Mother’s Day Activities in the Montessori Classroom

I have found that my Montessori students, no matter what age, are always eager to show their mothers how much they are loved. Recognizing Mother’s Day in your Montessori classroom is the perfect opportunity to incorporate history, art and character development. It’s also an opportunity to build relationships with parents by inviting mothers to a special event in the classroom.

Mother’s Day, a day to celebrate and honor mothers, is observed on the second Sunday in May in North America. Many other countries also celebrate Mother’s Day at other times of the year. Ancient Greeks honored Rhea, the mother of many gods, at a spring festival. Starting in the 1600s, Christians in the United Kingdom honored Mary, the mother of Jesus, on the fourth Sunday of Lent. This day, called Mothering Sunday, was also a time to attend Mass at one’s regional “Mother Church.”

Families celebrate Mother’s Day by allowing their mother to relax while the rest of the family makes dinner and takes care of other household tasks. Mothers are often surprised with breakfast in bed and handmade cards and gifts from their children. Grandmothers are also honored by their children and grandchildren on Mother’s Day.

Mother’s Day Activities for the Montessori Classroom

• Showcase your students’ work. Invite all of your students’ mothers to a tea in their honor. As a Practical Life activity, students can create the invitations and prepare the tea and appropriate treats. Students could give their mothers a special art project and recite poems they have written. Want something a little different? Your students could have a spring festival in the style of the Ancient Greeks.
• The classic paper tissue flower can be an exercise in following directions, fine motor skills, colors and parts of the flower. These flowers can be used as decoration at the Mother’s Day Tea and/or made as gifts. Simple instructions can be found at Kaboose . Older students can explore origami flowers.
• Students can create a timeline of Mother’s Day and the different ways it has been celebrated throughout history. Students could also include information about who “started” Mother’s Day. More than one person seems to be credited with the honor.
• Older students can research the relationship between Mother’s Day, Mother’s groups, anti-war observations and community service.

Mother’s Day Books

• A Chair for My Mother, by Vera B. Williams
• Mother's Mother's Day, by Lorna Balian
• A Ride on Mother's Back: A Day of Baby Carrying Around the World, by Emery Bernhard and Durga Bernhard
• Mother's Day, by Ann Heinrichs and R. W. Alley
• Mother Poems, by Hope Anita Smith

Sources

• NAMC's Lower Elementary (6-9) Cultural Geography album
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother

Related NAMC Blogs:

• Celebrating Mother's Day with Montessori Activities
• Montessori Curriculum Ideas for Mother's Day: Herbal Pillows and Tin Punching

As much as possible, NAMC’s web blog reflects the Montessori curriculum as provided in its teacher training programs. We realize and respect that Montessori schools are unique and may vary their schedules and offerings in accordance with the needs of their individual communities. We hope that our readers will find our articles useful and inspiring as a contribution to the global Montessori community.
© North American Montessori Center - originally posted in its entirety at Montessori Teacher Training on Tuesday, May 5, 2009.