Mother's Day Projects

This is one that I have done for 5 or 6 years now and the mothers simply love it. It actually is not something that the kids make, but I always do another activity related to this one that the kids actually do.

Right after winter break, I ask the parents to send in 2 or 3 of their child's favorite recipes. I tell them that we are going to be doing an activity this spring with them. I send a form so that they abbreviate the same, list ingredients at the top, etc. Then I type the recipes on the computer and at the bottom of each recipe I put the mother's name and under that I type Mother of (the child's name). After I have the first copy proofed, I go through a clip art book with foods as well as other clip art books and if a recipe has bananas in it then I cut out a banana clip art, if the recipe has apples in it, then I put an apple clip art around it. I then copy them and make a cover (colored paper) and put Mother's Day poetry on the inside cover and laminate it (cover only). I use a binding machine and bind them and send them home with the rest of their Mother's Day stuff.

I do the same as the above posted suggestion. I tell my 2nd graders they can give this project to a special person who has the qualities of a mother for them.

We make a sillouette of each child on black 12x18 paper, cut it out, and mount it on white. The kids really do nothing in this but sit still. I do the tracing, cutting, and mounting. I did this for Open House, but I thought I would give it as a Mother's Day gift. I'm going to find a poem for the kids to copy and glue to the back of the sillouette.

I make these for Christmas, but it could be for Mother's Day. We make a yearly calendar. I have a blank calendar form and we fill it in for each month of the next year (I've considered giving them calendars already filled in for each month. Then we decorate a picture to go with each month. I use 9x12 colored paper for the backdrops(it takes 13 sheets each) and half of a manila paper for the illustrations. I bind it together in month order with those silver rings so it can be turned more easily. That way when you open the calendar, it lays out with the illustration on top and the calendar on bottom. I have gotten lots of compliments from parents for a gift they could use.

I have also bought clay pots, let the kids tempera paint a design, and seal them with clear spray paint. Then plant a flower in it.

Whatever you do....ENJOY!

Hi Chris! I found a simple, but fun idea last year and I am doing it again this year as well for Mother's / Father's Day. I got it from Dr. Jean Feldman. 1)I take match boxes (empty them) and then take red metallic crepe paper and go around the outside once. (You can still slide the inside in and out...wrap around just the outside of the box...do not cover the ends). 2)With a large needle, make a hole in one end of the inside part of the box (the part that actually slides in and out). 3)Take cord (I use silver) and slide both ends through the hole, tie them together in a knot so that they cannot come out (to form a necklace for the child to wear). 3) Take a small picture (school pics work well) and glue them on the inside of the box so that as the child sings the song, he can slide the box out to show his pic inside. (I do all the prep work.....the students glue their pics inside and also glue a tiny bow on top.) 4)Teach students the song (I also typed and shrunk the words on paper and placed them inside the box as well for parents.) The song goes to the tune of Polly Wolly Doodle....(I used it for a Mother and Father's Day gift combined, since Dad's often get left out being in June.)Dr. Jean's song:
Oh I wish I had a little red box to keep my mommy in......I'd take her out and go (kiss, kiss, kiss) and put her back again. Oh I wish I had a little red box to keep my daddy in.....I'd take him out and go (hug, hug, hug) and put him back again. Oh I wish I had a little red box to keep my good friends in....I'd take them out and go "how do you do" (wave) and put them back again.
Hope this helps! Dr. Jean has her own website for more ideas!!!!! Attend her workshops if you get a chance! EXCELLENT!

I have done this Mother's Day project with 3rd graders and the mothers loved it. You need black poster board for every student, washable paint, a picture of every student, and a Mother's Day poem. I used one about handprints and one day the child will be grown, but the mother will still have their handprints from when they were small. I can't remember the name of it.

(1) Glue the poem in the center of the poster board.
(2) Glue the picture above the poem.
(3) Pour the paint into paper plates and let the students put both hands into it. The students then lay their hands down on either side of the poem.
(4) Once it has dried, laminate the project, punch two holes in the top, and tie a string through it so the mothers can hang them up.

