Loving Words Mother's Day Necklace

Our co-op class year is coming to a close in early May, so I wanted to do a project for the kids to give their moms for Mothers Day. I settled on making Loving Words necklaces. We used:

jelly bean shaped glass marbles (dollar or craft store)
E 600 glue
Aileen's clear tacky glue
Modge Podge
permanent markers
bead charms
bracelet findings blanks (separated)
needle nose pliers
thin ribbon or necklace string

When I was "working up" this project, I used words clipped from a magazine to glue to the backs of the glass marbles. In class, the kids and I talked about their mothers and listed some words to describe them. (above) Next the kids outlined each of their three marbles onto a small piece of paper, and wrote their own words, and colored around them. We used permanent markers for great colors and permanency. I used these because I knew that the color would not bleed, but you could test other markers before use. We found that a thin sharpie marker was good for writing or outlining the words, and that it was best if the color directly around the word was light for better readability. I think the nicest word someone used was "swaesome"-he said it was sweet and awesome combined for his mother!

After the kids were happy with their designs, they cut each word out slightly inside the line drawn. (Each glass marble has its own particular shape so it is best not to mix them up. The clear glue was dabbed on each word and the glass bead pressed on to seal. Other glues that dry clear could be used, including Modge Podge. I made up some bead charms and let each child choose one to go on the bottom of their necklace. This was all they did the first week. I had them each label a small disposable cup with their name to put their finished bead words and charm into to dry. By stacking the cups, they were easy to store and transport.

During the next week, I prepped the necklaces by taking apart the bracelet blanks into sets of three and adding a ring to the top and bottom to attach the string and charm to. The back of each bead was Mod Podged for durability and sealing, then I glued each student's beads on with E-6000 glue and let them set up.  This week the kids added the string and wrapped them up for their moms. I also wrote a little poem to put with the necklaces:

For Mother:

My mother cares,
And I do too,
And so I chose three words for you.

These words describe you,
Each one is true,
They show the love from me to you.

I did not choose you
For my mother
But I wouldn't trade you for any other.

For those who were done with their beads early, I had paper, markers and copies of  "How to Draw" lessons printed off from artprojectsforkids.org. They could choose which one to try on their own as I worked with the other students. We had some great results with these. (below.)