I have always gotten the small terra cotta pots, have the kids paint the outside and planted a flower in them. They always come out cute and the flower is nice for mom.
My students made paper bead necklaces for their mothers one year when we talked about Earth day and finding new uses for used things. They were such a hit that I've had my students make them several times in the past years for Mother's day gifts.
I have them make the bead from papers that have similar colors, basically following the directions as described on this website: http://www.dltk-kids.com/school/pape..._keychains.htm
(I haven't coated them with clear nail polish, but it might make them look shinier. Also, I use bamboo skewers, but maybe I'll try it this year with those small 'straw-like' coffee stirers. Each year I change it just a little bit.)
Next, I also have them integrate other plastic beads that follow a similar color scheme. I've found that it's easier for them to follow this procedure:
1. Cut out the pages with the colors you want.
2. Cut out the long triangle shapes.
3. Roll the shapes into beads (see webpage for description)
4. When you have about 20 paper beads (depending on the length you need.), arrange them in the order you want to string them, interspersing plastic colored beads, following whatever pattern of colors you want.
5. Take one plastic bead and tie the beading string to one end. (This keeps all following beads from falling off. *I had to learn about this the HARD way We kept having to start over several times, until I finally figured it out!*)
6. String all the rest of the beads on, in order.
7. Before tying off, make sure the beads as least fit over the head, but it might be better to make it even bigger.
There are quite a few webpages that explain how to make these beads, so you might want to google them (paper beads) to take the best suggestions from each set of directions.
Here's another page to look through. It has a few different twists on the same basic idea http://www.tappi.org/paperu/art_class/paperBeads.htm
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.
I noticed there are a lot of downloads of my booklet, but you're the only one who took the time to leave a reply on this thread. Thanks a lot! I really appreciate the feedback! Someone else left a positive comment on another thread, so I'm guessing there are others who are liking it, as well.
My students are working on their booklets right now, and it's nice to see how thoughtful they can be. They are really doing their best to make it a great gift!
Thanks for your message, klperry! I'd be interested to know how it works out as a center activity. I found that I had to give them quite a bit of support in terms of encouraging them to elaborate and explain their answers.
For the many who downloaded the booklet, I'm wondering if you made any revisions to fit the needs of your students. Last year I had included a page called "Recipe for my Mother" which was intended for students to list the "characteristics" that make up their mothers (1 cup of fun , 5 cups of patience, a pinch of anger, etc) but they didn't seem to understand and needed to have it explained over and over again, so I left it off, this year. This year, my group seemed to confuse "The funniest thing I remember" with "My favorite experience" so I may cut that page and add something else, next year, as well.
What might you change on the booklet for next year?
Risa
I tried to download the book, but it won't let me!! Can you attach it to my e-mail, and I'll try from there? It sounds so cute, and I'm desperate for a project!
Thanks!
Judy
Judy, I'm sorry I only found your post a few minutes ago. Had I seen it yesterday, I would have sent it immediately. At any rate, I am posting here to let you know that I just finished emailing the attachment to you.
To the others who left comments, thank you very much! I always appreciate positive comments letting me know it's a useful tool! It's amazes me to see how many downloads have been made of this project!
What I like about the MS Word attachments, here, is that once we download, we can make the tweaks or adjustments so that the page(s) fit our specific groups. So often, when I download a PDF document, I seem find a couple of things I wish I could adjust to more exactly meet the needs of my students or of the format I use.
Anyway, I've begun to ramble... Ooops!
Thanks again for letting me know you like the booklet!!
You're very welcome, gordongirl! I'm glad you'll be able to use it! You did some good investigating to track this one down since I originally posted it last year!
For anyone else who might need it, I re-posted the English Mother's Day, booklet and, this time, a Spanish translation of the same booklet on the following thread in case you might want to use it for students who speak Spanish at home: http://www.proteacher.net/discussion...ad.php?t=79427
Thanks for sharing this booklet! I did make a few changes to the pages, as you suggested (due to the confusion about the funny story and the funny thing my mom did). I took out a few of the questions, and added a top ten list (Why my mom is the best mom in the world) and also, I just put "A Poem for My Mom" at the top of one page, and the kids could choose what type of poem they wanted to add. There is also a page that I left blank; they are drawing a picture there.
The kids are having fun making this for their moms and it sure saved me trying to put something together at the last minute.
A colleague of mine does silhouettes. She teaches first and does all the tracing but since you have 5th, you might be able to partner them up.
In the "good ole days" we used overheads to cast a shadow onto a board of the profile of the child. The teacher traces the shadow onto black construction paper and then, cuts it out and mounts it onto white paper.
Now, our interactive board works well.
My friend actually has the kids create poems for their moms which could either be pasted on, under the silhouette or inside to make it more like a card.
Is there a way to change "mother" if a child lives with grandma or if there is not mother around? I didn't know if I needed to type it myself in word or if it can be altered in the attachment.
Thanks for the booklet! I have a zillion supplemental books but nothing really struck me! I teach 3rd and some things were so babyish when listed under primary (PK-3).
I didn't know if I needed to type it myself in word or if it can be altered in the attachment.
Since they are in Microsoft Word, you can easily revise these booklets to make them for Grandma or Auntie or for whomever (after you download them onto your computer.) Just delete "mom' or "mother" and add the title you want it to be. As a matter of fact, you can even change the page titles to make them be what you want them to be.
Last edited by Risa; 05-06-2009 at 08:02 AM..
Reason: To fix a typo...*sigh*
04-27-2007, 11:46 AM
We kept having to start over several times, until I finally figured it out!*)
Thanks again for letting me know you like the booklet!!
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