French Mother's Day Activities
Crafts, Cards, Coloring and Cooking for "La Fête des Mères"
May 4, 2008
Looking for thematic Mother's Day activities from France and Quebec? Voilà! Here is your resource for cards, crafts, coloring and cooking en français. French learners will practice their language skills as they honor a mom, grandma, aunt, or other special woman in their lives.
Enjoy these French Mother's Day activities in preparation for the second Sunday of May, the date for Mother's Day in Canada, the U.S., and several other countries. Or honor Maman a few weeks later on the last Sunday in May, as is the custom in France.
Make a Homemade French Mother's Day Card
Gather construction paper, markers, and doilies. Teach French phrases and poetry so your students can create a memorable card using "the language of love."
Choose a Printable French Mother's Day Card
Select a French Mother's Day card and matching envelope at the Univers de Lulue website and let your printer do the work. Students can then add their own personalized messages to the printed cards.
Paint a Flower Pot or Glass Vase
Use paint pens to decorate a terra cotta pot or glass jar. Write "Les Fleurs pour Maman" (Flowers for Mom) and draw flowers and vines. Students can fill the pots and vases with real or paper flowers.
Create a "Best Mom in the World" International Craft
Practice superlatives with the phrase "La Meilleure Mère du Monde." Write it on a picture frame, mug, or placemat along with other foreign language words for "mother."
Bake a Batch of Chocolate Croissants
A class cooking project is always a favorite activity, and what better gift for Mom than a homebaked treat? This recipe is an extremely easy short-cut for making pain au chocolat. The easy-to-follow directions are ideal for a novice-level immersion activity and review of shapes. You will need:
- Refrigerated crescent roll dough
- Hershey's chocolate bars divided into rectangles
- Melted butter
- Sugar
- Oven
Teach these French directions orally:
- Prenez un triangle de la pâte. - Take a triangle of dough.
- Mettez un rectangle du chocolat sur le triangle. - Put a rectangle of chocolate on the triangle.
- Roulez la pâte et faites un croissant. - Roll-up the dough and make a crescent.
- Tartinez le croissant de beurre. - Spread butter on the crescent.
- Mettez du sucre sur le croissant. - Put sugar on the cresent.
- Mettez-les dans le four. - Put them in the oven.
- Follow the baking directions on the crescent roll package.
- When the croissants have cooled, the students may package them in decorated paper bags: "Un pain au chocolat pour Maman."
Coloriages
Print off French Mother's Day coloring pages. All of the following websites have a nice selection of coloring sheets with French phrases or poetry: Tomlitoo, Fête-Enfants, and Tête à Modeler.
Illustrate a Book for Maman
There is a lovely French poem about mothers by André Bay. It lends itself perfectly to illustration, clip art, or scrapbooking. Consider 3-D or textured illustrations as well.
Des milliers d'étoiles dans le ciel - Thousands of stars in the sky
Des milliers d'oiseaux dans les arbres - Thousands of birds in the trees
Des milliers de fleurs au jardin - Thousands of flowers in the garden
Des milliers d'abeilles sur les fleurs - Thousands of bees on the flowers
Des milliers de coquillages sur les plages - Thousands of shells on the beaches
Des milliers de poissons dans les mers - Thousands of fish in the seas
Et seulement, seulement, une mère - And only, only one mother
Use the French language to honor mothers. Joyeuse Fête des Mères.
