Mother’s and Father’s Day Activities.

Mother’s Day and Father’s Day can be opportunities to recognize the diversity of family structures. I have created one post of Mother’s and Father’s Day activities that can be used for both celebrations to combat the gender stereotypes that are normally associated with these special days. I never understood why dads received tie or tool-themed cards while mothers received flower-themed ones. Therefore, I would love to see more inclusive practices when it comes to celebrating these special days.

Finally, toddlers are capable of small, simple gestures of love and affection. This can include decorating a colouring sheet to give to a parent, creating a handmade card or contributing to a special activity to mark the occasion. Little things like these can make a world of difference to a parent’s day!

 

Free printables: Mother’s and Father’s Day Activities.

To begin, claim your free printables here!

´All about my parent´ is both great for the kids to express their thoughts about their parents and for a parent to receive.

 

Fun Mother’s and Father’s Day Activities.

• Scavenger hunt!

• Create a playlist of all your mother´s or father’s favourite songs. Play the music and invite them to the living room to relax and listen to his favourite songs together. Or perhaps have a little dance party?
• Help cook your mum or dad´s favourite meal.
• Bake cupcakes or a cake together.
• Plan to have breakfast (or another meal) together that you normally don´t spend together.
• Play a game together like Twister, Jenga or bowling.
• Movie night: Unwind and have a family movie night. Make some snacks to give it more of a theatre-like experience.
• Make a gratitude jar. Even at a young age, children have the ability to feel the emotion of gratitude. We can model our gratitude and start a conversation.They can take time to think about things that they love about mum or dad. Perhaps they can mention the things their mum or dad do for them that they appreciate. You can write their answers on post-its for them to place in a jar. It is a great way to brighten everyone’s day.

Gender-Neutral Mother´s and Father´s Day Card Ideas

A nice way for young children to express their affection is by making a handmade card. Nothing says love like the time and care it takes to make something homemade. It is also a great way for your child to practice their fine motor and writing skills.

1. Love you to the moon and back.

Materials: cardstock, 4 popsicle sticks, alphabet letter stickers, star stickers, printed silhouette of your child and a marker.

To make:

1. Fold the cardstock in half.
2. Break 2 popsicle sticks in half.
3. Lay 2 full length popsicle sticks vertically and parallel to one another.
4. Glue the 4 halves of the broken popsicle sticks horizontally to join the 2 full length ones together like a ladder.
5. Draw a circle shape for the moon at the top of the page.
6. Add some star stickers in the top third of the cardstock.
7. Glue the popsicle stick ladder on the bottom left-hand side of the cardstock.
8. Glue your child´s silhouette near the top of the popsicle stick ladder.
9. Help your child arrange the alphabet stickers to spell the phrase ´Happy Mother´s Day or Happy Father´s Day´. You may wish to draw a pencil line to help keep the words in a straight line.

 

2. You´re a superhero!

Materials: cardstock, passport-size photo of mum/dad, paint, red paper, scissors, glue and alphabet letters (stickers / stamps).

To make: 

1. Fold cardstock in half.
2. Paint your child´s foot.
3. Press onto the left-hand side of the cardstock, heel at the top. Note: if your child wriggles a lot you can do the footprint on another piece of paper and glue onto the cardstock later.
4. Glue the passport photo on top of the heel of the foot.
5. Draw and cut out a cape from the red piece of paper.
6. Attach the cape on the right-hand side of the heel.
7. Help your child arrange the alphabet stickers to spell the phrase ´Happy Mother´s Day or Happy Father´s Day´. You may wish to draw a pencil line to help keep the words in a straight line.

3. Upcycled heart.

Materials: cardstock, newspaper, passport-size photo of your child, buttons, watercolour paints and alphabet letters (stickers / stamps).

To make:

1. Fold cardstock in half.
2. Cut a heart shape out of newspaper.
3. Paint the newspaper heart freely with watercolours.
4. In the centre of the heart, glue on the passport-size photo.
5. Glue on some buttons to the newspaper heart.
6. Attach the heart to the bottom of the cardstock.
7. Help your child arrange the alphabet stickers to spell the phrase ´Happy Mother´s Day or Happy Father´s Day´. You may wish to draw a pencil line to help keep the words in a straight line.

A final word.

Mother’s and Father’s Day activities do not need to be complicated in order to be meaningful. Nor do they need to be gender orientated in nature. If you would like some more ideas you can follow me on Instagram or search the other activity ideas on this website.