About this puzzle
Mother's Day in the United States began with one daughter. Anna Jarvis held a memorial service for her own mother in 1908 and handed out white carnations, and within six years it was a national holiday. Her story is woven into this list alongside the everyday words that describe what mothers do: Nurture, Patience, Kindness, and a Lullaby at bedtime.
Kids can solve it in class and then color it in as part of a handmade gift, which Anna Jarvis would have liked, since she preferred handwritten notes to store-bought cards. It also works for a grandparent visit, a church brunch, or a slow morning with breakfast in bed. Mama and Grandma are both in here, so everyone in the family gets a word.
The 28 words in this puzzle
Every word, with a short note. Handy for teaching the vocabulary before or after solving.
In every version (12)
- Bouquet
- Flowers are one of the most popular Mother's Day gifts, and a hand-picked bouquet from the yard counts just as much as one from the florist.
- Breakfast
- Breakfast in bed is a classic Mother's Day surprise, usually planned by kids, sometimes with a little help from another grown-up in the kitchen.
- Family
- Families come in many shapes, and Mother's Day can honor stepmothers, foster mothers, aunts, and anyone else who has done the work of mothering.
- Flowers
- Flowers are among the most common Mother's Day gifts in the United States, and the holiday is one of the busiest times of the year for florists.
- Grandma
- Grandmothers are celebrated on Mother's Day too. The U.S. also marks National Grandparents Day on the first Sunday after Labor Day, a holiday signed into law in 1978.
- Heart
- Hearts decorate many Mother's Day cards and crafts. A paper heart with a child's handprint or a short message is a classic gift made at school.
- Hug
- A big hug is one of the most popular Mother's Day gifts, and it costs nothing. Hugs help people feel calm, safe, and close to each other.
- Kindness
- Kindness is being friendly, generous, and caring toward others. Writing down a few kind things Mom has done is a simple, thoughtful gift.
- Love
- Love is at the heart of the holiday. Many kids sign their Mother's Day cards with love and add rows of X's and O's for kisses and hugs.
- Mama
- Words like mama and ma appear in many unrelated languages, likely because the "m" and "a" sounds are among the easiest for babies to make.
- Mom
- Mom is the everyday American word for mother. In Britain the usual spelling is Mum, so British cards often say Happy Mothers Day to Mum.
- Sunday
- In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation making the second Sunday in May the official Mother's Day in the United States.
Added in Medium and Hard (8)
- Brunch
- Brunch, a blend of breakfast and lunch, is a favorite Mother's Day outing, and it is one of the busiest days of the year for many restaurants.
- Garden
- Mid-May is planting season across much of the U.S., which makes potted flowers, seeds, and a morning of gardening together popular Mother's Day gifts.
- Laughter
- Laughing together is one of the simplest ways families bond. Sharing a favorite funny memory with Mom makes a good gift that costs nothing.
- Lullaby
- A lullaby is a gentle song sung to help a baby fall asleep. Lullabies are found in cultures all over the world, often passed down from parent to child.
- May
- In the United States, Mother's Day falls on the second Sunday in May. Canada, Australia, and many other countries celebrate on the same day.
- Picnic
- A picnic in the park is a popular way to spend Mother's Day, since the holiday arrives in spring, when parks and gardens are blooming in many places.
- Poem
- Many kids write a short poem for Mom, often an acrostic poem, where each line starts with one letter of a word such as MOTHER or MOM.
- Thank You
- Saying thank you is what the day is really about. A simple list of things Mom does, from packing lunches to reading stories, makes a thoughtful note.
Added in Hard (8)
- Anna Jarvis
- Anna Jarvis organized the first official Mother's Day services in 1908 in Grafton, West Virginia, to honor her late mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis.
- Carnation
- Anna Jarvis chose the white carnation, her mother's favorite flower. A custom grew of wearing a colored carnation for a living mother and a white one for a mother who has died.
- Gratitude
- Gratitude means feeling thankful and showing it. Mother's Day is a chance to show gratitude to moms, grandmas, stepmoms, aunts, and anyone who cares for us like a mother.
- Handmade Card
- Anna Jarvis disliked printed greeting cards and felt a handwritten letter showed more love, so a homemade card fits the original spirit of the day.
