Say it with a poem this Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day poems can be one of the most treasured, meaningful gifts a mum can receive from her child.

Mother’s Day art, craft and morning/afternoon tea are all wonderful inclusions in Mother’s Day celebrations, but this year we’re focusing on poetry for the occasion.

Mother’s Day Poetry – The benefits

The benefits of poetry for children are many and varied.

We recently wrote about how poetry can benefit children’s development, including their memory, emotional comprehension and physical coordination.

In Reading Magic, fantastic Australian author Mem Fox says:

“Rhymers will be readers: it’s that simple. Experts in literacy and child development have discovered that if children know eight nursery rhymes by heart by the time they’re four years old, they’re usually among the best readers by the time they’re eight.”

There is a huge amount of research to support that poetry makes learning language easier and much more enjoyable for children.

Poetry is fun to learn and reading it aloud can help children to build confidence and self-esteem (along with memorisation and rhythm).

Roses are red, violets are blue, here’s a Mother’s Day poem for you

Use poem writing as an exercise in vocabulary development and self-expression with the children in your centre (or at home).

An acrostic Mother’s Day poem is a great one to try with young children. It is simple and places the emphasis on letter recognition, spelling and increasing vocabulary. Here’s an example from Kidspot:

Adapt this approach to suit whichever name children use to call their mother, including other languages or for relatives who fulfill the maternal role in children’s lives.

As always we remind centres to stay inclusive and open Mother’s Day celebrations to the special women in children’s lives, whether they are grandmothers, aunties, step mums and the like. Every family is unique.

Any child can read a poem to their mother. With a help of an adult, young children can say only some of the words or do actions to accompany the poem.

We would love to share the Bonkers Beat poem ‘My Mum’ with you all to use for this Mother’s Day.

Gain exclusive access to this Mother’s Day poem here.

If you have a special Mothers’ Day poem of your own to share, we’d love to see it on Facebook!

 

 

 

Image designed by Freepik

6 Ways to Make Mums Feel Special this Mother’s Day

It’s almost that special day in May that we all celebrate mums and mother figures in children’s lives! Making sure mums feel special this Mother’s Day on Sunday 8 May is easy with these six ways.

1. Create something to treasure

Many mums like jewellery, so why not make a real craft activity out of it and help children to make the beads and paint them for a bracelet or necklace for mum! Make them, bake them, paint them, thread them and VOILA a beautiful keepsake for mums to cherish over the years! Head here for instructions.
Other ideas are this gorgeous egg carton art, some lovely icy-pole stick photo frames or colourful tissue paper flowers.

2. Write something thoughtful

Homemade cards are a must (try this handprint card!). Help children to write something thoughtful by prompting them with questions like ‘What is your favourite thing to do with mummy?’, or ‘What makes your mummy special?’.

3. Make it personal

Mother’s Day can be a different, personal experience for many children. Don’t forget that sometimes mum may not be present, so aunties, grandmothers, step-mums and other mother figures may be more appropriate for some children.

4. Invite mums to celebrate

A Mother’s Day breakfast, morning or afternoon tea is fun for everyone! Plan ahead, let families know and keep it simple. And our next two suggestions make this even more enjoyable!

5. Make mums something yummy

These Jam Drops are a simple treat for children to help make for mums, aunts and grandmothers visiting the centre. Of course, there are the classic scones, fruit kebabs and many other options to explore.

6. Sing a special song

You may like to help children learn this short Mother’s Day poem as a special performance element for your Mother’s Day celebrations. It is always loved by children and mums! We’re sure you’ll find it is sweet and meaningful for every kind of mum. We always recite this poem with actions – they are quite obvious but if you’re not sure, create your own!

There you have it – six ways to make mums feel special. Happy Mother’s Day!

Every Mum is Special

Mother's Day

Mother’s Day is around the corner – Sunday 10 May is the day to show mums extra TLC in 2015 (in Australia, that is).

No doubt you are all planning your Mother’s Day morning or afternoon tea events at the moment, so to give you a helping hand we’ve trawled the internet to put together just a few ideas for you… (Parents – all of these ideas are just as fun for celebrating mums are home too!)

FOOD: There’s the standard Mother’s Day treats likes scones and tea, then there’s these fantastic super fun suggestions including choc fruit kebabs, mint chocolate chip pancakes and flower sandwiches.

DECORATIONS: Getting children to create personalised placemats is a simple craft activity that can double as an extra little gift for mums. Yoghurt pot flowers make a great table centrepiece.

GIFTS: There are some gorgeous craft ideas to inspire you here. Of course, you probably have many of your own so please let us know your extra special DIY gift ideas by commenting on the blog post or sharing with us on Facebook.

The beauty of mothers is often in their uniqueness – as such, each child may have a different idea of how they would like to let their mum know that they love them. Get talking with children and find out before embarking on a production line of love heart cards – let’s make sure we open up to children’s ideas too. Of course keep in mind that in some cases it will be more appropriate to direct Mother’s Day gifts to grandmothers or aunts of some children.

Speaking of gifts, we would love to share this short Mother’s Day poem with you which is always loved by children and mums! We’re sure you’ll find it is sweet and meaningful for every kind of mum and perhaps you’d like to utilise it in some way during your Mother’s Day celebrations. We always recite this poem with actions – they are quite obvious but if you’re not sure, create your own!

We’d love to hear how you are celebrating Mother’s Day… Whether you’re a parent or an educator, share with us: facebook.com/BonkersBeat.

Happy Mother’s Day!

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