DIY Teacher Jean Jacket

I knew I wanted to do something special to celebrate the first year at my new school.  It felt like a big accomplishment to return to teaching after 11 years away.  I saw lots of ideas for dresses and aprons, but a jean jacket seemed like the best option for me.

I grabbed this jacket when Old Navy was having a big sale and bought all the paints/patches/supplies on Amazon to go with my school colors.  I tried to thrift a jean jacket, but they were all so stiff and not st stretchy.  Old Navy always comes through with soft, stretchy jean jackets.  Then one afternoon, I got my class list and worked my way through the list painting my student's little hands one at a time.

They thought it was so tickly and then I walked them right over to the sink to wash their colorful hand. 

Each student got to pick their paint color and hand print location.  I explained the project to the whole class and then we got busy stamping during brain break.  I let it dry on my back table.  Then I took it home to add the patches and the polka dots.

My students LOVED when I wore my teacher jacket.  I didn't add names or identifying details.  I just painted 2025 inside the jacket and will always remember my very first kindergarten class.  

It's the perfect jacket to wear on school spirit days or any teaching days, really.  I can't wait to wear it again this year and see my former students in the hall.

Another day, during brain break, I had my class make my assistant a personalized end of the year gift.  I found a big canvas bag on Amazon, used the same supplies from my jacket and helped them paint fingerprint hearts on one side of her bag.  She was a big crafter so she loved having a new craft bag from our class.

Teachers - you'll have to try to make something fun with your class this year!  I've seen dresses, head bands, aprons, skirts and jackets.  Find something that works for you and have your kids personalize it.

Family Book Club

We've been enjoying some good books together this Summer.  As the kids are getting older it's exciting to find books that they love and pair them with a project, craft, art or adventure.  We don't always do an activity with the books we read.  Trust me - we read all summer long and I'm just showing you a few book club projects.  I pick out books that are fun or inviting and come up with an activity to go along with the book.  We use supplies we already have on hand from the craft closet and have a good time enjoying books together.

I took some pictures of the books we read in July to give you an idea of how we do family book club.  It's nothing super fancy.  It just takes a tiny bit of planning to pull off.  It's really exciting to see the kids getting excited about books, following along with more complicated chapter books and we find ourselves referencing the books throughout our days.

I linked some of our favorite books in my post yesterday - Prime Purchases: Back to School

 

The Wold Needs Who You Were Made to Be By Joanna Gaines //

We LOVE this book.  It's beautiful and it was so fun to do some watercolor art with the kids.  The painted their backgrounds.  Then they painted the hot air balloons.  We let everything dry and did the cutting/assembling the next day.  They turned out so pretty!

Socks //

We read Socks together and didn't do any special activities.  We just enjoyed the book.

James & the Giant Peach //

We are wrapping up reading this Roald Dahl classic - James and the Giant Peach.  We have really enjoyed it.  We did art - paint your favorite scene from the story.  We watched the movie together.  And we did some peach investigating.  I let the kids cut apart a peach and check out all the little details.  They eat peaches all the time, but this was their first time looking at a peach seed up close.  It helped give them some perspective on this giant peach we've been reading about.

Make Your Own Adventure //

I was reading one of my magazines and it had this fun activity called Make Your Own Adventure.  It was a fun visual to do list of things the kids wanted to do for the last two weeks of summer.  I folded their paper into 16 equal sized rectangles.  Then told them they had to use at least 6 colors, put something different in every box and to think about how they wanted to spend the next couple of weeks.  They didn't need to worry about spelling or doing anything perfectly.  Just do their best.  They had tons of fun and really enjoyed presenting their lists to me.

And I've been reading Awaking Wonder by Sally Clarkson.  It's great so far.

What are your favorite summer reads?

3 End of the Year Teacher Gift Ideas

Many of you are wrapping up the school year with your kids.  My kids are sort of excited and sort of sad about it.  They've both had great school years, had delays to the start of school and didn't get quite a much school as they were hoping for.  However, they were both learning in person at school since August and October.  I'm so thankful for that when I hear about so many kids still being virtual or not being at school 5 full days a week.