- Mothering
- In the United Kingdom and Ireland, Mothering Sunday falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent. It began as a day for visiting your home church, called the mother church.
- Nurture
- To nurture means to care for someone and help them grow. The word comes from the Latin "nutrire," meaning to feed or nourish.
- Patience
- Patience means staying calm while waiting or dealing with something hard. The word comes from the Latin "pati," meaning to suffer or endure.
- Spa Day
- A spa day is a day of rest and pampering. Kids can make a home version with a warm towel, a foot soak, and a quiet room.
A few facts to share while you solve
- Anna Jarvis later spent years campaigning against the commercialization of Mother's Day, objecting to the way florists and card makers profited from it.
- Mexico celebrates Mother's Day on May 10 every year, no matter which day of the week it falls on.
- In 1870 the writer Julia Ward Howe, who wrote "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," issued a proclamation calling for a Mother's Day dedicated to peace.
Four versions of this puzzle
Pick a version with the buttons above the grid. Each one has its own grid and answer key, and your progress on each is saved separately in this browser.
| Version | Words | Grid | Directions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 12 | 11 × 11 | The 12 most familiar words, reading forward across and down. |
| Medium | 20 | 14 × 14 | Twenty words across, down and diagonally. No backwards words. |
| Hard | 28 | 16 × 16 | Every word, in all eight directions including backwards, with look-alike filler letters. |
| Large print | 12 | 10 × 10 | The 12 most familiar words on a small grid with big letters. No backwards words. |
Hard and large print versions
Hard mother's day word search: all 28 words on a 16 × 16 grid, hidden forward, backward, up, down and along both diagonals, with filler letters borrowed from the word list. Print it without the word list for an extra challenge. Play the hard version, or see all hard word searches.
Large print mother's day word search: the 12 most familiar words on a 10 × 10 grid, printed with big letters and a big word list, and no backwards words. Play the large print version, or see all large print word searches.
Printing this word search
Press Print / PDF above the puzzle. You get a clean one-page sheet with the title, the grid, a word list with tick boxes, and optional name and date lines. The answer key prints on a second page. Prefer a file? Download it as a PDF or an image to print later or drop into a worksheet. Whatever version is showing on screen is the one that prints, and the large print version prints with bigger letters.
How to play online
- Find a word from the list in the grid. Scanning for its first letter is the quickest way.
- Drag across the word from its first letter to its last. On a phone, you can also tap the first letter, then the last.
- Found words get highlighted and crossed off. Stuck? Hint circles the first letter of a word you haven’t found.
Read the full guide to solving word searches, with tips that make big grids much faster.
Questions and answers
What age is this Mother's Day word search for?
The easy level works well for kids in kindergarten through second grade, with short words like Mama, Family, and Sunday. Older kids can try medium or hard, where longer words like Anna Jarvis and Handmade Card are harder to track down.
Can kids give this puzzle to Mom as a gift?
Yes. Print it, solve it together, or have your child circle the words and color the page before folding it into a card. Teachers often include it in a Mother's Day craft packet alongside a handwritten note.
Who started Mother's Day?
Anna Jarvis of West Virginia is credited with founding the modern holiday in 1908, after her mother died. She campaigned for national recognition, and President Woodrow Wilson made it official in 1914. Earlier, Julia Ward Howe had proposed a Mother's Day for peace in 1870.
Is there an answer key for this mother's day word search?
Yes. Choose Print / PDF above the puzzle and keep “Add an answer key page” ticked. The key prints on its own page, with every word highlighted. While playing online, Show answers outlines any words you haven’t found yet.
Can I print copies for my class or group?
Yes. Every puzzle on BetterWordSearch is free to print for personal, classroom, library and homeschool use. Print as many copies as you need. To change the words or make several different versions of the grid, use the word search maker.
What changes between Easy, Medium, Hard and Large print?
Easy hides the 12 most familiar words, reading left to right and top to bottom. Medium uses 20 words and adds diagonals. Hard hides all 28 words in every direction, including backwards, with look-alike filler letters. Large print uses the same words as Easy on a small grid and prints with big letters.
