It is also a day of remembrance and prayer for mothers who have died. .... How
about writing an acrostic poem for Mom on Mother's Day? Acrostics are a fairly ...
Mother's Day Having a mother is something that all people have in common, making Mother's Day a holiday for everyone. Outside the United States, Mother's Day is celebrated on the same day in Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia and Belgium. Many other countries also celebrate Mother's Day on different dates, making it one of the most universal holidays in the world. Join HLN as we celebrate Mother's Day! Mother's Day is celebrated every year on the second Sunday in May. Many people celebrate by spending time with their mothers, making them special breakfasts and giving them gifts of flowers and sweets. It is also a day of remembrance and prayer for mothers who have died. Many churches hold special services honoring the mothers of their congregation through prayer and thanksgiving. Where did this remarkable holiday come from? Early Celebrations In ancient times, there were spring festivals dedicated to mother goddesses. In ancient Greece, the goddess Rhea was celebrated as the mother of the gods. In Rome the spring mother's festival was dedicated to the goddess Cybele. In Celtic lands the people honored the Mother goddess Brigitonia who was later changed into the Christian Saint Brigit. Mothering Sunday During the 1600s a holiday named "Mothering Sunday" was celebrated in England on the fourth Sunday of Lent (the 40 days before Easter). Some historians believe that the ancient Roman ceremony honoring Cybele was "christianized" by the English church to venerate Mary, the Mother of Christ. On Mothering Sunday custom dictated that everyone visit the church where they were baptized and bring offerings. Servants were given the day off to go home on Mothering Sunday to visit their mothers. It was customary for them to bring a "mothering cake" and other small gifts. Mother's Day in America In 1872 Julia Ward Howe, author of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," first suggested a special Mother's Day holiday to promote peace. Ms. Howe organized Mother's Day meetings in Boston, Massachusetts, for many years. Julia Ward Howe was one of the great feminist reformers of her day. She fought for the abolition of slavery, for equality, women's rights, and world peace. Mrs. Howe worked with the U.S. Sanitary Commission during the Civil War helping to clean up the war camps where so many young men were dying not from battle wounds but from dysentery caused by poor sanitation. Here she met Anna Reese Jarvis. The two women seemed to influence each other's ideas about the need to create a holiday recognizing women's efforts and to promote peace and harmony both in the family and the world. Both women went on to promote the idea of a special "mothers day." After the war Anna Reese Jarvis tried to organize a Mother's Friendship Day to help heal the emotional wounds of families torn apart by the Civil War. Mrs. Jarvis died in 1905 and her daughter, Anna M. Jarvis, took up the cause in a new form.
Anna M. Jarvis is credited with originating Mother's Day. She never married and was very attached to her mother. Two years after her mother's death Ms. Jarvis launched a campaign to declare a national Mother's Day holiday. She wanted children both young and old to appreciate their mothers more and hoped Mother's Day would encourage greater respect for parents and strengthen families. The First Mother's Day Ms. Jarvis asked her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia, to celebrate Mother's Day on the second anniversary of her mother's death, the second Sunday of May 1907. She brought 500 white carnations, her mother's favorite flower, to the service. She chose white carnations to represent the sweetness, purity and endurance of a mother's love. Today white carnations are worn on Mother's Day to honor a mother who has died; colored carnations represent a living mother. The first state to officially celebrate Mother's Day was West Virginia in 1910. By 1911 nearly every other state also honored Mother's Day. Other countries also celebrating Mother's Day at this time included Mexico, Canada, China, Japan, South America and Africa. The Mother's Day International Association was created on December 12, 1912, to encourage meaningful observations of Mother's Day around the world. Presidential Proclamation In May 1913, the House of Representatives unanimously adopted a resolution requesting all officials of the federal government, including the president, his cabinet, and members of Congress to wear a white carnation on Mother's Day. The following year, on May 8, 1914, Congress passed a Joint Resolution officially designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. President Woodrow Wilson issued this proclamation making Mother's Day an official national holiday:
"Now, Therefore, I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the said Joint Resolution, do hereby direct the government officials to display the United States flag on all government buildings and do invite the people of the United States to display the flag at their homes or other suitable places on the second Sunday in May as a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country."
Learn More! General Resources about Mother's Day Online Resources • • • • •
Happy Mother's Day Mother's Day history, craft ideas, recipes and plenty more! Happy Mother's Day History, poems, bible quotes, and more. KidsLink - Mothers Day Resources A list of recommended sites on the Internet related to Mother's Day. Everything Mothers Day.com Lots of articles and ideas related to Moms including quotes, recipes, and tributes. The Home of Mother's Day on the Net Poems, songs, crafts, recipes and more to help you celebrate Mother's Day.
• •
Mother's Day History A brief history of Mother's Day. Mother's Day Proclamation Written by Julia Award Howe.
Books • • • • • •
Grieve, Bradley Trevor. Dear Mom. Andrews McMeel Publishing. ISBN: 0740715283 Hupp, Sarah. Happy Mother's Day! Honor Books. ISBN: 1562927825 Balian. Lorna. Mother's Mother's Day. Humbug Books. ISBN: 0687370973 French, Vivian. A Present for Mom. Candlewick Press. ISBN: 0763615870 Eick, Jean. Mother's Day Crafts: Holiday Crafts Series. Childs World. ISBN: 1567665381 Nielsen, Shelley. Celebrating Mother's Day. Abdo & Daughters. ISBN: 1562397044
LESSON 1: Mothers at the Turn of the Century Concepts: Your children will learn about events in the women's rights movement around the time that Mother's Day was made a national holiday. Lesson: President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Mother's Day a national holiday in 1914. This was a time of great change for women in America. In 1910, Washington State became the first state to allow women to vote. By 1918 the entire country would allow women to vote. In 1917 the first woman member of Congress was sworn in. For this lesson encourage your students to research the women's rights movement around the turn of the twentieth century. Ask them if they think that the timing of the creation of the Mother's Day holiday by President Wilson and the members of Congress was politically motivated. Have them write a short essay defending why or why not. A good beginning point in their research is this Detailed Timeline outlining major events in women's history from 1848 to 1998.
