By Rebecca Rider

rebecca.rider@salisburypost.com

CHINA GROVE — It’s the Friday before Mother’s Day and second grade students at China Grove Elementary are giving their moms some much-needed pampering. Each year, a small room off the school’s second grade hallway transforms into a relaxation paradise, dubbed the “Ma Spa.”

“We just wanted to do something special for Mother’s Day,” teacher Jennifer Lambert said.

According to Lambert, the second grade has been hosting the Ma Spa for about five years — after a group of teachers discovered the idea on Pinterest and proposed bringing it to China Grove.

Every year before Mother’s Day, students’ mothers flock to the school, signing up for times to pay a visit to the spa. There were only two or three students in each class whose mothers couldn’t make it, Lambert said. In those cases, the students were allowed to invite a favorite female teacher or staff member to enjoy the spa.

Lights in the room are turned down low, comfortable chairs and tables are scattered around and soft, instrumental music plays over a speaker. Cookies and punch are spread out on a table, and bouquets of tissue paper flowers add spots of color to the room.

Prior to the spa day, students were coached in how to “pamper” their mothers — rubbing lotion into their hands and serving them punch. It gives moms, and kids, a chance to relax.

“Moms don’t usually show that side of them — especially around their kids,” Lambert said.

And while children love their mothers, they’re not often taught ways to pamper them. The Ma Spa gives them a small tool kit to pull out in the future. And it also teaches students ways that they can take care of themselves, as well.

“They probably don’t know how to relax,” Lambert said of the second graders.

But the spa provides perfect examples of several relaxation techniques — a dark room, soft music, aromatherapy and small treats for oneself.

Students also prepared small poems to read to their mothers, and moms got a chance to pick a flower to take home with them after their spa treatment. As they left the spa, mothers rewarded students with a soft kiss on the cheek.

Contact reporter Rebecca Rider at 704-797-4264.