We have 3 teachers to buy for this year so I am always on the hunt for cute, affordable gifts that won't break the bank when I have to buy multiples.

I always check out the clearance at Old Navy at the end of the season for my teacher gift stash.  They've usually got great scarves, bags and accessories.  Then, I look at places like Walmart and Meijer for their seasonal items.  Many of the ideas that I'm going to share come from those stores.

The #1 thing you should do for your child's teacher this year is to write them a thank you note for the things you've appreciated them doing for your child this year.  You can hand write it or email them.  The specific things that you recall from this year will mean the world to them.

I love to add a gift with their end of the year thank you notes.

You can grab a $5 gift card to a local coffee shop, get them a gift card to their favorite restaurant or local place or give them a themed gift.  If you have a bigger budget, splurge on a bigger gift card to Target or the movies or Amazon.  It seems like everyone can find something they would love from Amazon. 

I have 3 easy to replicate teacher gift ideas for you today.

1. Sweet Summertime //

I found these watermelon zipper pouches on clearance at Old Navy a while ago for just $4.99.  They're large, zip closed and seem like a really great quality pouch.  I love them for Summer.  Then I just found these watermelon kitchen towels at Walmart for under $2.  I loved the Sweet Summertime message and the watermelon print.  My kid's teachers will be getting this gift this year.

2. Summer Bag & Accessories //

Pick up a great summer bag to gift to your child's teachers and add in some cute hair ties or Summer bracelets for them.  I love these mesh Summer bags for the pool, ocean or just for Summer errands.  I've got a couple of them that I use all the time.  This bag came from Target.  They seem to update the print and color options every year.

3. Fun Summer Hat & Earrings //

I just picked up this leopard hat at Walmart for $7.98 and I love pairing it with leather earrings.  I'd love to get this gift.  My only warning with this one is to only go this route if you feel like you know your child's teacher's style well.  If you haven't been around them much, it may be tricky to gift them with accessories that fit their personality.  I love the leather earring options and quality from my friend Amber at ADV Designs.  I've been wearing and loving her earrings for years.

As a former teacher, I would have loved any of these gifts.  I hope you find something to give your child's teacher that you know they will love.

Snowman Paintings

I love doing art with my kids.  It's messy, fun and a little nuts sometimes, but the more we do it the better we get.  I always set rules - paint shirts, set expectations - free paint vs a specific project and then we work on it together.  They get the difference between free painting vs working on a step by step project.  I think the mix is good for them.

This project is great because the kids get to paint the background whatever they want - textures, colors, different brushes, etc.  We do one or two colors at a time and then let it dry for several hours.  When we return to the project, we added our snowmen.  The size and details were up to the kids.  We talked about the different components of a snowman and things you'd expect to see on a snowman.  

This multi step painting project went really smoothly.  We did it in two days.  Background on day 1 and snowman on day 2.  The kids were really proud of their work.

They each did their own hats, scarves and color selection.  I helped with the fine details of the face.  They picked the colors (Fletcher wanted his snowman to have blue eyes like him), they picked the placement and helped as much as possible.  It was a great balance of them being creative with a little help from me.  I can't wait to keep these out all winter long.

Supplies:

Framed canvases

Paint - blue, white, gray, orange, brown, red and black

paint brushes

This would be a perfect project to get the supplies for now and save for a snow day this winter!  Or if you're int eh South and don't get much snow, you could still do some cute snowman art on a cold winter day.  Let me know if you have any questions.

Painting Turkeys

We did a fun art project this week - painting turkeys!

I'd seen some different variations of this project and decided to do my own.  You just need Thanksgiving/Fall colored paints, thick paper, painter's tape, paint brushes, glue and googley eyes.

This was a really hands on project for me.  I had to help with every step, but we all enjoyed it!  I'm trying to plan art activities for home since both kids are missing this creative outlet at school.

Step 1:

Select your paint colors, get your paper out and start taping off the turkey.  Both kids shared one paint tray and then had their own bowls of water to rinse their brushes.  Start taping the head first and then do the feathers.  I let the kids decide how many sections and what shape the sections would be on their turkey feathers.  They helped press the tape down and I made sure the edges were crisp.

