A Sweet and Simple Mother’s Gift Idea for Kids

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Many years ago, when I was in elementary school, we made a Mother’s Day gift one year based on the book I Love You the Purplest by Barbara M. Joosse. Despite the simplicity of it, my mother loved it and even now, roughly 15 years later, still has it. Whether this is to make for your child’s own mother or you are making it with a class of students, it is sure to be a gift that will be remembered and treasured for years to come.

My first suggestion would be to read the book together. This is the edition we read in class when I made this so many years ago. We drew inspiration not only from the touching story, but from the beautiful watercolor illustrations by Mary Whyte. There is also a read along version here you can watch together on YouTube if you’re unable to get a copy.

Once you’ve read the story, you will put together your very own I Love You the Purplest poem and watercolor. Emily and I put one together for Lindsey, so you can follow along with us. 

Begin by picking mom’s favorite color. Lindsey’s favorite is turquoise, so we rounded up and went with blue. Thus, Emily’s poem became I Love You the Bluest.

Next, you and your little one (or class of little ones) will fill in the blanks to correspond with mom’s favorite color.

I love you the ________-est.
I love you the color of __________.
I love you the color of __________,
And the color of __________.
The ________.
A ________.
The ________.

You can see what Emily and I came up with below. Depending on the age of your child, you may have to help out with this part a lot. Since Emily is only 3, I did the writing and let her give me her ideas. My advice would be to do a rough draft on a separate piece of paper before moving on to the final.

​Once the poem is complete, you will make your own watercolor illustration to go along with it. This can be of anything, but it should feature the focus color. This part is much easier for younger children to do on their own. If you don't have watercolors, you can use any medium or purchase a simple set here.

​Let the painting dry and now your gift is ready. You can see what Emily came up with!

Lindsey loved it. Especially because Emily was trying to say the ocean is "as big as the sky"... not a big guy. But, mistakes like that often just add to the charm of a simple homemade gift like this and we all got a good laugh out of it!

If you create your own I love You the Purplest gift for Mother's Day (or Father's Day, or Grandparent's Day!) this year, be sure to share it with us on social media. We'd love to see what you come up with.

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