Happy Mother's Day

Motherhood defined me.

Because of him, I became someone I never thought I'd be. Because of him just being I did things I never knew I would do. And I found in myself a courage I never knew was there. I am grateful to him. And I am proud of us both. I continue to learn from him each and every day, new things about myself and this big, big world, because of him growing up in it.



Now there are three of them, three sons, each special and his own person. Each gifting me with something unique.

My second son, Middle Man, has taught me great patience and the power of will. Without him I would lack my deep understanding and compassion for parents of challenging children, life would be far less exciting around here and to him I will always be grateful ~ it was due to HIS interest in art that I remembered how much I enjoyed drawing. He makes me laugh every day and inspires me. Without him in my life I fear I would be a more judging person, more fearful and unsure of myself. One of his greatest gifts is his ability to absorb the emotions of others around him. This is both a gift and a burden for this young boy, but for me, through comforting him I have gained an awareness I most certainly never would have had.



And Little One, my smallest and sweetest boy. Through him I have come to realize that life is all about sacrifices and sometimes we have to go through it, give it up and just let it be. Little One has reminded me that life is a sensorial experience not to be ignored! He has forced me to slow down and to appreciate quiet moments, from slugs to blades of grass and most importantly that sometimes you need to hold a hand bigger than yours, "Just P-cause".



Happy mother's Day to all of you too! My hat is off to you for the many. many diapers you've changed, tears you have wiped away, the 100s of not very funny five year old jokes you've listened to and laughed about, the 100,000,000,000...... loads of laundry you've done, the boo-boos you have mended, the questions you have answered, the photos you have taken, the doctor visits you have gone through, the number of times you've been thrown up on & peed on, the sleepless nights, for reading Goodnight Moon "just one more time", for the gentle reminders you have given, for helping with math home work....the list is endless as you well know....
Happy Mother's Day to ALL!!! I pray today you will get a break, if only for a moment.
In loving PEACE,
Jennifer

Mother's Day Tea

Today was our Toddler Mother's Day Tea Party. Not one spill, nothing broken! I will admit I did have anxiety. In the first photo a friend is putting together a fruit kabob.

The second picture is of the children's wrapped (in fabric pieces) and ready to be given Mother's Day gifts (flower pots with a felt flower pin). [For instructions on how to make your own felt flower pin....stay tuned, I hope to post about it Saturday]

The third photo, Little One and me, our first Mother's Day TEA together. He was so proud!



Happy Mother's Day to all of you (a wee bit early).
In loving PEACE,
Jennifer

Montessori Toddler Program Mother's Day Tea Preparations

If you are a mom here in Belfast, you may have seen one of these:



But the rest of this post is meant to be a surprise....so please don't read THIS post.



We've been making allot of these...

And we've been working on a special one of these...



And TODAY we are practicing by having a Teddy Bear Tea Party! Every child is invited to bring a teddy bear friend to school to share tea with. The teddy bears will wait out on the deck to be invited in, when everything is ready.
I found it's helpful to have a dry run (i.e. without REAL beverages). Then the children know what to expect and with each day closer to the special day when their Mothers come for Tea; they feel more and more confident and invested in this beautiful tradition.

Past Mother's Day Tea Posts:
Many Hands Make Lite Work

What do you do in your classrooms to get ready for this Special Day?
In PEACE,
Jennifer

Many Hands Make Lite Work

This week was the Mother's Day Tea Celebration! Here is a picture of the children preparing the tea snacks before their mothers arrived. Filling thumb print cookies with jam, building cucumber & watercress sandwiches, making fruit kabobs, and slicing lemon bread. Setting the tables, arranging flowers,practicing songs....what a wonder-FULL day!

The Annual Mother's Day Tea Celebration is a lovely tradition the children, teachers and Mamas look forward to every year. In the weeks before, the teachers interview the children and ask them questions about their mothers, EX: What do they enjoy doing with them, what makes them special?
It's sweet to watch the Mamas' faces when the read what their child wrote. The hand-made gift is also a favorite, this year it was a clay painted pin for Moms to wear. They were all different and each one was made with care.


