Grab this free Mother’s Day I Spy printable! Two designs your kids can play, color, and even turn into a sweet handmade gift for mom.
Every year, my husband asks me what I want for Mother’s Day, and every year I tell him the same thing: peace and quiet for one full day. That’s it. That’s the gift. But my husband is a hopeless romantic, and the idea of me not getting something on Mother’s Day physically pains him. So every May, he scrambles to come up with a plan that involves the kids making me something.
If you’re the spouse trying to figure out how to make Mother’s Day feel special, or you’re the mom who really just wants the kids to be quiet for ten minutes, this free Mother’s Day I Spy printable is the answer. It keeps the kids busy and the colored-in version doubles as a handmade gift mom will actually want to keep. Two birds, one printable.
There are two versions in the download: a full-color sheet for younger kids who want to dive right in, and a black-and-white sheet for older kids to color first, then play. Both work great at home, in the classroom, or as a boredom buster at a Mother’s Day brunch when you need everyone to settle down for ten minutes.
What’s Included in the Mother’s Day I Spy Printable
This download is a two-page PDF. You get one I Spy sheet in full color and one in black and white. Each sheet has six different Mother’s Day items hidden across the page for kids to find and count, with a tally row at the bottom to track their totals.
The colored version features:
- A pink Mother’s Day cake
- A bouquet of pink carnations
- A mama bear hugging a baby bear
- A pink “I Heart Mom” coffee mug
- A “#1 Mom” ribbon
- A handmade card for mom
The black-and-white version uses different illustrations (Mother’s Day balloons, a wrapped gift, a #1 Mom crown, a Mother’s Day stamp, a long-stem rose, and a flower bouquet), so kids who do both sheets get two completely different searches instead of the same picture in two formats.
How to Play the Mother’s Day I Spy Game
Print whichever version you want (or both). Hand it to your kid with a pencil or crayon and let them go.
The basic version: kids look at the sheet, find each of the six items in the legend at the bottom, and write the count for each one in the box below it. That’s it. Most preschoolers can do this independently with a little guidance, and elementary-aged kids can run through it on their own in five to ten minutes.
If you want to stretch it out, have kids circle each item with a different color marker as they count – pink for cakes, green for bouquets, and so on. It turns the activity into a coloring project and helps kids who lose track of what they’ve already counted.
Turn It Into a Mother’s Day Gift She’ll Actually Keep
Here’s where the black-and-white version really shines. Have your kid color in the entire sheet first — making it as bright and creative as they want — then play the I Spy game on their finished artwork. When they’re done, write the date and their name at the top and you’ve got a handmade keepsake that took about thirty minutes to create.
My kids have done versions of this for grandma and aunts too. If you’re mailing one as a gift, the black-and-white version travels flat in an envelope and arrives looking like real art instead of a worksheet.
For an extra-personal touch, have your kids flip the sheet over and write a few things they love about mom on the back. Three sentences from a five-year-old will outshine any store-bought card.
Tips for Using This Printable in the Classroom
Teachers, this one is built for you. A few ways to use it:
- Print it on cardstock and laminate it so kids can play with dry-erase markers and reuse it across multiple classes.
- Use the black-and-white version as a Mother’s Day card-making station — kids color it, play the game, sign their name, and take it home as a finished gift.
- Pair it with a Mother’s Day writing prompt for a complete hour-long activity block.
- Use it as an early-finisher activity in the week leading up to Mother’s Day.
If you have students whose moms aren’t in the picture, frame the activity as “someone who takes care of you” so every kid can participate without it feeling weird. Grandmas, aunts, stepmoms, and foster moms all count.
More Free Mother’s Day Activities for Kids
If your kids love this one, we’ve got more I Spy printables for other holidays you can pair it with throughout the year:
- Christmas I Spy Game – four sheets, perfect for the holiday season
- Valentine’s Day I Spy – hearts, cupids, and sweet treats
- New Year’s I Spy Game – great for keeping little ones up until midnight
- Thanksgiving I Spy – turkeys, pumpkins, and fall favorites
And if you’re looking for more Mother’s Day ideas, check out our roundup of [INTERNAL LINK: Mother’s Day crafts for kids] for handprint art, card ideas, and more handmade gifts.
Download Your Free Mother’s Day I Spy Printable
Click the image below to grab your free Mother’s Day I Spy printable. The PDF includes both the color and black-and-white versions. Print one or both, depending on what your kids feel like doing.
