Fun Homeschool Writing Activity for Mother’s Day

A Mother’s Day writing activity, Just For You…

One of our family’s favorite picture books is Mercer Mayer’s Little Critter book, Just For You. We laughed together as Little Critter’s best attempts to do something special for his mama all end in disaster until… he finds a way to do it.

The whole story is delightful (and don’t forget to look for the grasshopper and spider on every page), but two of my favorite lines are:

“I wanted to take a nap just for you, but the bed was too bouncy.”

and 

“I wanted to not splash in my bath just for you, but there was a storm.”

This book presents a perfect opportunity for pattern writing where a pattern or idea from a book serves as a springboard for creative writing.  

First, read and enjoy the book together. If you don’t have a copy, here are two links to someone reading it for you. Choose from a child’s voice or a grandpa’s voice as the narrator.

Then use the sentence pattern and have your children brainstorm their own sentences. “I wanted to __________   just for you, but __________.”  

What would your children suggest for activities and what could go wrong? Will they end the story the same way or add a twist? 

This story idea is perfect for making a little book or card for Mother’s Day but can also be adapted to suit any special occasion like a birthday or Father’s Day. 

While it seems like an idea for younger children, older ones can use it as well. One year I got a card in the mail from one of my daughters. She used this pattern to explain all her good intentions for a gift for me, and ended with, “I wanted to do something special, just for you, and I did it!” The handmade card was my ‘something special’ and I loved it.

The idea of patterning off a story for creative writing can be adapted to other favorite books in all kinds of ways. In one of my workshops, I share loads of ideas for how you can do this with a wide range of books. But you can start by looking at some of the stories your children love and asking, “How can we use this book as a jumping-off place for creative writing.?” Have fun!

(If you’d like to learn how to book a workshop for your group, send me a message here.)

Encouragement just for you, homeschool mama

I wanted to tell you that…  -homeschooling will always be easy, just for you, but you’d know I was lying. -you won’t make mistakes in your homeschooling journey, but I’m afraid that’s not possible. -you are the ‘perfect’ mother, but that wouldn’t be true either. However, I can tell you that … -although homeschooling is not easy, it’s worth it. -although you will make many mistakes, just as I did, mistakes are not final. They are learning opportunities. And God loves to redeem our mistakes. -although you are not the perfect mother, God chose you to be the mother for your children. You are exactly right for them. God doesn’t expect you to be perfect, but we can point our children to Him, the only Perfect Parent. I wanted to write some words of encouragement, just for you… and I did it! Happy Mother’s Day!