It is messy, but it's a great project. Have someone to assist you so they can help the students get cleaned up. I got the idea from my aunt who teaches Sunday School, and I love it. It is something the mothers can keep.

We create a Mother's Day Book where each third grader writes about his/her mother. It includes:

* a description
* why she is so special
* what makes her the best Mom
etc.

The kids each type their own stories and add cute clip art. I make a copy of each story and use the book binding machine to create a class book. The kids love reading their piece as well as their friends. Each child is responsible for designing his/her own cover. We wrap these and attach a beautiful flower project on top of the package. I always receive wonderful notes from the Moms who cherish this keepsake project.

You can also make silk flower pens to attach to the package. They're so cute. You cover ball point pens with floral tape and attach a silk flower. I'm sure you can find the directions somewhere on the net if you're interested. Good luck finding the perfect gift idea for Mother's Day!

I had a Mother's Day Tea last year with great success! The room was decorated with flowers and butterflies made by the children. The children learned about six poems and/or simple songs to recite. At the end of the performance (which took place inside the classroom), all the children sat down and then one at a time, each child said "My Mom is the greatest mom in the whole world!" At that point, that child would go over to his or her mom, give her a hug, and then go to my aide, where they lined up to pick up a piece of coffee cake to serve their mom. I served the hot tea or lemonade. At the end, each child presented their mom with a potted flower and a card. A group picture was taken. There wasn't a dry eye in the room! I also gave each mom a small gift. I arranged the room in such a way that each child sat across from their mom when eating (with the desk between them). The moms brought their own mug. This year, to simplify things, I am going to skip the hot tea and just have lemonade for all to enjoy. The whole thing lasted less than an hour. It was a joyous occasion. A lot of the songs or poems I received from the Virtual Vine. It's a great website!

My second graders are working on a book that we've entitled "I Love..." illustrating the verses of the song by Tom T. Hall. We are using a Bare Book, purchased by our PTA, but you could make your own. The kids illustrate each verse, then add original verses at the end. We have a Mothers' Tea on the Friday before Mother's Day and the kids sing the song as they page through the books with their moms. The kids are so proud of their finished product and the moms are thrilled, too.
We also have purchased little watering cans from Michaels when they were 50% off and are making cookie flower arrangements to put in them. We use sandwich cookies and wooden skewers for the stems.
The skewers are stuck into styrofoam which we put into the cans and then cover with artificial grass or moss. We tie a bow on the handle and have it on their desks as a table decoration.
They turn out really cute and are simple to make.
I have also made silhouettes of the children and reduce them to a size that can be mounted on an 8"x10" white paper which makes them easy to frame.
Hope these ideas are helpful. Have fun! Our tea is always a lot of work, but well worth it when you see how much the moms and kids enjoy it. We usually have the moms in tears.

This is something that I do every year with my kids, it may sound like a lot of work, but the kids do most of it and the outcome just can't be beat. I buy small ceramic plant pots and some napkins with a lot of flowers or something springy on them. The kids cut out the designs on the napkins and then we glue them onto the pots making sure that they are totally covered. Then I spray them with a protective spray so that when they are watered, they won't start to come off. Then we plant flower seeds in the pots and the kids take care of watering them until Mother's Day and they give them to their mothers. (I always do one of my own that someone can have if there is one that happens not to grow, but it has never happened yet!) The moms are tickled and I still have some that come back to me and tell me that they still have the pots and plant things in them every year. Hope this gives you an idea or two!

I found a really cute idea. I think it's cute.
Here's what you do.....

