Our School-age 2 children were busy designing and decorating pouches for their moms’ special gift for Mothers’ Day. They children did stenciling on pouches with fabric paint. They were able to make choices of what colour of zipper on their pouches that they wanted and what pattern of stencil and paint colours they wanted to use. While doing this activity the children were able to express themselves freely through oral communication by discussing and sharing special moments and experiences they had with their moms. They were also able to make predictions about what their moms will use their pouches for. Claire said, “My mom might put her money in her pouch.” Then Grace added, “My mom might use hers to put her makeup.” Lucy also joined in the conversation and said, “My mom might put her make up brushes in hers because she has lots of make up brushes.” Then Kaelyn added, “My mom already has a bag for her make up brushes but maybe she will change and use this one.” The children also had conversations about their moms’ favourite colours, when Wesley commented, “Both my mom and me love the colour green, so I will paint a green butterfly on one side of my pouch.” Lucy then added, “Purple and then green are my mom’s two favourite colours.” As the children continued with their stenciling Alexis anxiously announced, “Hey, you know what guys the reveal is the best part when you are using stencils.” Then Lucy added, “Oh yes I can’t wait for mine to be all done so I can remove the stencil and see what it looks like.” As the children finished and removed their stencil to reveal the final product there were a lot of “Oohs” and “Wows” and with lots of hope that their moms will love her special gifts. They children also spent many days designing and making cards with special messages for their moms.
This activity gave the children an opportunity to foster a sense of belonging by making something special for their moms. They used their imagination and were able to develop literacy skills by writing their special messages and oral communication through discussions and sharing their experiences that they had with their moms
