Make a Mother's Day Book

What You Need:

• 3 pieces of card stock paper, 8-1/2”x11”
• 9 photos, old or new, of family, friends, and pets who love Mom (you may choose to represent 9 separate people; or it’s also okay to repeat!)
• Stapler
• Glue stick
• Markers for drawing
• Black fine tip pen for writing

What You Do:

1. Fold the card stock in half to make a booklet that is 5-1/2” wide by 8-1/4” tall. Use a stapler to fasten the three pages on the fold.
2. On the front, have your child make a cover. It should say “What We Love About Mom” and should have your child’s name, too. Encourage your child to decorate it with a special picture, either of something mom loves, or of mom herself!
3. Now you’re ready for the “story.” On each of the inside pages, have your child glue a different photograph. Be sure to leave enough space at the bottom or top of each page for your child to write a caption using complete sentences.
4. After adding your pictures, it's time to go back and write captions for each one. For each picture, have your child write one full sentence of dialogue—correctly punctuated!—from the person in the picture, telling mom what they love or appreciate about her. 
   • Get creative, and allow pictures of pets to “speak” in this way, as well as babies and even beloved cantankerous machines, like the family car! Here is one favorite from our family: Tunafish the cat says, “Every night you feed me my favorite liver-cod feast!”
5. On the very last page of the book, your child can write the big punch line: "Happy Mother’s Day!"
6. Wrap up your gift and be prepared—you can count on a book like this to bring huge guffaws, and possibly a tear or two, too. And don’t be surprised if you see some strong gains in quotation skills when you're finished!