Core Skills Analysis
Art
- Created handmade cards for Mum, practicing fine‑motor skills through cutting, gluing and drawing.
- Designed and decorated a cookie‑bag, exploring colour choices, pattern making and visual composition.
- Arranged flowers and garden foraged greenery in small vases, learning about balance, symmetry and texture.
- Hand‑lettered and illustrated labels for the body scrub, developing early graphic communication.
English
- Shared what they loved about their mums, using descriptive vocabulary and sentence building.
- Listened to and discussed stories, strengthening comprehension and oral storytelling skills.
- Talked through the baking steps, practicing sequencing language (first, next, finally).
- Described the scents of the scrub and flowers, expanding sensory adjectives and expressive language.
Math
- Measured flour, sugar and other ingredients, introducing concepts of volume, capacity and non‑standard units.
- Counted cookies before and after baking, reinforcing one‑to‑one correspondence and number sense.
- Scooped and divided ingredients equally, practising basic partitioning and fairness in sharing.
- Estimated space needed for the cookie bag design, developing spatial reasoning and size comparison.
Science
- Mixed dry and wet ingredients, observing a simple chemical change as dough formed.
- Foraged garden leaves and grasses, classifying them by colour, shape and texture.
- Smelled herbs and essential oils for the body scrub, learning about the five senses and scent identification.
- Explored skin care basics by discussing how the scrub will clean and protect skin, linking to health science.
Social Studies
- Celebrated the role of mums, discussing family relationships and cultural traditions of gratitude.
- Took turns and worked as a team while baking, reinforcing cooperative play and turn‑taking etiquette.
- Shared personal stories about mums, building empathy and a sense of community within the group.
- Engaged in free‑play climbing, negotiating space and rules, supporting social negotiation skills.
Tips
Extend the Mum celebration by turning the day into a mini "Family Festival". First, set up a storytelling circle where each child draws a picture of a favourite memory with Mum and narrates it to the group, encouraging sequencing and expressive language. Next, create a simple measurement station with measuring cups, spoons and dry beans so children can practice estimating and recording quantities on a picture chart. Then, take a short nature walk to collect additional leaves, bark or seeds, and back in the classroom sort them into categories (big/small, soft/rough) for a science inquiry. Finally, invite families to bring a small cultural item or recipe to share, fostering multicultural awareness and reinforcing the social‑studies concept of family traditions.
Book Recommendations
- My Mommy is My Best Friend by Lily Murray: A sweet picture book celebrating everyday moments between a child and mother, perfect for reinforcing love and gratitude.
- The Little Chef: Cooking Up Fun by Megan MacDonald: Introduces simple kitchen tasks, measurements and safety, linking play cooking to early math and science concepts.
- Planting a Garden with Grandma by Jenna Hill: Follows a child and grandmother as they plant seeds and explore garden treasures, echoing the foraging and flower‑arranging parts of the activity.
Learning Standards
- ACELA1467 – Interpreting and responding to spoken texts (sharing stories about Mum).
- ACELA1471 – Using language to express personal experiences (describing feelings for Mum).
- ACELT1594 – Communicating ideas through drawing and visual representation (card and bag design).
- ACMMG094 – Measuring, comparing and ordering objects using non‑standard units (baking measurements).
- ACMMG099 – Applying spatial reasoning to design and create (cookie‑bag size planning).
- ACSHE093 – Identifying materials and observing changes (mixing ingredients, body scrub).
- ACSHE106 – Recognising living things and their features (foraging garden plants).
- ACSHE108 – Using the senses to explore the environment (smelling herbs, texture of flowers).
- ACSPE048 – Understanding family roles and cultural traditions (celebrating Mum).
- ACPPS037 – Participating in cooperative play and taking turns (kitchen teamwork, free play).
Try This Next
- Worksheet: Match picture of measuring cup to the amount of beans it holds – practice non‑standard measurement.
- Design‑Your‑Own‑Gift‑Bag template: cut‑and‑paste activity where children plan colours, patterns and write a short thank‑you note.