!
Shopping was exhausting…but now it was time to make mom!

Mother’s Day portraits
Out came the glue and the scissors!

Mother’s Day portraits
I CAN NOT believe how adorable these turned out!!! When I did this with my students, I did not have an “example” to show them- so I was a bit nervous. However, that ended up being a great thing because look how GOOD they look!!!!
Mother’s Day portraits

It is UNCANNY how this portraits looks EXACTLY like the moms!!!
Mother’s Day portraits
Mother’s Day portraits
Mother’s Day portraits
Look at what an awesome job this girl did with her mom’s braids!!!!

Mother’s Day portraits
What a great looking group of moms!!!

Click HERE to purchase the file on Teachers Pay Teachers.

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Now, for another Mother’s Day Activity…The Ma Spa!!!!
It all started with an A-DOR-A-BLE felt chandelier I found at Hobby Lobby. I knew I had to incorporate it into an activity somehow!!
Ma's Spa
Then…Mother’s Day popped into my mind! I must say, I went a little bonkers! I swung by The Dollar Tree and picked up a bunch of “spa” items! Here are a few:
Ma's Spa
I also found tablecloths, fancy plastic cups, rolling massagers, scented soaps and lotions, vases, and flowers!
Then, OH MY GOODNESS, I found this plastic beverage dispenser at Walmart for $12!!
Ma's Spa
Not only can I add some water and lemons for a fancy drink at our Ma Spa, but I can use it at all of our class parties!!

I set up 5 stations that the students will take their moms through. If you have a student whose mom can’t come, enlist an aid or the secretary, or simply have them bring in a grandmother or other special lady in their life!

ma's spa
Here my daughter and I are modeling the different stations that would be open during the Ma Spa!

And yes, you definitely encourage the moms who are attending to wear their robes, slippers, and comfy clothes for their afternoon of pampering!
Ma's Spa
Vase, flowers, stones…5 bucks at The Dollar Tree + Acrylic frames…$2.49 a piece at Walmart = PRICELESS additions to our Ma Spa!
Ma's Spa
What a special touch to make the moms feel appreciated!

And lastly, ready to bring a HUGE smile to the special ladies in the lives of your little sweeties?

Here’s just the thing!

First, collect empty water bottles from the students about a week before starting the project (store the bottles without the caps on for a few days so they have time to dry out).
This should be NOOOO problem since we all have been recycling for Earth Day…right???

Next, have them write a message to their mom (or other family member).
Then, they can cut it out and roll it into a tube small enough to fit inside the neck of the bottle. Be sure the message is facing the outside! The writing paper is sized to open when put inside the bottle.

Finally, send home the bottles and secretly have your students float it in the tub, put it in the
shower, or even hide it in the dishwasher!! Anywhere they put it, this keepsake is sure to bring that warm and fuzzy feeling to its special recipient!

My own kiddos surprised their grandma by hiding a bottle in the fridge in the same spot as all of her “regular” water bottles!
Mother's Day IdeasMother's Day Ideas
One thing to keep in mind…
-You may want to have your students write their messages in pencil first and then trace it with marker because once the paper is put into the bottle…it’s in there for good!!

Have you done any of these activities with your students???? We would love to hear from you!

Happy (Early!) Mother’s Day to all the moms reading this out there!

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26 Responses

  1. OMG! I love it all. I really wish I could pull off the Ma spa. I'm looking at my calendar to see.
    Thank you for sharing these fabulous ideas and bringing back memories from the song,
    Michele

  2. You both always have the best ideas!! I always love when you have your shops for materials–do you do those for all of your projects or just this one? I'm trying to remember your shop I read about last year–back before pinning, haha!
    Kristen

  3. Thank you so much, Kristen!!! I am so impressed that you remember our shop from last year! We actually just reposted those "old" ideas into one big, long post today! We "set up shops" a few times a year- for making gingerbreads (November), Santas (December), and of course, the moms!! Thanks for taking the time to comment! :)

  4. I LOVE those Mother's Day Portraits. I love how math skills are included. I'm putting that idea away for next year. Can you tell me what grade level did those? Just curious! :)

  5. I love the ma spa day! I purchased the activity today from your TPT store. My students are so excited about pampering their moms. Can't wait to post pictures!

  6. Wow- I love the portrait idea with the shopping. Our economics unit starts next week, and this sounds like a great idea to use for helping the kids make decisions with their money. I'm sad that I didn't stumble upon you sooner- but I think I'dlike to take a go at the Mom spa next year!

  7. we made our portraits just this Thursday! I love how they turned out! We are displaying them until our belated Mother's Day Tea this Friday! thanks for all the great ideas ladies!!

  8. I LOVE this…it is GREAT! And…I am in love with your blog! So awesome! I would love for you to come check out mine and follow me:)

    Tonya
    tonyastreatsforteachers.blogspot.com

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Welcome to Inspire Me ASAP. I am a National Board Certified 2nd Grade Teacher. This is my 18th year of teaching. I love inspiring other elementary teachers to implement new ideas, strategies, and lessons in their classroom.
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