Mother’s Day Crafts and Gift Ideas for the Classroom: Easy & Cheap Projects for Young Learners (with Freebies!)

Mother’s Day is a wonderful opportunity to show appreciation and love for all the amazing moms (and mother figures) out there. As educators (and many of us moms ourselves!), we know there’s nothing quite as special as a heartfelt, handmade gift from a child. Whether it’s a thoughtful card, a cute craft, or a personalized gift, creating something with their own hands allows students to express their feelings in a meaningful way.

I know that Mother’s Day and Father’s Day have become somewhat controversial in recent years, and that’s totally okay! If these days aren’t something you celebrate, I completely understand. It’s important for us to be mindful of the diverse backgrounds and experiences of our students and their families, as days like these can bring up a variety of emotions. So if celebrating Mother’s Day isn’t the right fit for your class, feel free to skip it. But if you’re looking for a few sweet, simple, and heartfelt ideas, you’re in the right place!

In this blog post, I’m sharing some of my favorite Mother’s Day crafts, gifts, and card ideas that I’ve done with students in the past. These activities spark creativity and result in one-of-a-kind gifts that moms (hopefully!) will treasure forever. Let’s dive in!

Mother’s Day Gift Ideas:

1. Shrinky Dink Key Chains

I originally saw this idea posted by Simply Kinder on Facebook. She has a blog post about how to make these! Click here to read it!

This was a slightly stressful project, what with the prep work involved (cutting the shrink film and adding the lines with blue and red Sharpie), writing with Sharpie, and the shrink film was not my friend (I think I had to redo half of mine because they curled funny).

One major thing I learned… don’t put more than 2 in the oven at a time, and bake on the middle rack (I heard that one at a time produces even better results).  I put 4 on a cookie sheet and put 2 cookie sheets during my first try.. and ruined all of them 🙁

In the end, they turned out SO cute and the moms that year loved them but it was a stressful project! I had a class of 15 with no major behaviours and great fine motor that year but I don’t know if I would attempt this with a full class!

Something I might do differently is to have them write their messages on paper and I would trace over it for them on the shrinky dink. This way if one messed up in the oven, I can quickly make another one! I’ve also heard that not stressing when it starts curling and letting the oven do it’s magic without trying to interfere is also the trick!

Another similar idea: Last year, my son brought home a cute keychain (I can’t find a picture.. sorry!) it was in one of these and he had written “I Love You!” on one side and “Love, Name” on the other side. As a mom I loved it and although pricier it may be a less stressful option if you are wanting to do a keychain!

Here are some of the completed ones by the kiddos. They do turn out adorable!

2. Thumb-body Loves You! Magnets with Frozen Juice Concentrate Lids

Here’s another gift we’ve made in the past.. (and it’s CHEAP!) Juice Lid Magnets!

My teaching partner (in true Kindergarten teacher fashion🤣) had a bunch of frozen juice concentrates lids she had saved for a future project so as a team we decided that this was the perfect project to use them for!

First, I cut out a circle from cardstock to fit the juice lid and the kids put their thumbprint in the middle (we used a red inkpad) and wrote their names at the bottom. Then I wrote in “Thumb-body Loves You!” and taped it on the lid.  On the other side we added a magnet so that it could go on their fridge at home!

Here are some made by the kiddos.  They turned out soooo cute! One of my kids even wanted to do the “Thumb-body Loves You” part all by herself and did such a good job writing in that small space!

3. Tile Magnets

Another gift we’ve made in the past are these little magnets!

I got these 2 in x 2 in Matte White Mosaic Backsplash Tiles from Home Depot and cut them apart with an exacto knife.

Then I took the kids’ pictures. I had them choose a bouquet of tulips (yellow or pink) and hold them for the photo. I put them in PowerPoint, cropped the photo to 4 x 4 cm, added some text (the font is KG Life is Messy) and printed them out.

Last year I used Mod Podge to seal pictures on a similar project but the Mod Podge made the picture fade a bit so this year I laminated the pictures and hot glued them on instead. It worked out really well!

Here are some of the finished magnets:

Finally I added magnets to the back using hot glue.  A little tip, you can buy the smallest magnets but make sure you put four, one on each corner.  One big magnet doesn’t work nearly as well! I tried that with the first one and it fell off the whiteboard and cracked😅 #lessonlearned

In case you are wondering the magnets I used are the Craft Medley Magnetic Buttons (0.4 in/10mm) kind that you can buy at Dollar Tree.

