Mother’s Day Ideas for GATE Students
When I taught 3rd grade, I felt like I wanted to do something special for my students to give to their moms on Mother’s Day, but the kids were too old for arts and crafts. I wanted them to create something meaningful, but also something that represented the stage of life they were in – not yet teenagers, but no longer young children.
Therefore, I recently sat down and spent some time brainstorming…Out of the Box ideas for Mother’s Day that require critical thinking and creativity.
Important note about celebrating Mother’s Day:
Before I begin, I recognize that not all students have mothers. Growing up, I lost my father at a very young age. Fathers day was always hard for me. But, as I got older, I recognized that the day was not intended to celebrate having a father. It was intended to show gratitude towards those in your life that love and support you.
Looking back on my experience, I wish someone would have told me this – given me the opportunity to shift my mindset and allow me to feel like I didn’t have to wallow on that day. Therefore, as I move forward with my students, we recognize ALL the people in our lives that support us and impact us. I urge you as an educator to not ignore this holiday, but rather celebrate it, open it up to the celebration of loved ones, and help all children recognized they are loved by adults regardless of the “mother” or “father” status.
1. Create a Scratch Game for Mother’s Day
My students in the upper grades LOVE Scratch Coding. What I love most about it as a teacher is the critical thinking and creativity that goes into their coding. Little do they realize they are developing so many 21st century skills that can be useful in so many different ways. Exposing your students to coding at a young age is crucial – don’t be afraid, let them explore and explore with them!
Upon a quick Youtube Search, I found so many Scratch Tutorials on creating Mother’s Day cards and games. Your students could watch the tutorials and follow them, or try to create their own! What a fun thing they could share with their mother or special person!
Here are some tutorials:
2. Create a Puzzle for Mother’s Day
You can have your students create a puzzle using facts about their Mom or special person. What is super fun about this idea is that the kids can print it and bring it home to complete with their family.
Some ideas for puzzles and links to create them digitally:
3. Blackout Poetry for Mother’s Day
Blackout Poetry has recently been all over the internet as a fun artistic and creative projects that require a bit of critical thinking. When completed, it can look incredible and be a great keepsake. This would be a great activity for students to make about their mother or a special someone. As a teacher, you could even frame the poetry for the students to take home (hello dollar tree frames!).
Below are a few links to websites and examples of Blackout Poetry:
4. Create a Mother’s Day Mystery
Lastly, but my most favorite – have students dive into their creative writing and critical thinking through developing a mystery story. As I was thinking through different Mother’s Day activities, I thought this would be an incredibly engaging way for students to think about someone special in their life. The only downfall…I couldn’t find a resource for it! Therefore..I created my own.
In my Mother’s Day Mystery Project, students will analyze their mother (or a special person), develop a problem and solution, create characters, establish clues, learn about red herring clues, and finally write their mystery.
When I was making this, I had so much fun writing about my mother and I could imagine many 3rd-5th grade gifted students having a blast creating this mystery for someone else to solve. Once they are done creating it? Send it home for mom to read and see if she can solve!
Check out the product here: Mother’s Day Mystery Writing Project
Thanks!
If you try one of these strategies with your older students, I would love to know! Share your thoughts, ideas, suggestions, and more in the comments below! Join the conversation here or on Instagram!
Interested in more resources? Head to my TPT: Gifted With Goldens
Interested in learning more about critical thinking? Check out these two blog posts:
