Mother's Day Freebie

Mother's Day is right around the corner. So, I thought I would share a super easy {and cheap} craft with you all! All you need for this little project is some construction paper, colored tissue paper, die cut letters, liquid glue, paper plates, and some cheap pencils (I recommend using the ones that I know you have in storage. We all have them. They are probably from the dollar store and if you ever sharpen one it will look like a beaver tried to gnaw on it.  Now you can put them to some useful purpose.) Here is what you do to make this little goody.

1. Die cut the letters MOM. You can use a variety of colors. I usually cut out several colors for the kids to choose from. 

2. Glue the letters down the side of a 12x18 sheet of construction paper.

3. Cut tissue paper into long strips and then chop into 2x2 inch squares. (You can just eyeball it. It doesn't have to be perfect!)

4. Give each kiddo a cheapo pencil, tissue paper squares, and a puddle of liquid glue on a paper plate. 

5. The kiddos put the pencil's eraser down in the center of a square. Twist the paper around the pencil's eraser. Dab the tissue paper covered eraser in the glue and use the pencil to stick the tissue paper on the letter O to build their 3-D flower. They just repeat the process until it is all full and fluffy. (I have also had some kids just ball up the squares and dip them in glue. This worked well for some of my inclusion population babies who lacked the fine motor skills for the pencil twist method.)

Let's be honest here. Some kids are in tough situations. Maybe mom is deceased, incarcerated, or absent. We need to be mindful of them and not put them in awkward situations unnecessarily. That is why I always offer this option to ALL of my students, too. Many times kids who have awesome moms choose this one, too, so no one is singled out or made to feel inferior. Again, you can do any color or a rainbow heart looks great, too.

For the writing project, I tell my kiddos that they are welcome to write about their mothers or they can choose to honor any woman who cares for them. Once, I even had a child write about the nurse who cared for him during his cancer treatments. It was so moving! They can write to an aunt, grandma, stepmother, foster mom, you name it! 

As an RtI and inclusion teacher, I am always looking for easy ways to differentiate things --even crafts! So, I have included three different types of lined paper for the writing portion of the project. You can use just one or differentiate with all of them. Click {HERE} to grab your freebie!

If you are looking for a great book for Mother's Day, my all time favorite is The Mother's Day Mice by Eve Bunting. It is illustrated by the fabulous Jan Brett. It tells the story of three little mice who go out in search for the perfect gifts for their mom. The littlest one wants to get her some honeysuckle, but he can't reach it because of the cat. On his journey, he makes up a song for her instead. It is such a sweet tale! 

I have a little mini-unit to go along with it in my TPT shop. You can check it out {HERE}.

I hope you have a blessed Mother's Day!