PLACEMAT AND BRUNCH. Give each child an A4 coloured sheet of paper or card, a variety of craft shape punchers. Children can punch out a border and glue the punch-outs to the centre of the card then write messages to their mothers around that. Laminate the sheets to make a durable placemat. Then invite mums to come in near the end of the class time for juice and muffins and place them at their mat. Create A BANNER that honours mothers for your worship area. Print "Mothers Are a Gift from God" in the middle of a sheet of mural paper. Have children each cut out a package shape from pretty gift wrap and write their mother's name on the package. Then have them glue their package on the mural and attach a self-stick bow. BEARING FRUIT CARDS Give each child a packet of fruit or vegetable seeds and a sheet of construction paper. Ask a child to read aloud Galatians 5:22-23 about the fruit of the Spirit. Talk about these Scriptures as the children fold their papers in half to make cards. On the front page of the cards, have children write the words, "Mom, you plant the seeds. . . " Inside the cards on the right-hand side, have children glue their seed packets and write, ". . . that’ll help me bear fruit for Jesus." On the inside left-hand page of each card, have kids write the words from Galatians 5:22-23. Then have children sign their cards. Mothers will treasure this encouraging card. MOTHER'S DAY HATS (Dawn Coleman, Brea, California) For Mother’s Day, our kids made a special craft for their mothers. I purchased different styles and sizes of straw hats for $1 each. (I made sure I had enough hats for each mom represented in my class.) I asked ladies for donations of spare ribbons, silk flowers, buttons, fabric, and any other sewing notions that could be used to decorate a hat. Our children each carefully chose from the decorations to design a hat for their mom. Many of them chose the flowers and colours their moms liked best. Once children decided where they wanted each item placed, they took the hats to one of the four “glue stations” where an adult secured the items with a hot-glue gun. We added a card to each hat that said, “Hats off to you, Mom!” This activity was a hit with our moms and kids. FLOWERS FOR SOMEONE SPECIAL (Paula Jo Logan, Pennsylvania) Preschoolers will take pleasure in giving these flowers for Mother's Day. You'll need large macrame beads, small silk flowers and Play-Doh. Have children each select a bead and silk flowers. Then help them each fill their beads with Play-Doh. Afterward, help them stick their flowers' stems into the Play-Doh in their beads. The bead becomes the vase for the flowers. Encourage children each to give their gift to Mom for Mother's Day. PAPER CHAIN NECKLACE Children honour their mothers by creating paper chains describing some of the things their mothers have taught them Scripture: Proverbs 1:8-9 Preparation: You’ll need a Bible, watercolour markers, and transparent tape or a stapler. Prepare at least twenty one-by-four-inch strips of coloured paper for each child and one two-by-eight-inch strip for each child. Experience: Give each child at least twenty paper strips. Provide several watercolour markers for kids to share. Say: Since we’re celebrating Mother’s Day this week, we’re going to think about our mothers today. On each slip of paper, write one thing your mother has taught you. If kids have trouble, spark their thinking with ideas such as how to eat, how to dress, how to tie a shoelace, how to have manners etc. After kids have completed their strips, have them make paper chains by looping each strip with another strip then taping or stapling it to create a "link." Then demonstrate how to make a chain into a necklace by looping the ends together. Have kids put their paper chains around their necks. Ask: How did you feel as you thought of all those things your mother has helped you learn? How important are the things you’ve learned from your mother? Say: The things we’ve learned from our mothers have helped us become who we are. God wants us to keep learning from our mothers just as we already have. Response: Have someone read aloud Proverbs 1:8-9. Ask: • How can a mother’s teaching be like a garland for your head or a chain for your neck? • What does the paper chain you made do for your appearance? • How does your chain honour your mother? Closing: Have children each write on a two-by-eight-inch strip of paper a message thanking their mothers for all they have taught them. Then tell them to loop the strip around the necklace and let it hang from the chain like a pendant. Encourage kids to give the necklaces to their mothers. Instructions: Type the below headings onto an A4 piece of card. Kids stick each item under the heading, decorate the card and present it to mum. You need: tee light candle, small eraser, marble, safety pin, cotton ball, paper clip, balloon, button. Hot glue guns under supervision.