I've never been one to send a parent home with an extravagant piece of artwork for such a special occasion as Mother's Day. I realize this may sound odd considering MOTHER'S DAY IS A BIG DEAL and should be recognized as a national holiday in my opinion, but bigger isn't always better, and to be honest not all Motherly figures are women. Hear me out.

To me, a Mother's day gift should have more meaning and time put into it than a months' worth of artwork. It should also be something that a mother, single father, gay, lesbian, foster parent, custodial grandparent, or whoever is taking on the role of Motherhood, can genuinely cherish later in life when their little one has grown up and has left the preschool days behind them. It should also be something that won't break if you accidentally drop it!

Usually I include some sort of picture collage with a card their child has made. These past few months however have been what seems like a test in my professional and maternal values and beliefs. So, this year I kept our Mother's Day gifts simple and meaningful.

Fingerprints as stems with small wads of colored tissue paper to make a paper banner of spring flowers for a card. Inside reads lyrics to a song I found on www.preschoolexpress.com by Heather McHail, sang to the tune of "Twinkle, twinkle, little star".

Mommy, Mommy, I love you.
Yes I do, yes I do.
You're so sweet and oh so kind,
I'm so glad that you are mine.
Mommy, Mommy I love you.
Yes I, yes I, yes I do.

What I liked about this song is that you can easily change the word "Mommy" to Daddy, Auntie, your child's name, etc. What a great way for families of all types to say I love you to each other without leaving someone out.

I hope you like it as much as I did and use it with the children (or adults) closest to your heart. Everyone loves to be loved. And by the way......when was the last time you serenaded to someone you love?

Being alone with five children all day doesn't always motivate me to bring out the "messy" art because I know what awaits me when they all finish at the same time, but I can't deny such fun!  So I want to share a little secret to anyone out there who is affraid of paint. 

I get it.  Paint IS messy, it gets on your clothes, walls, floor, chairs,.....hair even!  Don't worry.  I have a solution (kinda). 

USE TEMPERA CAKES!! 
I love these!  All you need is some soap and water to clean up the mess and IT IS GONE. 

The package says for children 3 and up but really,......as long as no one is chompin' down on these cakes and taking a mouthfull of paint, I'm pretty sure the kids will be okay. 
Just don't leave the littlest ones alone! 

Simple. 

Children are natural born investigators.  That's how they learn!  Yes eventually it will end up in thier mouths but that's why you're there, to make sure they don't get carried away with it.

She how happy he is :)

Then you get this. 

See how his look went from happy to serious.  He's concentrating on getting back that bowl he was banging on the table.  I had to remove the paper because once he figured out the bowl was more fun, the paper got in his way. 

Don't be afraid to let them decide how they want to use these paints either.  They started out painting on a piece of paper on the table, to painting the bottoms of their feet and making foot prints, to just painting their feet entirely because it felt good. 

Next time I'll just line the floor with large sheets of butcher paper. 

Hmmm...... maybe not.
That might make a bigger mess, or a bigger masterpiece!


FYI...
Have some wet wash cloths ready :)



Here's where you can get them:

Lakeshore Learning

Waste not I say! 

Normally I don't like using food as art material but in cases like this I think it's okay.  When I cut open these Limes they were DRY and ready to go into to trash.  Then I realized how I could still get some use out of them.  We have been doing activities centered around the letter L this week and so it was actually perfect timing.  We haven't taught Grace the word Lime either, so that became the word of the day for us.

For the small wedge pieces I stuck corn-on-the-cob handles (can't remember what they are called) on the thickest part of the skin on the side to make them easier for her to handle. 

Children love to explore, and you want them to be able to enjoy this sensory fun, but please make sure they don't have any cuts on their hands if you are trying this at home because it will end up all over their hands :)

Basic skills involved in this activity:
 
Language through discussion.
Shape & Color Recognition with the use of cirlce & crescent shapes, and the color green.
Sensory Exploration through the use of hands, sight, scent, and multiple textures. 
Gross Motor by maneuvering hands, arms, and body to paint a large piece of paper and using odd-sized painting materials (limes).

The simplist form of expression from a young child can be seen in what some people might call scribbling.  At first glance we interpret these scribbles as random lines and circles sporadically written on paper.  We may even become annoyed when we see that paper after paper the results are the same.  A few dots here, a few dots there, a line here, a line there, all in a series of 3-7 papers for something that could have been done on one.  In all my years of teaching young children though, I have learned that there is more to these scribbles than I used to think. 

Children learn how to hold and manipulate a writting tool (which for some of us can be like learning how to use chopsticks for the first time).  They learn how to move it around a piece of paper while practicing forward, backward, around, up, and down movements.  They also learn patterns, shapes, letters, and colors, by seeing others draw them.  Exposure to other materials such as stencils, scissors, paint and paintbrushes also inspire them to get creative with this ability to create an image of the things they love or are curious about.

Here's a perfect example of what I mean.

Can you guess which "scribble" was labeled as an "A" by my 2-year-old?  See that one in the middle?  As soon as my daughter drew it, she said "A"!  Shocked in disbelief I agreed and praised her for her accomplishment even though the chances of her remembering this piece as a letter "A" are slim to none.  The fact of the matter is that the connections are slowly coming together for her because she has been exposed to writing since the day she could hold and use a marker on paper.  

Also, exposing her to letters in a simplified, fun, and non instructional way have begun to make the right connections that we see in these scribbles.  Likewise, had I not casually asked her what each drawing was, I could've missed out on this opportunity to expand on her interest in this particular letter!  Can you see where I'm going with this?  Simple scribbles eventually will have a meaning to a child if they are given the opportunity to learn and explore with different writing tools and materials (assuming they are age appropriate).

So the next time your preschooler asks for more paper, please remember that even though it may seem like your wasting paper, one day soon he or she will have had their fill of "scribbles" and surprise you with a work of art.  All because you have fostered this crucial stage of development.