Mother’s Day Cards

The dilemma arrives year after year….what will my students make for Mother’s Day this year?  In the age of Pinterest, it’s hard not to get bogged down and feel the pressure of one-upping the previous year’s gifts.  However, I am emotionally and physically exhausted this year.  Have I mentioned that I’m almost 8 months pregnant, too?  I needed to streamline and simplify.  If you’re anything like me, keep reading to see what we made this year.

I knew I wanted to make cards.  I also knew I wanted to include 2 key items: a recipe for a great mom and an opinion writing piece.  I had a regular pregnancy check-up one day and my sub is a retired teacher who is VERY creative and loves writing.  I decided to leave her my plans for the recipes so she could add that special, magical touch.  Little did I know that she would go above and beyond and have my kids come up with a third project for the cards.

First up: the recipes

The sub had the kids brainstorm measurements and ingredients for making a great mom.  Here’s a shortened list of what they came up with.

dash, sprinkle, cup, touch, pinch, teaspoon, tablespoon, handful, etc.

love, care, tenderness, silliness, craziness, laughter, creativity, hugs & kisses, patience, discipline, forgiveness, support, vigilance, etc.

Pour all of the ingredients into a large bowl. Stir them carefully until mixed well. Pour mixture onto your counter and mold with love.

I brought them home, typed them, and added some great clipart (Melonheadz, KPM Doodles, Molly Tillyer, Creative Clips).  Here are a couple of the recipes before the kids colored.

Next up was the opinion writing piece.  This was our first venture into opinion writing for the year, so it was pretty scripted.  In case you are interested, here was the paragraph frame we used:

I have the greatest mom in the whole world!  In my opinion, my mom is special because _______ .  I know I have the best mom because _________ .  I believe my mom is outstanding because __________ .  Everyone should have a mom as wonderful as mine!

After some quick editing, the kids were ready to work on their final copies:

Then, we tackled the project I wasn’t planning on.  My sub worked on writing metaphors with the kids about their moms.  Here was the chart they came up with:

Not only did she start this writing project with the students, but she also cut out the supplies needed and made an example for the kids to finish with me when I returned.  Here are the hearts the kids created with metaphors inside:

So, after working for a week on these projects, here are the cards we put together:

(Cover)

(Inside)

(Cover)

(Inside)

(Cover)

(Inside)

In the end I have decided that this project is great because it didn’t take any time away from our normal day.  I didn’t have to hear any parents complain that they had to help make their own Mother’s Day gift.  Probably the best of all is that this project didn’t cost me anything except the time it took to type up the recipes and purchase some clipart.  Oh, and let’s get real – you know I’m going to find another project to use that clipart for.  So now I’d love to hear what your students made for Mother’s Day this year.