LESSON 2: Tissue Carnations Concepts: Your children will learn about making tissue carnations. Lesson: Carnations have become the traditional flower to give on Mother's Day. Here is an easy and elegant project for making tissue paper carnations that look real enough to fool Mom! Find out Mom's favorite colors and get started using this set ofprintable directions to Make a Mother's Day Carnation Bouquet. Talk about the parts of a flower (see Web sites below) while the children are making their carnations. For a simpler version that is easier for younger children, try this great Tissue Paper Carnation from Kinder Art. Additional Resources • • •
Flower Anatomy Worksheet Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus) Crocheted Carnation Advanced project.
LESSON 3: Vases and Candleholders
Stained Glass
Concepts: making vases and candleholders using
Your children will learn about tissue and jars.
Lesson: tissue carnations in Lesson 2 or gather need a vase to put them in. Here's a really beautiful vase for Mom. The candleholders to put on the dinner takes a relaxing bath.
Whether the children make Mom flowers from the garden, they will simple and easy project to make a children can also make a pair of table or for Mom to use when she
Have the children use these printable "Stained Glass" Vase and
directions to Make a Mother's Day Candleholder.
Additional Resources : •
KinderArt : Bath Salts for Mom
LESSON 4: Crazy Carnation Science Concepts: Your children will learn about how water rises in plants. Lesson: If the children want to get real carnations for Mom, then this is the lesson for them! Make sure to get at least a few white carnations and put them in jars with different food coloring colors to see what happens! Before the children start, discuss how plants need water to grow. Ask where they get it from? Roots! How does the plant get the water from the roots to the flower? Transpiration! Have the children research more about it in an encyclopedia and the resources listed below. Have the children make notes every hour or two on what they see. Do this experiment two days before Mother's Day so the unusually colored flowers will be ready to give her! For older kids advance the experiment. Measure as exactly as possible the same amounts of water and food coloring (same color) in two different jars. Put one in a cool moist place like the fridge and the other in a warm dry place like a sunny windowsill (mist it with water). Keep track of the changes every few hours. Why the differences? For a twist on the experiment, split the stem of one carnation about 6-8" and put each half in a different colored water! Additional Resources: • •
Encyclopedia.com: Transpiration Water Regulation in Plants
LESSON 5: Mother's Day Poetry Concepts: Your children will learn about acrostic poetry. Lesson: How about writing an acrostic poem for Mom on Mother's Day? Acrostics are a fairly simple form of poetry where the first letter of each line spells a word going vertically down the page. Have the children use this Mothers Day Poem worksheet to write out an acrostic poem spelling "MOTHER." Ask them to rough it out on scratch paper first. Another option is to write a poem using Mom's first name - use this Blank Mother's Day Poem worksheet. The blank worksheets can also be used to draw an illustration for the poem. Have younger children just write a single word for each letter or line of the poem. An example of a Mother's Day acrostic poem for a mom named Ellen:
Everyday you help me grow Letting me know you love me so Little things you say and do Encouraging words I hear from you Now I joyfully attest, you're my Mom, and you're the best! Another example of a slightly different style of a Mother's Day acrostic poem:
M... is for the million things she gave me, O... means only that she's growing old, T... is for the tears she shed to save me, H... is for her heart of purest gold; E... is for her eyes, with love-light shining, R... means right, and right she'll always be.
Put them all together, they spell "MOTHER," A word that means the world to me. 1915) Additional Resources: •
Mother's Day Poems & Poetry
--Howard Johnson (c.
LESSON 6: Mother's Day Feast Concepts: Your children will learn to make an outstanding Mother's Day feast at home. Lesson: Lots of moms get taken out to lunch or dinner on Mother's Day. How about making Mom a feast fit for a queen at home? This is a great opportunity for kids to learn about setting an elegant table, cooking a fancy meal and presenting it beautifully. Breakfast is a great meal for younger children to prepare and can have easy main courses such as blueberry pancakes or French toast that can be garnished with elegantly carved fruit like these flowers. Older children may want to try their hand at more complex lunch and dinner menus. Older children can also do some reading to Learn To Set A Table in casual and elegant styles. Napkin Folding can be fun for all ages and can be done with paper napkins too if no linens are available. Have the children put flowers, vase, and candleholders from Lessons 2 and 3 on the table! The children can make special place cards and decorate Mom's with a few fresh flowers or make an extra shortstemmed tissue carnation. Finally, make sure everyone dresses up for the occasion! Additional Resources: • • • • •
Mother's Day Placemat The Japanese Art of Garnishing All Recipes.com Napkin Folding 101 Napkin Folding Tutorials
LESSON 7: Crafty Gift Ideas for Mom Concepts: Your children will learn about crafts for Mother's Day gifts. Lesson: What to make for Mom? This is a good question to ask your children. To help them find the answers look through these list of project ideas and choose the one that best suits your children's interests and available materials. Have fun! • • • • • •
Mother's Day Craft Activities from Kinder Art. Mother's Day Placemat Mother's Day Magic: Today's Gift, Tomorrow's Treasure An Education World article with some great craft ideas like special Mother's Day soaps and potpourris. Crafts Exchange: Crafts for Teens Misc. Crafts for Teens and Adults Keepsake hardware locket
Article by Laurie Furumoto Curriculum Development Article © Homeschool Learning Network, All Rights Reserved.