Butterfly Handprint and poem:

1. Paint from top of middle finger to bottom of
palm black -- butterfly's body
2. Paint palms on both sides (discuss symmetry)
another color
3. Paint thumb and pinky another color
4. Pain other fingers left another color
5. Press the painted hand onto white construction
paper. Other finger can move to form wings
Keep middle finger still (body)
6. Add an antennae with markers when paint dries
7. Cut out butterfly and mount on contrasting
piece of construction paper with this poem:

This isn's just a Butterfly
As you can plainly see.
I made it with my hand
Which is apart of me.
It comes with lots of Love
Especially to say
I hope you have a very
Happy Mother's Day

I hope you like this idea. It seemed quite appropriate to me for fourth graders so I am using it as well.
Good Luck!!

I am doing a cool project. My students are making memo holders and books. This is how:

*hot glue a clothespin to a paint stirrer in the vertical position
(you can get them from Home Depot for free).

*Spray paint or paint it (my husband liked spray paint because it was a quick to dry)

*add a flower to the top (i purchased the foam ones from Michael's)

*write Happy Mother's Day or I Love You in the middle with a sharpie or fabric paint

Our book will be made of simple copy paper where the students will write a sentence about their mother.

The cover for the book will be a gift bag that is cut in the seams and trimmed to fit the paper. They will be bound with binder combs or ribbon.

Hope this helps

I teach poetry at the end of the year, after all of the state testing is over. Since this falls near Mother's Day (and I was out of gift/craft ideas for my students' moms), I decided to incorporate the poetry unit into a gift.

We studied cinquain, haiku, alliterative poems (and one more that I can't remember at this moment!) I did original examples of each poem on chart paper and color coded any key points in the poem. Then kids did a rough draft of their own type of each poem on notebook paper. I cut pieces of watercolor paper to roughly 3X5 inches, kids watercolored the 4 pieces they received, and then used a felt tipped marker to write the final poems on their pretty pages. I bound the books using jute. They turned out great!

Hello!

I teach third grade also. Today, we started our Mother's Day gifts. The children each got a clear plastic cup and filled it with potting soil. Then, they each planted a few seeds in their cups. We used zinnia seeds. After the seeds have sprouted, we are going to glue some colored clip art pictures to the cup, then use glue to glue another clear cup to our first cup. (Does that make sense?) That way, the clip art won't get water on it. The second cup acts as a shield. The children will take it home in a few weeks and have a great gift for mom! The children LOVE this activity!! Good luck!

My 3rd graders did this for a Christmas/Hanukkah gift, but it works well for Mother's Day too. Take small post-its (smallest for large class size, a little bigger for smaller class size). Have each student draw their self-portrait in pencil on the post-it. Have them print or sign their name underneath their picture. Take pretty stationary (designs that will show up when copied), or lined paper, and put the post-its around the edges of the paper. Make copies, and either 3 hole punch tem and tie with ribbon, or if you've got $, make into notepads. My parents really enjoyed receiving these, and its a rememberance of who was in your child's class.

I tried posting this idea with an attachment, but I originally omitted the attachment. I tried to delete the post to start over and, for whatever reason, I wasn't able to submit the post...So... here I go again.

I created a Mother's Day Booklet based on an article I found in Instructor magazine many many years ago. Some of the ideas stayed with me because they produced some very touching results. Last year, I came up with a new format, so I thought others might be interested. (Hope it posts correctly!) It's a four page attachment, but I run it off 'back-to-back'.

Last year we made refrigerator magnets. Michael's has wooden shapes for 25 cents that they painted, I shelacked (sp??), they put an extra cum. folder picture we have in the middle, then a piece of magnet. They came out very cute and they kids loved them so much we'll do them again this year.

Sorry that this is a little late, but maybe you could use it next year. It goes great with the mug they made. My students gave their mother a mug with this poem and a tea bag inside. Hope it helps next year.

I give you this gift
for Mother's day.
I'll try to be good
in every way.
But should you get
impatient with me,
Sit down...relax...

Have a cup of tea
On me.

You could fill them with Hersey's Hugs and Kisses.
Or you can make bath salts.I make bath salts with my class. You could them to put the salts in. The recipe is at school but I think it is...1 cup of epsom salts, 1 tsp of glycerine a drop of food coloring and perfume. I have a poem the kids print out..
Here's a gift for Mother's Day,
I'll try my best in everyway,
But if you get upset with me,
Relax and soak. Don't you agree?

