motherday

	Celebrate May! Let's dance! "The flowers of all the tomorrows are sown in the seeds of today!"--unknown
Dance around a Maypole! Welcome May with a very easy singing Maypole! This is very simple fun, great indoors or outside & works for one kid or more. You need: One grown-up who will (literally) stand in as the Maypole At least one dancer Long ribbons -- one six foot length for each dancer Tie all the ribbons together at one end. The grown-up who will be the Maypole holds the knotted ribbons over her head. Each dancer takes one loose end of ribbon and can now dance around the Maypole. This is a great way to practice listening skills: say "stop" & "start!" When the grown-up sings, the dancers dance, when she stops, everyone freezes & listens for the singing to begin again. Remind kids to keep some space between one another. Read about the Bright Bunnies' May Celebration in storytelling, then print our Add-Art page for your child to decorate!		Mother's Day is coming up! Consider recycling to create a special present. Kids love to transform things! Visit our recycling page and our creating page for projects that kids enjoy . . . Friend-to-friend Mom-to-Mom Free up the hands of a Mom you love! . . . a favorite gadget of ours is a headset to plug into a portable telephone. Suddenly, you can move freely when talking on the phone! (about $20.00) One terrific book for a mother you love -- especially one who loves nature -- a new print of Rachel Carson's "Sense of Wonder." Her words are as inspiring as sunlight after a bunch of rainy day. Rachel Carson was one of the pioneers of environmental awareness. She wrote the Silent Spring and turned a nation's attention to the dangers of chemical pesticide sprays. In The Sense of Wonder, Carson captures inspiring walks and seasons spent with one of her favorite children. The extended essay was first published in 1956 as an article called "Help Your Child to Wonder" for Woman's Home Companion. (The Sense of Wonder, Rachel Carson, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 1998. Photographs by Nick Kelsh. Hardback, 110 pages, $20.00.) more books
		Take a spring walk!
Join the Bright Pink Bunny for a great print & play exercise book. Just in time for spring training, you can bend, stretch & bounce along!		Share the adventures of the Bright Pink Bunny & friends... Make your own Bunny with our easy Bunny outline to decorate or trace.

Enjoy windy days -- make a kite book!		Wind poetry, songs & garden ideas!
Creating celebrations, whether for a traditional holiday, a special family occasion or an invented reason, will help you share shining hours with your favorite children. Getting ready to celebrate something can be as much fun for children as the actual celebratory event. Archives: Earth Day love Autumn Celebrate Illumination Night! spring gardening		Visit our companion site: butterflyschool.net for daily Activity Sheets full of springy ideas . . . Simple, elegant and cheerful paper flowers are easy to make with our Butterfly School pattern links! Bluebells and Asters and Daisies
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Helping children get ready for Mother's Day!

Some kids want to make a gift entirely by themselves. You can teach your child to make something special & once your child is comfortable making it, let your child know how much you like the project. You can then put in a special request for your child to make you one just for Mother's Day!

Paper frames are an excellent project. They are easy to learn, flexible & give your child a finished way to present a drawing they have made.

Once your child has selected a drawing or photograph to frame, help glue the work onto a larger piece of paper. Next, trim the larger paper so it evenly borders the work to be framed (1/2 inch for small works, 1 inch for larger works). Fold the larger piece over the work & glue it down. Now the frame can be personalized with patterns, the artist's name, the recipient's name, etc. If your child makes a mistake, just repeat the process with another paper. You can even do this on purpose to create the look of a mat.

Make sure your child has access to the materials she'll need & be willing to help if necessary. Your child can feel very proud of learning something new & sharing it with you. If your child is not ready to work independently but does understand the idea of gift-giving, you can do a project together & ask if your child would give you one of the works for Mother's Day!

Back to celebrating for more project ideas.