Easy Mother’s Day Crafts for Preschool and Daycare

Mother’s Day always sneaks up fast in the classroom—and if you’re a daycare provider or preschool teacher juggling snack duty, circle time, and a dozen paint-covered hands, you’re probably wondering how to pull off a meaningful Mother's Day craft in time.

The good news? It doesn’t have to be complicated to feel special. These easy, low-prep Mother’s Day crafts for preschool and daycare are classroom-friendly, mom-approved, and quick enough to pull together the week (or day!) before. Almost everything here was made with supplies from the dollar store—including $2 tea towels, basic construction paper, and simple cardstock.

Whether you’re printing last-minute or planning ahead for next year, here are my favorite Mother’s Day craft ideas for preschoolers and daycare settings—tested by years of real classroom experience.

1. Handprint Flower Tea Towels

This simple yet heartfelt project turns a child’s handprint into a blooming flower—right on a tea towel moms can actually use. Using fabric paint, help each child create a handprint "flower" with a stem and leaves. Add their name and the year for a personal touch.

I grabbed these tea towels for just $2 each at the dollar store, and the fabric paint lasted for multiple years' worth of projects. Once dry, you can heat-set the paint (if using cotton towels) with an iron or in the dryer. Wrap it up with ribbon or tuck it into a card for an easy, useful keepsake.

This one’s always a crowd-pleaser—especially when sent home wrapped in ribbon or folded inside a handmade card.

2. Silhouette Portrait Keepsake

To make it even easier, you can take a side-profile photo of each child and use Canva's background remover tool (available with Pro) to isolate their profile. Then, turn the photo black by adjusting the brightness and contrast settings, or use the 'Duotone' effect with black as both colors. Print the silhouette, cut it out, and mount it on cardstock.

For a sturdier, long-lasting finish, I mounted our silhouettes on hard cardboard canvases from the dollar store (just $1.25 each). We used Mod Podge to seal them in place and added a small faux flower bouquet to each corner for an extra decorative touch. The total cost came to around $5 per keepsake—and they looked like something out of a boutique gift shop.

It's surprisingly quick to prep and has that elegant, handmade feel that parents love. If you've got an assistant, they can help print and cut the profiles while you run the craft table, allowing kids to paint their canvas. I usually encourage kids to pick just one background color for this project—something soft and solid—so the silhouette really stands out. It still feels like their own, but the final result looks a little more polished as a gift.

3. Fingerprint Heart Necklace

We started by shaping small hearts out of air-dry clay. If you're short on time, oven-bake clay is a great alternative—it hardens much faster and still gives that lovely keepsake feel. Just remember to poke a hole for the necklace cord before baking or drying! Each child gently pressed their fingerprint into the clay before it dried. Once hardened, we painted them and strung them onto a necklace cord or ribbon.

This one is simple to prep, genuinely sweet, and always a hit with parents—it captures their child’s touch in a way that feels extra special.

4. Painted Flower Pots with Violets

To pair with the necklace or as a standalone gift, we picked up small flower pots from the dollar store and painted them using bright spring colors and patterns. You can even give them a theme—try fingerprint bees, thumbprint strawberries, or little painted hearts to tie in the Mother’s Day feel. Each child then planted a small violet to bring the gift to life.

They’re simple to put together and leave a lasting impression—a fresh, cheerful gift that feels both homemade and heartfelt. The vibrant pots look beautiful and bring a pop of joy to any windowsill or table.

This is a bright, hands-on activity that’s both fun for the kids and thoughtful for families. The live violet adds something fresh and lasting, while the painted pot gives it that homemade charm.

5. Homemade Mother's Day Cards

These simple homemade cards are always a hit and easy to prep with little ones. We used coffee filters and had the children "tie-dye" them with markers and water spray bottles. Once dry, we cut them into flower shapes and glued them to folded cardstock. A cute button in the center of each flower added the perfect finishing touch.

They’re sweet, colorful, and look beautiful paired with any of the gifts listed above—or as a standalone sentiment from the child.

6. Strawberry Tea for Two Mother’s Day Gift Kit (Printable)

If you’re short on time but still want to send something sweet home, this is the kit I wish I had back when I ran my own daycare.

The Strawberry Tea for Two Mother’s Day Gift Kit includes: ✔️ “I Love You Berry Much” Handprint Craft
✔️ “All About My Mom” Questionnaire (Canva editable)
✔️ “Strawberry Tea for Two” Poem Page
✔️ DIY Tea Bag Card Template – that holds two tea bags
✔️ 6 Printable Gift Tags
✔️ Bonus: Extra crafting gift ideas using teacups, strawberry plants & more!

The templates are easy to prep and classroom-ready, but do plan for a bit of one-on-one time—like filling out the questionnaire with each child, doing the handprints, and assembling the card with tea bags. It’s still very doable in a busy week, but not totally hands-off.

👉 Grab the kit on Etsy or directly on my website.

Make It Special (Even If It's Simple)

To all the providers and teachers who pour so much love into holidays like this—I see you. I know how often these extra efforts go unthanked, and how heavy it can feel when something so thoughtful gets overlooked. You’re not just crafting gifts—you’re creating memories. Your kindness is felt, your impact is real, and it absolutely matters. This post—and every resource I create—is made with you in mind.

Whether you’re using a printable kit, pulling out the finger paint, or making something sweet with a silhouette, every effort counts. These activities don’t just celebrate moms—they give your little learners a way to express gratitude, creativity, and love. 

Happy Mothers Day to all my fellow providers and teachers!

Much love, 

-Carissa