In celebration of Mother’s Day, the School-age 3 kids took part in a creative and heartfelt art project: designing and building personalized wind chimes to give to their mothers. This multi-step project allowed the kids to express their love and appreciation while engaging in hands-on learning that blended art, literacy, and design thinking.
We began by discussing what makes our mothers special and the different ways we can represent those feelings through art. Each child was given air-dry clay and asked to create a unique ornament that symbolizes something meaningful about their mother. Some shaped flowers to represent a memory with mom, while others made suns, hearts, or even small figures tied to share these memories.
“I’m going to make my mom a pink flower as my ornament. She loves when I pick flowers for her,” smiled Dami.
“I’m going to make our favourite Pokémon. We enjoy watching the show together,” said Clara.
This step encouraged deep reflection and abstract thinking, as the kids translated emotions and personal connections into symbolic forms.
Once the clay dried, the painting process began. The School Age 3 kids thoughtfully chose colours that reflected their mothers’ personalities or favourite things. They demonstrated great care and precision in painting their ornaments, working with brushes to bring their ideas to life. On the back of each ornament, they wrote a meaningful message to their mom – a personal note that expressed appreciation, love, or a shared memory. This writing component allowed them to practise expressive language and meaningful communication through short, heartfelt messages.
Next came the intricate task of creating five colourful bead strings that would form the chimes. The children explored patterns, symmetry, and colour theory as they selected and arranged beads. They showed patience and concentration while threading, tying knots, and balancing their designs. This part of the process supported their fine motor development, planning skills, and mathematical thinking.
Once their bead strings were complete, the children attached them to a wooden stick – with the special clay ornament placed on the centre string to highlight its significance. Finally, they added a top loop so the wind chime could be hung in a garden, on a porch, or by a sunny window.
Throughout this project, the School Age 3 children demonstrated creativity, independence, and a strong sense of purpose. They practised artistic expression, symbolic thinking, written communication, patterning, and spatial awareness. More than just a craft, this wind chime project became an opportunity for them to reflect on their relationships, make thoughtful design choices, and create something meaningful from start to finish.
The final wind chimes are beautiful, unique, and full of heart – a celebration not just of Mother’s Day, but of the creativity and capability within each of our School Age 3 children.
