“From left, Joelene Palace received a drawing her daughter, Ava, made during a Google Meet session students in Ava's first grade class at South Butler Primary School had for Mother's Day.”

The English journalist Rudyard Kipling once noted, “God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers.”

It might not be a traditional holiday, but there are Mother's Day traditions: You buy Mom flowers, you take her out for brunch and you spend the day letting her relax.

This year, kids are more likely to find flowers than buy them and cook brunch instead of eating out. The pandemic has changed things.

But there's one thing it hasn't changed: the meaning of a mother.

“She works hard,” said Meredith Rice, a third grader in the South Butler County School District, of her mom, Rachel. “She takes good care of us, and I love her.”

Rachel Rice, who is a teacher at South Butler Primary School, and Meredith are both working at home while the pandemic runs its course

“Mother's Day is a great opportunity to focus on the female superstars in our lives,” said Natalie Ranalli, a first-grade teacher at Evans City Elementary School. “I know that students witness daily the amazing things that the women in their lives are capable (of doing).”

Mother's Day isn't just for mothers, Ranalli believes. It's a time to celebrate the female role models in every student's life, from sisters to grandmothers to any woman who fills the role of caregiver. When Ranalli conducted an online lesson on writing Mother's Day poems this week, she made sure to explain that.

This is an excerpt from a larger articel that appeared in Sunday's Butler Eagle. Read more about how local families are celebrating Mother's Day by picking up a copy of the Sunday Butler Eagle or subscribe online.

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