Easy Mother’s Day Craft For Kids

I love getting kid made gifts especially for holidays like Mother’s Day . This is possibly the easiest mother’s day craft ever. Anyone , even the most un-crafty person can handle it , add in a few fresh flowers and you have a cute and functional gift for mom. As you will see both my kids made one and I have a few tips for doing this with a toddler .This is a great last minute craft to make as there are few steps and almost no drying time either!

1. Gather your materials. You will need a small smoothie sized container , permanent markers, ribbon and scissors. I also used some cardboard for a mat to protect the table.
2. Start by taking the labels off the bottles.
3. Start coloring. They can write words, do a drawing or just some fun abstract designs. Using permanent markers is a huge treat at my house so my son was thrilled.
4. The markers don’t dry right away so make sure you tell your kids to be careful to avoid the wet marker. This made my son take more care while making it which is a goal for us. We are working hard on him not rushing through everything.
5. My daughter who is 22 months even made one. I sat her on my lap and held the bottle for her while she used the markers. By having her on my lap I could easily grab the marker if it started towards the table, her face, my face… anywhere that permanent marker would not be welcome.
6. Next tie some ribbon and add flowers. We will put real tulips in on Sunday. 

Favorite Books About Mom

I Love You Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt is a wonderful mushy book that will still appeal to kids that aren’t so into mush. A little boy in his PJs asks his mom if she will still love him even if he was a series of terrible monsters. It reminds me of “The Runaway Bunny” but less saccharine and creepy. Sorry if I have just called your favorite book creepy but I’ve never been a fan of “The Runaway Bunny”. Back to this book and why I like it, I love that the little boy in the book keeps trying to find ways to make him unlovable and the mom keeps finding ways to love unconditionally. There is a deeper meaning here and moms will see past the fun illustrations to the real heart of this book, which is no matter what we love our children. When I found this in a thrift store and read it quickly, I couldn’t look at my son in his stroller throwing puffs on the floor without tearing up.

Mommy, Mama, and Me by Lesléa Newman is a book about everyday life of a family with two moms. What I love about this book is that it showcases parts of the day that young toddlers through preschoolers can relate to easily. They have bath time, they go to the park, they cook dinner, in other words they are a family like any with a small child. My son loved this book and related easily to the baby in the book and to the experiences that they share.The book makes no political statement, no explanation of two mommies and it shouldn’t, it’s a book about one loving family and nothing more.

 Mama Always Comes Home by Karma Wilson was a last minute grab at the library that I am so thankful I saw. It starts off with animal mother’s leaving their babies, for all different reasons . A bird gathering food, a dog greeting his master and more. The animal mothers leave, but they also always return to their babies. Then it switches to a child and mother. She reassures the child that she will be back and we watch her leave, and return . I loved this book because my son isn’t the best when I leave him, he related to this book immediately and was repeating ” Mama always comes home!” half way through