We are making flower pens (if you haven't seen them, I can explain them to you) and notepads. We got the materials for the pens at Walmart for very little money, and then for notepads we just cut colored copy paper into 4ths and will put 2 holes in the top and tie a bow with a piece of matching ribbon. Very simple and cheap but something mother's will actually like and use!

Print a picture of a teapot or teacup and have students color it. Have student's print the following poem with their signature:

I will try in everyway,
To be good on Mother's Day.
But if you get upset with me,
Relax and have a cup of tea!

Add a flavored teabag and you're done!

We make decorative bird houses(no bird is ever going to get in these) This is an inexpensive project but you need to have access to a power saw and someone with the ability to use it. Every year we make birdhouses. My husband and I cut 6-inch pieces from 2x4 lengths and angle the roof to a point . We drill 2 -1/2 inch holes to look like the holes to the house and
2 - 3/8 " holes directly below where we put a painted dowel that matches the house . We also cut 2 thin boards (2 1/2x3 inches) for the roof. The kids paint the houses with a pleasing color (some give their houses the crackle effect). After the paint is dry , the kids sponge paint a few bushes around the bottom and use the handle end of a paint brush to dot on flowers. When this is dry you can use a glue gun or good quality craft glue to attach the roof and put the dowels in. My students always like to add a touch of dried sphagnum moss under the roof and peeking out of the holes for extra country appeal.

I've always enjoyed having the children brainstorm "coupons" for their moms. They think of things they could give their mom from their hearts - hugs and kisses are popular, but also we think of really "hard things" like one grocery shopping trip with no "Can we's." --can we get this? can we get that? One bedtime with no complaints, one day with no "but mommies"... the kids get into it, but by the looks on their faces, you can tell, they are nervous, because these are going to be tough!!! But they know how much their moms will love them.

To make this crafty, I have bought ( very cheap) little peat pots (the little biodegradeable pots for seedlings) and some potting soil. After we brainstorm a bunch, each child writes their coupons on little flower papers that I have copied for them, and then cuts them out and tapes or staples them to a pipe cleaner, and inserts about 6 altogether into their pot with soil (packed firmly -- you can also use brown clay if you have a bunch of it, instead of the soil)

Good luck

I make a wow card. When you open it up it says wow mom. Fold a piece of paper in half and cut out the word wow without distubing the fold to much. Once you have a pattern the students can trace it/then cut - but not the fold line. Once it is cut out they can decorate with markers, glitter anything. To go with their wow card we make a cup of bath salts. It's easy for the kids to do or you to prepare ahead of time. The recipe will make 24 1/3 cup gifts
1tbsp glycerin (from drugstore)
8 cups of Epsom salts
potpourri oil or perfume sample
food coloring
1.Pour Epsom salts in a large bowl.
2.Add glycerin. Mix well.
3.Add 2-3 drops of food coloring. Mix well
4.Add desired amount of oil or perfume. Mix well
Scoop onto plastic wrap and tie (rubberband works too). I also cover with tissue paper or fabric to make a prettier sachet. Secure with a ribbon.

They could write a "Why I love you ..." letter or card that is
decorated with colorful pieces of tissue paper to look like
stained glass or flowers.

Or, make a card with a flower on the front. On each petal
have the child print a chore, i.e. put clothes away, take out
the trash, make your bed, do dishes, etc. only glue them
under the center of the flower so that the mother can use
them as coupons.

Or, have them plant a flower in a decorated cup.

Or, have them brainstorm statements about their mom
for you to copy and they fill in the rest.
For example:
My mom is ...
I love her because ...
She is best at ...
She does not do well at ...
She is very ...
She loves to....
She make me ...
I wish she would...
She's the best because...
For reproducible parenting handouts see the kelly bear web site.

Hi Betsy,
My suggestion is to get a digital camera and take photos of each child (maybe with you in the photo). Insert them in a child created card. We usually do scrapbook pages at holidays for our families. These are really appreciated, especially because as the child gets older, less photo opportunities present themselves. An acrostic poem spelling out MOTHER would also be fun inside.
Another old stand by is the plaster handprints with poem on ther reverse. Clayola makes a modeling clay that dries when left out. It's kind of pricey though. We've dried flowers for stationery, but you don't really have the time now.
Another gift is always to let the kids design their own note cards with black ink felt tip pens. (quarter fold) Make multiple copies on a variety of colored paper and pack in child decorated bags. Use ribbon to close and add a card. Good luck...I'm going with the cards and photos. ;-D

I have my first graders make a project called "Joy Jars". Each child is asked to either bring in a clean, label-free glass jar, or I buy 8 oz. Ball jars and collect the money from each child. We decorate the outside with jewels or sequins or I've helped them to sponge paint them. We then write things we love about our moms on strips of brightly colored paper, cut them out with fancy scissors, roll them around a pencil and then put them inside the jars. We tie a ribbon around them and puffy paint Joy Jar on the front of the jar. (I write on the jars with permanent marker and the kids can then trace over it with the paint.) We make a card to go with each one so that when our moms are sad they can take one of the strips out, read it, and hopefully remember how special they are! I've had a couple moms cry!

We make springtime hats using painted paper plates and bowls. You cut th rim from a regular dinner paper plate and discard the center. You staple the bowl inside the hole in the center and paint in pastel colors. We decorate the painted hats with inexpensive dollar store silk flowers and ribbon. You can have the kids do "Hats off to a great mom" card or other writing to go with it. I also like inexpensive picture frames. We have used craft foam and glued on shapes that are found at Walmart and other craft stores/departments. I have also made frames by having the kids glue pasta shapes on oaktag frames, and spray painting them gold. Other teachers have used different colored buttons to make the frames, and they always look pretty. Parents always seem to enjoy photographs of their child, and if you have a digital camera, it is pretty cheap to make.

Sometimes you get discouraged
Because I am so small.
And always leave my fingerprints
On furniture and walls.

But every day I'm growing.
I'll be grown up someday.
And all those tiny handprints
Will surely fade away.

So here's a final handprint
Just so you can recall
Exactly how my fingers looked
When I was very small.

My son gave me this as a gift when he was in first grade. He's a freshman in college and I still have it. It is one of my favorite school presents. The teacher had children put their handprint on a piece of burlap, and then folded the top around a dowel. A piece of yarn is attached to the stick, so it can be hung. The poem was typed onto paper and glued next to his print.

Photos of students inserted into frames made from front of tissue boxes, decorated with lace, ribbon, etc.; cardboard backer glued on.
Can also be used for handprints or poems written by children "I love you more than ... " (a cat loves cream, a fish loves water....)

Have students plant flower seeds to plant later in pots they have decorated - acrylic paint on small terracotta pots, varnish when finished.

Make a bunch of crepe paper flowers.

Cards - IOU type, eg IOU 10 big hugs; 5 dishwasher emptyings; 30 minutes babysitting, etc.

Hope these few ideas are helpful. I have done all of these with five year olds, so 7-8 years olds should do even better! Ask the children as well - they often have great ideas that we wouldn't think of.

I would have your students make flower necklaces for the moms to wear. First dye pasta and (Use a few drops of food coloring mixed with a small amount of alcohol. Shake and let dry.). Then cut out small flowers (I use a cut and dye machine which cuts larger flowers, but the inside of the flower that is cut along with it, is what I actually use). Punch holes in the flowers and have the children string the pasta then the flower then the pasta, etc. It makes a pretty necklace similar to a lei. You could write the year on one of the flowers for the moms to save as a mememto. Then take a picture of all the moms wearing their necklaces. I did this and it was really cute!

I have students with many or no maternal peoples. I have many projects. Here is the list!