Every year I take my Nana's bone china out of storage and bring it to school. I don't worry about the small hands that carry the tea cups because I know my Nana wouldn't mind if one of them ever broke. I know she watches over Mother's Day Tea and smiles in enjoyment over knowing her tea set is appreciated by so many. Every year someone comments on the beauty of the tea set and I can hear Nana voice say, "Why keep it hidden away when someone could be enjoying it?" Why indeed. Let's have some tea, shall we?

A Montessori school is a place I would like to visit any day of the year; but Mother's Day Tea day is the most elegant day by far. It's also the day when the children often surprise themselves when they display how much they have learned over the school year. When they take a step back from a full finished platter of sandwiches they've made and smile with appreciation, they are so proud. It's that moment that I cherish most.

I hope one day you'll be invited to tea at your child's school and you'll get to eat cookies and fruit on a stick. There's nothing in the world quite like it.
Happy Mother's Day
In PEACE
MM

Happy Mother's Day Mom

This is my gift for my Mom this Mother's Day. (shhhhh....)
She always wore her hair in two long braids when I was growing up.This is a cut paper collage of the two of us. I finished it this morning and wanted to share it with all of you. Below is a poem my Aunt Elizabeth sent to me for Mother's Day. Although not everything will apply to everyone of us, I enjoyed the sentiment and thought you might like it too. I haven't forgotten about the teacher appreciation ideas....I've got a list building, I've just been busy making things and being a Mama. Thank you all for reading!

This is for the mothers who have sat up

all night with sick toddlers in their arms,

wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer

wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying,

'It's okay honey, Mommy's here.'

Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who can't be comforted.

This is for all the mothers who show up at

work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains

on their blouses and diapers in their purse.

For all the mothers who run carpools and

make cookies and sew Halloween costumes.

And all the mothers who DON'T.

This is for the mothers who gave birth to

babies they'll never see. And the mothers

who took those babies and gave them homes.

This is for the mothers whose priceless art

collections are hanging on their refrigerator doors.

And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers at football or baseball games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars.
And that when their kids asked, 'Did you see me, Mom?' they could say, 'Of course, I wouldn't

have missed it for the world,' and mean it.

This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and scream for ice cream before dinner. And for all the mothers who count to ten instead, but realize how child abuse happens.

This is for all the mothers who sat down with

their children and explained all about making

babies. And for all the (grand)mothers who

wanted to, but just couldn't find the words.

This is for all the mothers who go

hungry, so their children can eat.

For all the mothers who read 'Goodnight,

Moon' twice a night for a year. And then

read it again, 'Just one more time.'

This is for all the mothers who taught

their children to tie their shoelaces before

they started school. And for all the mothers

who opted for Velcro instead.

This is for all the mothers who teach their sons

to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little voice calls 'Mom?'

in a crowd, even though they know their

own offspring are at home -- or even away

at college -- or have their own families.

This is for all the mothers who sent their kids

to school with stomach aches, assuring them

they'd be just FINE once they got there, only

to get calls from the school nurse an hour later

asking them to please pick them up. Right away.

This is for mothers whose children have gone

astray, who can't find the words to reach them.

For all the mothers who bite their lips until they

bleed when their 14 year olds dye their hair green.

For all the mothers of the victims of

recent school shootings, and the mothers

of those who did the shooting.

For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.

This is for all the mothers who taught their

children to be peaceful, and now pray

they come home safely from a war.

What makes a good mother anyway?

Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips?
The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and

sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time?

Or is it in her heart?
Is it the ache she feels when she

watches her son or daughter disappear

down the street, walking to school alone

for the very first time?

The jolt that takes her from sleep to

dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M. to put

her hand on the back of a sleeping baby?

The panic, years later, that comes again

at 2 A.M. when she just wants to hear

their key in the door and know they

are safe again in her home?

Or the need to flee from wherever she is

and hug her child when she hears news

of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?

The emotions of motherhood are

universal and so our thoughts are for

young mothers stumbling through diaper

changes and sleep deprivation...

And for mature mothers learning to let go.

For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers.

Single mothers and married mothers.

Mothers with money, mothers without.

This is for you all. For all of us...

Hang in there. In the end we can

only do the best we can. Tell them

every day that we love them. And pray

and never stop being a mother...

Much love to all of you amazing Mamas out there!
Happy Mother's Day (a day early)! I hope the special little people in your lives will shower you with love and affection on Mother's Day. It's good to be Queen (at least for the day).
PEACE
Montessori Mama