Mothers (N = 67) taught their preschool children crafts while varying emotional expressions (delight, irritation). Mothers' typical expressive styles were assessed by questionnaire. After three weeks, children's memory was assessed with a free-recall interview followed by re-enactment of craft-making with an interviewer. Children of mothers high in positive expressiveness had more elaborate recall when mothers expressed delight rather than irritation. Children of mothers low in positive expressiveness re-enacted more event details when their mothers were less varied in expression rather than expressive of emotion in general or delight in particular, and had more elaborate recall when their mothers expressed irritation rather than delight. Findings suggest that children remember more when their mother's emotional expressions during an event fit her typical style.