Hi everyone! Kelly, here, with day two of teacher appreciation week ideas. I have a soft spot in my heart for teachers, having taught writing for almost eight years before taking a "mommy sabbatical." At times I felt like teaching was one part stand-up comedy, one part referee-ing, and one part psychology! But at the same time, teaching is one of the most rewarding jobs I can think of.
LAYOUT IDEA: FAVORITE TEACHERS
With that in mind, today we celebrate our "favorite" teachers. I have several, and they are my favorites for different reasons. I will always remember my third grade teacher, Miss Crenshaw, who introduced me to aerobics, bran muffins, and cursive. I used to leave anonymous notes on her desk, and she played along with me for quite awhile, writing me back. I loved her energy and the way she made each of us feel special.
I also had a few professors in college who inspired and encouraged me. My senior year, I was invited to participate in a "Top Prof" night for members of Mortarboard, a national honor society. I got to invite one of my favorite professors of all time to an awards dinner. Here I am, in the photo on the left, with Dr. Ted Andra from the English Department:
And in the photo on the right is another one of my favorite professors, Dr. David Lancy, who was also invited to the dinner by another student. Dr. Andra taught me to consider the beauty of literature, and Dr. Lancy encouraged me to chase my dreams.
This is a page from a very simple scrapbook I assembled shortly after I graduated from college. It is a spiral-bound album with black cardstock pages. I used clear adhesive photo corners for photos, and a white gel pen for journaling. Very simple, but effective. I'm so happy I have these photos!
Marnie also sent me a layout about favorite teachers:
I love that Marnie thought to take a photo on the first day of school and the last day, too. What fun to compare the two! She also explains specifically why Mrs. Woodruff is perfect for Poppy. What makes a teacher a perfect fit for your child?
I also recently made a layout about two special teachers in my daughter's life. Last year was her first in a French Immersion program. Half of her school day is taught in English, and the other half in French. The whole family was a bit nervous about this, but her two teachers, Mrs. Joyner and Monsieur Levitre were amazing! They formed a bond with all the students in their two classes, and by the end of the year, we were all sad to move on to second grade.
These photos were taken at a special year-end program they put together for all the families of the students. Josie played a cat in a French play (explaining her whiskers!) and the kids sang songs (in both French and English) and recited poetry. There wasn't a dry eye in the place when they sang "We're All In This Together" from High School Musical!
TEACHER APPRECIATION GIFT IDEA: A "SCENTSATIONAL" YEAR
For teacher gifts this year, I found some incredibly good smelling hand soaps, and I plan on making a tag that reads, "Thank you for a 'SCENTSATIONAL' year!" I'm thinking of combining it in a basket with some other good-smelling stuff. For a few other teacher gift ideas, please visit this site for combos of small gift + giftcard + cute saying, or this site for some inexpensive crafty gift ideas. I love them all!
I also have a class gift idea that I used earlier this year when one of my daughter's teachers had to move mid-year. We held a "Bon Voyage" party for her, and created a thumbprint tree for her to take with her. I drew a tree trunk on an artist's canvas, and then each student added a thumbprint leaf to the tree using green stamp ink in different hues. We had each student sign next to their thumbprint, too, and added the date and a brief message at the bottom. The teacher was so touched by this gesture, and the kids had fun creating it. I wish I had a photo of the completed project, but to get an idea, it looked like these only a bit messier! Here is a photo of the class working on it:
I hope you think about some of your favorite teachers this week, and let them know how much you appreciate all they do!
Kelly
