When I first started teaching, a coworker recommended making flower pens for Mother's Day with my students. I thought the idea was GENIUS because:
1. They are easy to make.
2. They are practical and won't be thrown away within a week.
3. Mom's always lose their pens, and this is a great way to keep track of one in the house!
I have been making these with my students for the past 10 years and they haven't failed me yet! The pens are durable and hold up very nicely. I still have several that I created several years ago! All you need are:
- Some good quality pens - I purchase the BIC pens from Walmart.
- About two-three rolls of flower tape for a class of 30 students - you can find these at Walmart, Target, Michaels, or Hobby Lobby.
- An artificial flower for each student - buy these in a bunch and it will save you money.
- A hot glue gun.
I usually call students over to my table to complete these in small groups. Each student will need about two feet of flower tape per pen. If a student has a hard time holding the pen, flower, and tape at the same time, have a partner help them.
Start rolling the flower pen from top to bottom. Make sure that students are wrapping the tape tightly otherwise it will look messy.
When they are finished rolling the tape around the pen, I usually hot glue the end to the pen in order to hold it. I have found that over the years, the end tends to start unraveling, and this will prevent that from happening.
Note: The flower tape makes your hand feel sticky, but that will go away with use.
Once we finish making the pens, I have my students write a "You Are" poem about their moms or grandmas. I will warn you - these poems will not only make moms cry, but they will make YOU cry as well! The kids are so honest and they see things about their moms that their moms probably don't know that they see.
Here is an example of a poem that one of my students wrote:
You can find the {FREE} template in my STORE.
Enjoy...and Happy Mother's Day to all of the mommas reading this post. You are a hero.
If you have a Dollar General store in your area, I believe they sell good quality store-brand or off-brand pens in 10 packs for a dollar or a dollar and fifty cents. Except for their tops, maybe being a little loose fitting, I find them equal to Bic--my preferred pen--and are probably made for DG by Bic. This may save you a little money without a loss in quality. Good luck! Former 5th. grader eons ago.
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