Taping is done and we are ready to begin!  I did one kid at a time and they were a little confused about this turning into a turkey.  I assured them they'd both look like turkeys at the end.

I reminded them to use one color at a time and to paint one section at a time.  It went great.

We had to let them dry for 30 minutes and then painted the turkey faces.  Once everything was dry, I removed the tape.  The kids tried to help, but it was more of an adult job.

They both turned out so cute.  They're hanging in the kitchen and are ready for Thanksgiving. 

We also made some hand print turkeys.  Googley eyes are great for this, too.  The kids enjoyed tracing their own hands this year.

 Happy Thanksgiving week!

5 Teacher Gift Ideas

I know that this school year looks different for most of us, but I'm guessing that we have all settled into some type of school routine.  I am really thankful to report that my two oldest kids are back in school full time - PreK and 2nd grade.  Their teachers are going above and beyond with detailed websites, zoom conferences, loads of emails, masks and a lot of new things this school year.

I have always volunteered as room mom, but that isn't an option this year.  Parents are allowed to come into the classrooms or schools in order to keep out germs.  That makes me sad even though I totally understand it.

I want to make sure that the teachers feel loved, cared for and appreciated this year.  I'm a huge advocate of letting teachers know regularly that they're doing a great job.  I taught 2nd and 3rd grade for nine years before I had Olive.  I loved all those years in the classroom and was always so thankful for any type of encouragement I'd receive from parents.

These are my ideas - a few may surprise you and I assure you that these gift ideas will work well with almost any budget you're working with.

 

1. Kind Words

This is such a great way to let your teachers know that you appreciate them and it's FREE!  

Email them with details about things you appreciate.  Send in a handwritten note with your child. Or contact their principal to share the compliment with them.  This past weekend I reached out to Olive's principal and let her know a whole list of thank yous - things she was doing, things I'd noticed staff around the school doing and things that Olive's teachers had been doing to make this year wonderful for her.  The principal was so thankful for the encouragement and said she shared my email with the entire staff.  A few kind words go a long way to make someone's day.  

2. Store Bought Treats

I usually love to bake for our teachers, but this year feels a little strange to do that with all the Covid concerns.  I'm trying to figure out other ways to send in treats.  We sent in a bag of apples we picked from the local apple orchard.  They were wrapped up in a clear bag and the teachers could wash them when they got home.  I've sent in chocolate dipped caramels from Aldi and other fancy treats I picked up from the store - cookies, chocolates, loaf of bread, etc.  Find a treat, add a note and have your child deliver it!

3. Accessories

Our teachers have all be females so far and they've all enjoyed accessories - new scarf, earrings, bracelets, a new bag and fun pouches have all been well received.  We also like to gift accessories for the home - holiday kitchen towels, fuzzy blankets, fresh flowers, etc.

4. $5-10 Gift Card

Local businesses could definitely use the business right now.  Head to a coffee shop or an ice cream shop or any fun business and pick up a small gift card for your child's teacher.  Add it to a card with some kind words or email it to them if you're going for a contactless gift.

5. Teacher Favorites

Give your teacher a little survey to find out all their favorites - foods, colors, teams, etc.  Then gift them items corresponding with their favorites all year.  Our school keeps a list of favorites for each teacher in the office.  In years past, you could go and snap a picture of each teacher's favorite list.

 

Old Navy has all these fun pouches on sale right now for $4.  I picked up several to save for end of the year teacher gifts.  Wouldn't they be fun paired with a note and a gift card?

ADVdesigns earrings are my personal favorite to wear and to gift.  Each kid got to pick out a pair from my gifting stash to give to their teacher this year.

All teachers have loved fun office supplies so far.  We gave these rainbow pens and a stack of rainbow post it notes another time.

