Mother's Day Poems for Church: 9 Short Recitations for Kids

Nine short, original Mother's Day poems for church kids to recite on Mother's Day Sunday. Each one is marked with the age it fits, from a two-line welcome for 3-year-olds to six- and eight-line poems for older kids, and most of them tell a true part of a Bible mother's story. Finish with all the children saying Proverbs 31:28 together.

Not every child has a mom at home. Poems 2 and 9 are written for anyone who cares for a child like a mom, and all of them work for a grandma, an aunt, a foster mom or a teacher.

The poems

1. Welcome (ages 3–4) Happy Mother's Day to you! God gave us moms and grandmas too!

2. Someone Dear (ages 3–5, for anyone who cares for you) Thank You, God, for someone dear, Who loves me and who keeps me near!

3. A Little Coat (ages 4–6, 1 Samuel 2:19) Hannah made a little coat For Samuel every year; She gave him to the LORD to serve, The child she held so dear.

4. Honour (ages 5–8, Exodus 20:12) "Honour thy father and thy mother": That's what God's Word says to do. So I will listen, help, obey, And say, "I love you," too!

5. Moses' Mother (ages 5–8, Exodus 2:1–10) Moses' mother hid her son Three months, as long as she could hide; She made an ark of bulrushes And laid him by the river's side. By faith she was not afraid, you see: God had a plan for him, and me!

6. M-O-T-H-E-R, a Mother's Day acrostic poem (ages 6–9, six children each hold one letter) Many times a day she prays for me, Opens God's Word so I can see, Teaches me what Jesus said, Helps me, hugs me, tucks me in bed, Every day she points me to the Lord. Rejoice and call her blessed, says God's Word!

7. Ruth and Naomi (ages 8–11, Ruth 1:16; 2:2) Ruth would not leave Naomi; no! "Whither thou goest, I will go." She gleaned the fields so they'd be fed; "Thy God my God," is what she said. Thank God for everyone who cares And keeps us in their daily prayers!

8. Lois and Eunice (ages 8–11, 2 Timothy 1:5; 3:15) Young Timothy knew God's Word well; His grandma and his mom would tell Him holy Scriptures from a child, And pray, and live it all the while. Thank You, God, for those who share Your Word with me, and teach me prayer!

9. Someone Special (any age; for a mom, grandma, aunt, foster mom or teacher) God gave me someone special, Who loves me and who cares; She helps me and she hugs me, And holds me in her prayers. Today I want to thank her, And thank the Lord above, For every mom and grandma Who shows me Jesus' love.

Tips

• Send poems home two or three weeks early so families can practice at bedtime.
• The acrostic: print M-O-T-H-E-R on six big sheets of paper. The child holds the letter up while saying the line.
• Pair a shy child with a buddy who says the poem with them.
• The poems fit right into our Mother's Day ideas for church program, next to the Hannah skit.

Every poem is original to VBS HQ, and the Bible ones follow the KJV: Moses hidden three months and laid in an ark of bulrushes (Exodus 2:2–3), Hannah's little coat (1 Samuel 2:19), Ruth's promise to Naomi (Ruth 1:16), and Timothy knowing the Scriptures from a child (2 Timothy 3:15). Read their stories in mothers in the Bible, and see the Hannah's prayer and Ruth and Naomi story sets.