Celebrating Mother’s Day in the classroom can be a lot of fun. There are so many fun activities and crafts to make and do, but my favourite thing to do each year is to hold a Mother’s Day pampering session where the students can spoil their Mum (or Aunties, Nannas, big sisters… the list goes on).
If you have not done this in your classroom yet, then you must try it now (if you are lucky enough to have very few Covid-19 restrictions like us)! It is always such a hit with not only the Mums, but the children too.
So where do you start?
The amount of preparation to organise the Mother’s Day pampering session will depend on which activities you decide to do on the day. Below I will outline some of the activities that I do each year.
Mother’s Day Photo Booth
You can set this up any way you want. I normally create a cute little corner in the classroom and decorate it nicely for some photo opportunities for mother and child. I ask a volunteer to take photos on my iPad, that way I can easily add them to SeeSaw for parents to see and keep for themselves.
All of the items you can see in this photo were purchased from Kmart. I also gathered a collection of cute photo props from Kmart, like a hat, bunch of flowers, necklaces, a chalkboard, novelty glasses and masks from the party section.
Hand Massage
All Mums love to sit and relax and enjoy a massage! At this table we set up with a colourful tablecloth and a pump bottle of moisturiser. The children sit across from their Mum and massage her hands with the moisturiser.
Nail Painting
This one is a favourite! You can’t have a Mother’s Day pampering session without nail painting! Again, we set this station up with a nice colourful tablecloth, a variety of nail polishes, nail polish remover and tissues. The kids absolutely LOVE painting their Mum’s nails and it is always a joy watching the Mums’ reactions as their nails (and fingers) get painted in rainbow colours! The children always like to get their Mum to paint their nails too!
Making Fairy Bread
Making fairy bread with Mum is super simple and also provides a quick snack for Mum and child. Provide the bread, butter and 100s and 1000s and let them enjoy quality time together.
Mum and Me Painting
I usually set this activity up outside with a few easels and paint pots. The children love to paint a picture of themselves with their Mum – this one is always a favourite to take home when it’s dry! You can get the Mum and Me Painting template for FREE by clicking the button below. The document is editable so that you can change the text to suit your needs.
Make a Bracelet
At this station I have some colourful beads and pre-cut string so the students can make their Mum a bracelet or necklace. You can also use things like coloured macaroni, fruit loops or cut up straws for the children to thread onto the string.
Icing Cupcakes
We begin this activity a couple of days before the pampering session by baking cupcakes. This is always such a fun small group activity where students can learn to follow a recipe. We make enough cupcakes for all the Mums and students.
On the day, the students and their Mums get to ice the cupcakes together and decorate with the provided sprinkles and other cake decorations.
Add a Special Touch
This is my personal favourite part of organising the Mother’s Day pampering session. In the days/ weeks leading up to Mother’s Day I make a series of very short videos of the students sending a lovely message to their Mums. I start by recording each student blowing Mum a kiss. Then each student says “I love my Mum because…”. We finish off recording each student saying “I love you Mum” and waving. I then use iMovie on my iPad and combine all the videos into one and add some nice music in the background. Before all the Mums leave, I AirPlay the video to our classroom interactive screen. It is safe to say, the Mums absolutely adore this and we often get tears of happiness.
Mother’s Day Activity Checklist and Tolsby Frame Inserts
To help the students and their Mum’s navigate their way around the activities and ensure they don’t miss anything, we use signs on the activity tables and a cute checklist.
If you have ever got your hands on the Tolsby Frames from Ikea you will know how versatile they are. They are perfect for displaying what each activity is. I use these Editable Mothers Day Tolsby Frame Inserts. You can use the labels that are included or edit to make your own.
Each student also collects a Mother’s Day Activity Checklist to tick off the activities as they complete them. This checklist is editable so that you can change the text and activities to suit you.
I really hope that you have gained some fun ideas for your Mother’s Day pampering session. If you would like some more ideas for celebrating Mother’s Day in your classroom, including gift ideas and another freebie, take a look at this Mother’s Day Activities For the Classroom post.
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