The Ones Who Mother Me - teaching resources
Joelle & I are thrilled to see how many people are teaching, sharing, and enjoying "The Ones Who Mother Me." I truly believe this song will help every child who sings it and every adult who hears it feel seen. Mother's Day can be hard for a million different reasons, and we hope and pray that this song can celebrate all of the special people who "mother" us. If you are looking for some resources to teach this song, I have created/commissioned a few ideas for you below.
If you are short on time and feel like it might be a struggle to teach the whole song, here are a few options for you:
Pattern the performance after the video using soloists or duets for the verses and have the choir join on the chorus and bridge. They'll pick it up in no time at all!
Chemain Evans created a BEAUTIFUL 4-part arrangement for children's choir + SATB. Teach the children the first verse, chorus, and bridge. The adult choir takes the second verse and mostly sings with the children through the rest of the song.
Children LOVE to watch other children sing. The music video is great to show the children during practice or send the link to the parents to watch during the week. You can also turn on captions by clicking the "CC" at the bottom right of the video.
See if you can spot a couple of cameos from me and Joelle + our cute kiddos in the video.
I commissioned my cute neighbor, Emily Parker, to create these beautiful illustrations. There are 14 unique, fully colored illustrations (24 pages total) plus a page in the back where children can draw a picture of someone who mothers them.
With so many children being "visual learners," illustrations are always a fun idea!!
Emily also made coloring pages!
How do I use these? 1) Start with pages on the board out of order.
2) Challenge the children to put them in order before you sing the song 4 times.
3) Start singing the first verse and chorus without stopping. Tap children on the shoulders, one by one, to come to the board and move one piece before returning to their seats.
4) Be sure to "check their work" when they finish.
This activity is great for older or younger children. To make this harder for older children, cut the pages in halves. This activity works best as a 2nd or 3rd-week activity after they have had a little bit of time to become acquainted with the lyrics. To use these emojis for review, you can start with all images on the board in the correct order and remove them individually as you sing.
There are 9 pages total for the first verse and chorus. Pictured below: "It's the little things you do and the big ways you care," "It's the simple things you say and the warmth that you share," and "To the ones who mother me." Can. you figure out which phrase goes with each picture?
How to use this game:
1) print out and cut out each line into strips
2) attach the strips to the board out of order
3) ask the children, "what do you see? what you notice? what is the same? what do you wonder?"
4) collect answers, offer praise5) challenge the children to "crack the code" before you sing through the song 4 times
6) check their work when they are finished
Extender activity: ask the children what they think the different colors mean, ask them to sing the pink and blue letters when you sing the rest, then switch. This activity works best for older children who can read after they are somewhat familiar with the song.
Here are the first two (of 5) pages. Can you figure out the code?
Are there any other teaching resources you'd like to see? Send me an email, and I'll see what I can do!