Last Tip: Right now Sams is selling these fuzzy blankets for $9.98.  They're wonderful!  I picked up three - one for each child's teacher for Christmas.  There are many different patterns.  I think you could find one for every person on your list.  I'm going to pair them with a Christmas card, nice note and add a big bow.  What a deal!  Leo agrees :)

What do you like to give for teacher gifts?

Star Student in the Family

Olive was chosen to be the first star student of the year in her class and it totally made her week!  She was so excited to be singled out for being a great role model, leader and kid with good behavior to start out the school year.  She's been all sunshine and rainbows this week.

We made her poster last weekend and it's been on display all week.  She had a vision for her poster and I was just the supply buyer.  Meijer had tons of fun things - glitter framed poster board, poster kit with letters and shapes and glue sticks.  She picked out her pictures, placed them and wrote out all her important information.  I was just the glue lady making sure everything was glued in place.

Her teacher has gone above and beyond to make her feel special, loved and encouraged this year.  I can't remember if I've mentioned it here or not, but Olive made her teacher a back to school bracelet and gave it to her at meet the teacher night.  Her teacher has worn it every day since school started and Olive was beyond thrilled.  As a mom, It made me so happy to see her teacher getting to know her and connect with her right away.

Every teacher seems to run star student week differently.  Be sure to check and see what the teacher wants.  Olive's teacher had specific papers to fill out, information to include on the poster and special things in the classroom (special chair, special poster spot, line leader, etc.)

Olive loved presenting her posters to the class.
What a fun week of first grade!

Star student was definitely the highlight of our week.  The rest of the week drug by and was filled with plenty of hard moments.  Fletcher got 4 staples in his head on Saturday so that kind of changed our plans for the week.  We spent most of the week at home taking it easy.  Then we went to get the staples taken out yesterday and it didn't go well.  They took one out and he started bleeding.  I was not expecting that and it was hard on both of us.  The nurses decided he needed more time to heal and I have to take him back to try that process again next week.  Pray for us because removing 1 staple was traumatic and we still have 3 to go!

We're planning a quiet weekend at home.  No bikes, no swimming and still trying to keep Fletcher from reinjuring his head as it heals.  We have gone on some sweet family walks in the evenings though.  Hoping for a calm, quiet, sweet weekend at home.

It's time to link up with my favorite blogging buddies for High Five for Friday.  Join us with a few different blog posts and be sure to look around to find some new blog friends

Becky @  By BMG Blog
Della @ Della Devoted
Tif @ Bright on a Budget
Whitney P @ Come Home for Comfort

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We Love Boo! Teacher Gift

Olive and I put together a cute little Halloween gift for her teachers this week.

It was really easy and affordable.  I asked Olive to help me write the cards.  I baked her favorite Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Then, I put them in plastic food boxes from Dollar Tree.  They're not very durable, but they do the job for one time use.  I love sending teacher treats in a box vs on a plate because I feel like they transport better to school.  Nothing gets squished.

I grabbed two Halloween towels, rolled them up and added a polka-dot bow.  The towels were from Meijer last year.  I paid less than a dollar for each one on super clearance and saved them to use this year.  Be sure to scope out the holiday clearance this year to save things for the following year.  The trick is make sure that you have a gift closet or spot to keep them organized to be able to find them when you need them.

I love sending little things in like this for Olive's kindergarten teacher and her bus driver.  I want them to know they're loved, appreciated and that we are thankful for them.  I overheard someone saying the other day that they were bummed because they HAD to buy their kid's teacher a gift.  I know I'm biased being a former teacher, but I try hard to do lots of little things to encourage and love on teachers all throughout the school year.

What are your favorite teacher gifts??

** We've got a lot going on at our house right now so things will be quiet on the blog for the rest of the week.  See you next week! **

It's time to link up with my favorite Welcome Wednesday Ladies.
Be sure to join us with some of your favorite posts from the week.

Whitney at Polka-Dotty Place / Bloglovin / Facebook / Instagram / Pinterest / Twitter 

Stefanie at Lexie Loo, Lily, Liam & Dylan Too / Instagram / Twitter / Pinterest / Facebook

Keri at Keri Lynn Synder / Faceobok / Instagram / Twitter / Pinterest 

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