Ways to Celebrate Mother's Day in the Classroom

We all know how much moms deserve, and the mothers of our students are no exception. They deserve a good Mother’s Day surprise that will make them smile. We can make that happen.

How will you honor them? Will you have an activity or a party in your classroom, inviting them to attend? Will you have your students create something in the classroom to take home to give to their mothers?

I’ve gathered up some ways to celebrate Mother’s Day in the classroom that I think you, your students, and moms will absolutely LOVE and cherish.

Have a Special Event

Hosting a fun event to honor the women in students’ lives is one way to bring community into your classroom. It also shows how much you and your students appreciate what they do. Ask them to bring in their mothers, grandmothers, or any other female in their lives who serves as a role model to them, for a special invite only activity.

A Tea – I’ve heard of some teachers putting together a “Tea-riffic Moms” event. Have a tea party in which the moms are invited to come to the classroom to have tea and treats. Children can make placemats for their moms, and set a place setting with napkins, plates, and cups. Kids create little snacks such as cheese and crackers, cream cheese on small bagels, or Teddy Grahams dipped in icing. They act as hosts and serve their moms by pouring juice or water into small cups, and bring them a serving of snacks. They can present their moms with a card, read to them aloud and give them a hug.

Put on a Performance – Kids are creative. Let them make up a play in which they all have a special part. It can be about mothers, or about a recent book that has been read to the class, or something else.
Project Display – Invite mothers into the classroom to view a spring craft or project display. Make it special by allowing children to present their project to their moms as a gift.
Reading Hour – Pull lots of books about mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, and female biographies from your school’s library, and set up a special reading time in which the women in your students’ lives can sit and enjoy reading together.

Bulletin Board – Create a visibly prominent bulletin board where moms will be most likely to see it. Decorate it with sentiments, hand-drawn pictures, photographs, or other things your kids have done to commemorate their moms. Instruct kids to tell their moms to take a look at it at drop-off or pick-up time, and even send home a little note or shoot them an email so that they won’t miss it.

Create a Hand-Made Gift or Tribute

If you can’t host an event, that’s okay. It’s not required, of course, and some teachers, schools or parents just aren’t able to make events happen like they’d wish. You can still honor the mother figures in your students’ lives, and provide a way for the kids to thank them for their love and support, by helping them create something meaningful to give as a gift.

Draw a Picture of Mom – Give students paint or crayons and let them decorate a piece of paper with some artwork. Have them draw their mothers with a directed drawing and write a story about their mom to go with it. When they’re finished, take the students’ artwork and frame it with a piece of construction paper and embellish it. Have students write “Happy Mother’s Day” on it.

Write a Story/Free Writing – Give the students a prompt and have them write a story about their moms. Mothers will love a tribute to them in their child’s own writing. If you need a quick and easy prompt – I have some in the May Writing Mats pack.
Write a Poem – Are you teaching poetry writing this month? Have your students write a poem about their moms. Poems take thought and will be coveted for years and years.
Take a Photo – Snap a photo of a child posing with their hands folded and smiling at the camera. Even better, have them hold their fingers in the shape of a heart and blow a kiss toward the camera. Print them out and have kids decorate a frame for their picture with the words “I love you, Mom!” for the perfect Mother’s Day keepsake.
Make a Craft – Finished a craft lately for Spring? If not there are numerous craft tutorials available. Find one you like and create it with your students. Let them take it home to give to their mother on Mother’s Day.
Make a Card – Inspire students to create a card with a thoughtful message to mom. Provide a sentence or two for them to copy and let them get creative with paper and glue. Give them time to write, draw and decorate their cards to take home for their mothers.

Any effort made to show appreciation and love will go a long way in making Mother’s Day special. If you try any of these ways to celebrate Mother’s Day in the classroom, please leave a comment below!