Mother's Day Celebration

Happy Mother's Day to all of my fellow moms. I hope that you are spoiled with a nap and a meal that doesn't involve chicken nuggets or a pile of dirty dishes!

We celebrate Mother's Day at preschool every year with a little party. I'm going to be honest; it is such a stressful ordeal for me! Pinterest has completely upped the game with food and crafts and decorations and everything, and I absolutely cannot compete. Plus, I am not a huge fan of crafts, especially craft projects that look like an adult made them. Honestly, do moms want to receive a Mother's Day gift from their child or from their child's teacher? So, with that in mind, I am always on the hunt for a process-oriented project that the kids can make on their own and still looks "presentable" at our party. Almost an impossible task, right? Not this year!

My friend Jenn at Crayons & Cuties in Kindergarten posted a brilliant idea to have our little ones make their moms "Dime-On" necklaces. As soon as I read this tutorial, I knew that it was the perfect project for our preschoolers. We painted the necklaces per Jenn's instructions.

When they were dry, I added a string and a drop of super glue. The students picked out their favorite "Dime-On" to stick on the necklace.

Then they added pony beads to the string. This was an awesome fine motor activity. 

One of our sweet little ones remarked, "Oooooo, our moms is gonna wuv these sparkly things!" as he finished his necklace. My heart!

We also painted small wooden jewelry boxes from the craft store. They were $1 each. I glued a picture of each child on the inside, and the kids tucked their necklaces inside.

Then, it was time to put the finishing touches on our party. Instead of using our regular sign-in sheets, the students wrote their names on our white board easel.

Super-Gemma put together this cute bulletin board. She asked the students what they love about their moms, and wrote each child's response on a colorful flower cut out.

The students helped to put out table cloths, make muffins and fill the snack pitchers with iced tea and lemonade.

I think the Dime-On necklaces were a big hit! The moms all put them on right away. :)

We also typed the same message from the bulletin board and tied it to 2 roses for the kids to give to their moms.

I even had the chance to take off my teacher hat for a while, and just be a mom. When I opened Play to Learn in 2005, it was because I wanted to be home and teach my own little kids. They are now finishing 5th and 6th grades, and my baby just had her last preschool Mother's Day tea party. For 10 years, I have had the absolute pleasure and privilege of being my children's first teacher, and I cannot believe that my time as teacher-mom is coming to an end.

... excuse me while I go fetch some tissues. Sigh...