1) Clay pots that they paint and modge podge then plant. I still have parents say they love them! I have done this every other year for 12 years.

2) Soap-- I take pictures of the kids and print them out in 2 inch squares and laminate them. We melt glycerine soap and add smelly stuff and put the picture in the middle. These are so CUTE! We have made goldfish in the middle soaps too.

3) Handprints in plaster of paris... We place the child's handprint in plaster paint it in gold and then place the handprint poem on the back.

I like the flower and handprint painting too!

I have a neat craft idea that I tried out with my own 6 year old daughter. She is very crafty so I'm pretty sure my Grade 1s can do it (some may have trouble if they trouble with fine motor). You take a heavy peice of cardboard (Tide box worked great) and cut 8 inches square. Cut 1/2 inch snips along each top and bottom about an inch apart. Create a loom by threading wool up and down. Then with a different colour tied to a popsicle stick, weave in and out. More advanced students can use different colours to create a pattern. When finished snip and tie ends and voila you have a coaster. Happy crafting!
Joanne

I am going to take their picture and mount it between two pieces of poster board. The bottom one is the anchor and the top is a 2 inch border so that it looks like a picture frame.

I buy the kids blank mini puzzles and they color them brightly with bold markers until no white shows. We then glue those pieces all around the picture frame ( any which way;some even on top of other pieces.) They are very cute and I get a lot of comments from moms each year.

I've thought about catchy phrases like "My puzzle has no missing pieces because of you, Mom!" I've never really done anything with that though.

goodluck

I take a picture of each of my students. Then I have them make a popsicle frame around their picture. I let the students decorate the frame with puff paints. When it is dry, we put magnets on the back. I also have the students write their mom a poem. This is the format I use:
Line 1: noun (Mom)
Line 2: two adjectives describing a noun
Line 3: three verbs showing the action of the noun
Line 4: four word statement telling about the noun
Line 5: repeat the noun or use a synonym for the
noun (Mom)
Good Luck! I hope this helps.

Well with my little kids, 3-5 year olds we made a flower the other day. We used two cupcake papers, one glued into the other. I then cut out a stem and two leaves per flower, and gave each child a popsicle stick. The kids glue the stem and leaves on the back of the paper, and then glue the stick on the back of the stem. It's really easy, and with glue sticks, it's almost mess free. Then some of the parents suggested that we could of sprayed some fragrance on the flowers so that the flowers could smell.

This craft idea is hard to beat. It's called "the Guilded Shoe". Have students bring in an old shoe they have outgrown. Place the shoe on wax paper and paint with 3 coats of school glue letting the glue dry between coats. Then take gold paint and paint the shoes. I got this idea from "Dr. Jean.com" . If you go there you can also find a really cute poem to go with the shoe. It doesn't take alot of time to complete this craft and the results are fantastic!

I have my fifth graders make Mother's Day bags. I normally use colored paper bags from a party store, but you could also use plain brown bags. Those might be easier if you want the kids to decorate them. The party store bags have a slick surface, and markers and such smear. Anyway...

Inside each bag put a slip of paper that says:

Mounds.....for the "mounds" of stuff you do. (miniature Mounds candy bar)
Crayon......to color your day happy
Band-aid....for the rough times
lifesaver....for one of those days
Hug..........to make everything worthwhile
(Hershey's hug candy)
mint.........to remind you that you are worth a "mint" to me
plastic knife..to cut out all of life's daily problems
paper clip.....for keeping it all together
birthday candle...because you light up my life
cotton ball......for that warm fuzzy feeling
cider mix........to add some "spice" to your life.

Then I have the kids write something special on the bottom of the paper and sign their name. You might not want to have the knife it there-I just buy the cheap ones that aren't sturdy. I guess it would depend on your group of kids. Someone reading this will probably go "Knife! Oh my gosh!!!!" Maybe something could be substituted, or leave that out. I purchased a box of individual cider mix packages (like cocoa) at Sam's Club one year, but I think "Swiss Miss" makes one that you could find in a typical grocery store. I also printed out colored copies of the list so all the kids had to do was write on the botton and put it in their bag.

