Mother's Day is a special day set aside to honor mothers and the wonderful things they do. Thanks to Anna M. Jarvis people in the United States celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May every year. Mother's Day was first celebrated at a small church in West Virginia in 1907. It was a special service arranged by Anna M. Jarvis to honor the memory of her own mother. Seven years later, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Mother's Day a national holiday. Today we shower our mother's with cards, gifts and “a day off” from whatever she might normally be doing. This pathfinder will help you find some wonderful activities and stories to share with your students to help them get ready to honor their mothers.

Curriculum Reference

Curr/Ref ActBks G434 1993 p249-53	The Giant Encyclopedia of Theme Activities for Children 2 to 5 edited by Kathy Charner This book supplies five different ideas children can use to make Mother's Day gifts. Ideas include bath salts, coupon holder and a bookmark.	La promenade 1906 by Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Curr/Ref ActBks P778 1983 p177-82	The Whole Earth Holiday Book by Linda Polon and Aileen Cantwell This book contains a great history of Mother's Day along with worksheets, a poem, and a word search making this holiday a fun learning experience.
Curr/Ref ActBks C321 1991s p314-21	Carson-Dellosa’s Sensational Seasonal Activities A wonderful Mother's Day unit is found in this book with worksheets to help students write a poem, make a memo, as well as make other gifts.
Curr/Ref Art B561 1995	The Best of The Mailbox Arts and Crafts compiled by Stephen Levy and Ada Hamrick. “Tulips for Mom” and “Hats off to Mom” are two fun activities found in this book in honor of mothers. Other wonderful activities could also be converted to be used.
Curr/Ref Art F483 1991	Gifts for Giving by Vanessa Filkins. Specifically for Mother's Day, page 20 offers ideas on making Mother's Day Jewels using “treasures” such as buttons, old jewelry pieces, ribbon, etc. Other ideas can be converted for Mother's Day use.

Big Books

Mother and Child against a Green Background (Maternity) 1897 by Mary Cassatt	Curr/El BigBooks R211 1990 rb	My Family and Me by Phoebe Rankin and Elizabeth Stenson. This book contains 14 stories that focus on the family unit and how it works. Reading this book is a great way for children to remember their mothers and all they do for them.
	Curr/El BigBooks G915 1989 rb	Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino. This book will help children understand the relationship between mother and children as they read about animals and their mothers.

Periodicals

On the Terrace 1881 by Pierre-Auguste Renoir	The Good Apple Newspaper Grades 2-5 May/Summer 1997 pgs14-15 Make great mothers day crafts such as a letter holder made out of a soap container, a basket full of sweets, a note holder from a cereal box and more. Students will love making these projects and mothers will cherish them.	Le Chemin de Fer (The Railroad) 1872-73 by Eduard Manet
	The Good Apple Newspaper Grades 2-5 May/Summer 1998 pgs 40-43 Make mom a pin, a card, a wind chime, magnets, an eyeglass case or even a family tree. Students will learn about their family relationships while creating a gift for their beloved mother.
	Teacher’s Helper Grade 1 April/May/June 1998 pg 61 Students will have the opportunity to get to know their mothers better by interviewing them for this language arts mothers day activity.
	Teacher’s Helper Grade 1 April/May/June 1997 pg 59 Children of all ages will love this craft idea. Students can make a flowerpot with actual flowers out of a coffee can. Children can then decorate and write mom a mother's day message.
	Oasis Grades 6-9 May/Summer 1999 pgs 60-61 Students will learn about mothers of the past who created some awesome inventions. This matching activity will really get your students thinking.
	Teacher’s Helper Grades 2-3 April/May/June 1999 pgs 55-56 Students can make a tie-dyed card to celebrate mothers day. The magazine contains a reproducible page and instructions on how to make this project a success.

Children's Books

Children Easy P844i	I Love My Mommy Because... by Laurel Porter-Gaylord, is a story written for very young children that gives many reasons why children love their mothers. This book is illustrated with different animal mothers and their babies.	La Toilette 1891 by Mary Cassatt
Children Easy P779m	The children will love the book, Mother, Mother I Want Another by Maria Polushkin. It is about a mouse and his mother, who have a little miscommunication in their bedtime routine.
Children Easy B942md	The Mother's Day Mice, by Eve Bunting is a precious story about three mice who go searching for the perfect gift for their mother.

Internet Sites

Le Promenade 1875 by Claude Monet

http://deil.lang.uiuc.edu/web.pages/Holidays/Mother.html This is a great resource for Mother's Day activities. Includes a history of the holiday, poems, and cards for giving on this special day. http://www.moms-refuge.com/mothersday/ This page has various fun links including the original Mother's Day proclamation, and gift ideas. http://www.geocities.com/~bizart/mama/ Need some clip art? Well, this page is filled with free images that are very suitable for this holiday. Plus there is a very long list of other links. http://members.aol.com/Love4JULI/mom-kids.html This page is divided into several sections geared at mothers and kids. Included are links to Mother's Day stories, fun activities and crafts.

The Small Cowper Madonna 1505
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