Mother’s Day Card Ideas:

1. All About My Mom Questionnaire (Freebie!)

This is like a card and gift in one! Personally, as a mom now myself this is my FAVOURITE type of thing to get on Mother’s Day from the kids! I love hearing what they think of me. My oldest did a similar one in JK and SK and we have been doing a similar one for Father’s Day for my husband for years☺️

Some highlights of answers I’ve gotten in the past from my own kid:

• My mom is good at… using the vacuum. 🙃
• My mom is great at… work from home. 🤔
• My mom is “maybe 20” years old 😂
• I love my mom because… she helps me a lot 🥺

I also included an aunt, a grandma and a special person version so I hope that will work for most of your students! There is also a version for each with Canadian and American spelling for favourite/favorite so please print the one that fits your needs best! You can grab these printables from my Google Drive by clicking here or on the button below!

2. Fingerprint Bouquet Card (Freebie!)

For this one, first I got the kids to colour the bouquet on the front.

and also trace “Happy Mother’s Day”, the heart and print their name beside the heart.

Then they used their fingers and paint to make the stems and flowers. For the painting, I showed them the steps whole group and sat with small groups (2-4 at a time) and guided them as they created their bouquets.

I cut the printables out and the kids choose a colour for the card and glued it on.  At the end I hot glued some ribbon in the middle of the bouquet to finish the card off!

Want the printables for this card? It now includes a more inclusive version that says “person” instead of “mother” on the cover and “I Love You!” instead of “Happy Mother’s Day!” on the inside❤️ Click here on the button below to grab it!

3. Craft + Photo Card

I got the idea for this card off Pinterest (click here to see it on Pinterest, and if you know the original owner of the photo please let me know so I can give credit!) and knew I wanted to try it, since it looked soooo cute. But after I made my sample (below) I knew it would be waaaay too tricky for the kids to do independently. Then, I realized that this would be the perfect activity to do with big buddies during our weekly big buddy time!

They did a great job with their buddies and they did most, if not all of the the work! The buddies were just there to give them verbal direction when they were stuck.

4. “I 🩷 U” Photo & Chalk Card

We got this idea from Pinterest (posted by Burgh Baby) and make it the cover for our card one year!

I drew the heart and U with chalk on the pavement of our Kindergarten pen.  Then I had the kids lie down on the pavement so their bodies would look like the letter I. Then I got up on a ladder to snap the picture.

For the inside I had the kids tell me what they wanted to write in their Mother’s Day cards and then I typed it into a word document. I typed almost exactly what the kids said. They needed very few prompting and if they did I prompted them with questions like “What is your favourite thing about your mom? What is your favourite thing to do with your mom?” etc.

They came up with some adorable things to say, so I hope the moms enjoyed this one!

Here is an example of the inside:

After we printed everything out, I had the kids glue their cover and message inside the card!

Wrapping Up the Gifts + Cards:

1. Portrait Paper Bag Topper (Freebie)

For the magnet gift we decided to wrap the magnets in tissue paper and put the magnets and cards in a paper bag.

To decorate the bag I had the kids write “Mom” and their name and draw a picture of their moms in the middle. Here is my sample:

If you want the template for this bag topper, you can grab it by clicking here or on the button below

2. Paper Bag Portrait Topper V.2

We were originally going to make an “All About My Mom” book and these portraits were for the cover of the books. But then I changed my mind on the gift (we ended up doing the shrinky dink keychains instead) plus lost 2 days two weeks before Mother’s day due to a suspected fifth disease case (it was a false alarm, thank goodness!) and a half day this week the week of for an OB appointment.. so I knew we wouldn’t be able to do the book too. So I cut out the portraits they did for the cover and stuck it on brown paper bags! 

I used the directed drawing from First and Kinder Blue Skies. You can buy it by clicking here if you are interested!

They turned out soooo cute!

3. The Classic Cutter Stamping Gift Bag!

Stamping with paint and cookie cutters is my go-to for decorating gift bags. It’s easy, cheap, low-prep and each bag turns out unique and beautiful. It doesn’t get much better than that!

For Mother’s Day gift bags we used butterfly, flower and heart cookie cutters and pink, purple and white paint.

Conclusion

Mother’s Day is the perfect time to celebrate and show appreciation for the amazing moms in our lives. By involving students in crafting, creating, and writing, you’re not just helping them make a gift—they’re learning the value of giving, creating lasting memories, and showing love through art and the act of giving. And as a mom myself I know I cherish these gifts my littles make for me and appreciate all the effort the educators put in!

Need some read alouds + lessons to go along with Mother’s Day Week that includes books, lessons and follow up activities about mom’s, aunts and grandmas? Then check out my “Kinder Read Alouds – Mom/Aunts/Grandmas” by clicking here!

I hope this post helped you get some ideas for Mother’s Day!