There isn't much for this activity that the kids have to do, just put the things in the bag and do a little writing, plus decorate the bag. The moms loved it and it doesn't cost too much, especially if you eliminate one or more the items.

I'm going to buy those pieces of bright colored foam. Then I'll cut them down to a smaller size to make into a picture frame. The kids will decorate the edges of the frame by gluing on those little foam shapes. I'll take a picture of each kid and put their picture in the frame for mom. The frames can have magnets on back so they could put them on the fridge.

HI
I'm doing this now too
each of my children are making their own terrarium with a 2 leter plastic pop bottle by cutting the bottle just above the bottom black liner that goes up about 2 to 3 inches from the bottom of the bottle. Fill that bottom with dirt, plant a couple of seeds - we're using flowers- water - and slip that top back down onto the bottom. leave the cap on and set in a sunny area in your room....you can watch it "rain" and chart the plants growth. My kids are very excited. I thought that when the flowers got taller they could take the top off and give them to mom for a mother's day present! We planted sunflower seeds because they're big. I gave each child 3 incase one or two of the seeds rot.
We also took paper towel got it moist not soaking wet, placed a seed into or onto the paper towel. Put it all in a zip lock baggie and taped it to the windows, this way the kids can actually see the seed form a root. You can put their names on the baggie with a permanent marker. Don't get the paper towells get too wet or the seeds rot and get moldy; Yuck! I put lima beans in the baggies because they're such big seeds
happy planting!

Use plastic spoons, put about 3 hershey's kisses on the spoon, get some fabric. Wrap the spoon in a piece of fabric, tie with ribbon on the top and attach to the side of the spoon Lot's of hugs and kisses(you can use white paper and cut out the saying in strips) The parents love this
idea. Keep in touch. Have a great day!

Believe it or not - necklace made with potatoes!

My class made them for mother's day- Here's how:

peel then cut potatoes into small pieces - shaped at triangles, trapezoids etc. cut it a little bigger than needed bec. they will shrink
place the potatoes on sticks - squersSP and turn every day so they won't get stuck on the sticks.
dry the potatoes for a few days until hard - thay will look gross!!! black!
paint in a shade of turquoise
dot with black paint on the edges to make a "fake turquoise" look
thread them on elastic cord. each student had 7 potaotes and 10 "silver" balls to intermingle betw. the potatoes.
tie a knot
My mother's loved them!!!!!!!!!!!

You can use tougne depressors and clothes pins to create a cute magnetic keepsake. Have the kids put their finger prints on the the craft in red after you spray paint them white. You can use a permanent marker to create the affect of ladybugs. Put a magnet on the back and you are done!

I am making candles. Every child needs a small baby food jar. You cover sections of the jar with decopouge, before it dries place piece of colored tissue paper. After the entire jar is covered with tissue apply one more layer of decopouge. Let it dry and then place a tea light inside the jar. Tada!!! a mother's day candle.

Hope this helps, I am doing this with 3rd graders.
You can buy decopouge at Michaels

For Mother's Day this year we are making chalkboards. I got a 10" by 10" board and used chalkboard paint, then ribbon as a border. I also glued a string to the back and attached a piece of chalk. They came out really cute. The paint is a little pricey but this is the one thing I do for the year. The kids loved it!

I bought wooden (flat) heart cutouts from ACMoore. We painted them white. After they dried I let each child choose from a few 'flowery' colors and use their fingertip to make fingerprint petals in the shape of a flower. When that dried everyone added a drop of yellow to the center. I hotglued pins on the back. They were really cute and a hit.

Another year I made pins from pipe cleaners. They had one green one that we shaped into stem/leaves. The other one was pink and they just rolled it into a circle. Attach the two with the end of the stem. Glue a small yellow pompom into the center. Again, hot glue pin on back. They were cute, but some kids needed help shaping the leave/stem part.

K