One day, Evelyn’s mom asked her, “What are you going to do at school today?” Evelyn smiled and said, “I can’t tell you. It’s a secret!”
At school, Evelyn and her friend Nicholas walked together. Nicholas asked, “Did you remember to bring one?” Evelyn nodded and showed him her shiny gold button. Nicholas said, “Mine’s yellow with red stripes!”
During circle time, Mrs. Madoff asked, “What holiday will we celebrate this Sunday?” Everyone shouted, “Mother’s Day!” Mrs. Madoff asked if everyone brought a button, and they all did!
Mrs. Madoff asked Evelyn, “How will your family celebrate Mother’s Day?” Evelyn said, “My mom and I will be very happy. My big brother will come home, and we’ll make yummy treats for Mom. We won’t let her help because it’s her special day!”
Jessica said, “Mom and I are hiking up Chickasaw Mountain. She loves hiking, and I do too! I got her favorite grapes for our picnic.”
Evan shared, “Dad and I made a birdhouse for Mom. It has a tiny hole so only the cutest birds can come in. Mom will love it!”
Sarah said, “My mom passed away when I was a baby, so I live with Grandma. On Mother’s Day, Dad and I will take Grandma to a restaurant she loves.”
Another friend said, “My dad found a little tree while working. We’ll plant it in our yard on Mother’s Day. Mom will be so happy!”
Charlie said, “We’re not doing anything for Mama because she’s throwing a baby shower for Aunt Louisa. Aunt Louisa will be a mom soon, just like Mama is to me!”
Kate said, “Daddy taught me to play the violin. I practiced a song for Mom and will play it perfectly on Mother’s Day!”
Machico said, “Mom is tired of just looking at my drawings, so Dad and I will take her to a big museum for the day.”
Sam said, “We’re going shopping for a new kitchen table. I saved my piggy bank money to help buy it for Mom!”
Nicholas said, “My mom loves animals, but we only have a goldfish. She’s getting a puppy for Mother’s Day, and I picked him out!”
Mrs. Madoff said it was time to make Mother’s Day presents. A lady came into the classroom, and Mrs. Madoff said, “This is Annie, my mom. She’s going to show us how to make paper flowers with our buttons.”
We started with a circle of construction paper. We cut petals from tissue paper and glued them around the circle to make a flower. Then, we glued our buttons in the center. We added leaves and stems using fuzzy pipe cleaners.
Evelyn made a pink and red rose with a shiny gold center. It was the most beautiful thing in the world! Her mom loved the rose and the treats Evelyn made for her on Mother’s Day.
Button Hunt: Go on a button hunt at home! Ask your child to find different buttons around the house. Encourage them to describe the buttons they find: What color are they? Are they shiny or dull? Do they have any patterns? This activity helps children observe details and practice describing objects.
Make Your Own Paper Flowers: Using the instructions from the article, help your child create their own paper flowers with buttons at home. Gather materials like construction paper, tissue paper, buttons, glue, and pipe cleaners. Let your child choose their favorite colors and design their unique flower. This hands-on activity reinforces creativity and fine motor skills.
Mother’s Day Story Time: Ask your child to share a story about a special day they spent with their mom or a loved one. Encourage them to think about what made the day special and how it made them feel. This activity promotes storytelling skills and emotional expression.
Here’s a sanitized version of the provided YouTube transcript:
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**Mother’s Day**
by Anne Rockwell
Pictures by Lizzy
[Music]
“Rockwell, Evelyn, what are you going to do at school today?” Mama asked me.
“I can’t tell you,” I said. “That’s a secret.”
At school, Nicholas and I walked down the hall together. He said, “Hey, Evelyn, did you remember to bring one?”
I nodded and showed him my shiny gold button.
“Mine’s yellow with red stripes,” he said.
At circle time, Mrs. Madoff asked, “What holiday will we celebrate this Sunday?”
“Mother’s Day!” we shouted.
“Good! Did everyone remember to bring a button?” she asked.
Everyone had.
“Evelyn, how will your family celebrate Mother’s Day?” asked Mrs. Madoff.
“My mom and I will be very happy,” I said.
“My big brother will come home from college. He and Papa will make bayonets, and I’ll roll them in powdered sugar. We won’t let Mom help because Sunday is our special day.”
“Mom and I are hiking to the top of Chickasaw Mountain,” said Jessica. “Just the two of us. She loves to hike, and so do I. I bought the kind of sweet, fat, black seedless grapes she loves for her picnic.”
“Dad and I are going to give Mom a birdhouse we built. It has a tiny hole,” Evan said. “The hole is tiny so that only the cutest birds can fly in or out. That’s what Mom says.”
“My mother died when I was a baby,” Sarah said. “Dad and I live with Grandma, who is his mother. She has everything from me that mothers do. On Mother’s Day, Dad and I will take her to a restaurant that has the kind of food her mom cooked,” Pablo said.
“Last week, my father was bulldozing when he suddenly saw a little dogwood tree. He stopped just in time, dug it up roots and all, and put it in our garage. On Mother’s Day, we’ll plant it in our yard. The little dogwood tree will sure make my mother happy.”
“We’re not doing anything for Mama on Mother’s Day,” said Charlie. “Instead, she is throwing a baby shower for her twin sister, Aunt Louisa. My aunt is going to have a baby, and then she’ll be a mother to her baby like Mama is to me. Dad says Mama sure is nice to share her special day with Aunt Louisa.”
“Kate said, ‘Daddy’s been teaching me how to play the violin while Mommy’s at work. I can play the piece I learned for you.’” Kate tucked the violin under her chin, picked up the bow, and played.
“I practiced my piece every day,” she said. “As soon as we finish clapping, I want to play it perfectly on Mother’s Day.”
“Machico said my mother is tired of only looking at pictures she draws, so my father and I decided the best gift we could give her was an all-day trip to the biggest museum in the city.”
“On Mother’s Day, we’re going shopping at the mall for a new kitchen table,” Sam said. “I took all the money from my piggy bank. It will help us buy my mother a new table with chairs to match.”
“Don’t forget me,” said Nicholas.
“You know I never would,” Mrs. Madoff said. “My mom loves animals, but all we have is a goldfish. You know what? She’s getting a puppy for Mother’s Day. I picked him out.”
Mrs. Madoff said it was time to make Mother’s Day presents. A lady I never saw before came into our classroom.
“Boys and girls,” said Mrs. Madoff, “here’s Annie. She’s my mom. She’s going to show us how to make paper flowers with our buttons.”
We started with a circle of construction paper. Next, we cut petals from tissue paper and glued them all around the circle to make a flower. Then we glued our buttons in the center of each tissue paper flower. Finally, we cut out leaves and glued them onto fuzzy pipe cleaners. When we glued the pipe cleaners to the flowers, our flowers had leaves and stems.
My pink and red rose with its shiny gold center was the most beautiful thing in the world.
“That’s what Mama said. She loved the rose and the bayonets that I brought her on Mother’s Day.”
The end.
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
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This version removes any sensitive or inappropriate content while maintaining the essence of the original transcript.
