Parent Presents, PART TWO

HI, Friends!! It's Erin, from Very Perry Classroom again!
 Last year, I shared what we made in my classroom for our parent presents from students.. Since I am teaching first grade right now, and have many of the same students this year as last year,  I needed to make something different. A lot has been going on, and I started to worry that we weren't going to finish our presents (or even DECIDE on what to make) in time! Then, I went to Michael's.... Which is dangerous for any crafty teacher in December, but, lo and behold, there was a SALE! :)
I found packs of six of this style of ornament for 50% off....

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Thanks for helping me grow gift tags

As the school year is winding down, that means it is time to start thinking about gift ideas.  I blogged about some budget friendly gifts for students with free tags that you can find HERE.  Today, I'm thinking about gifts to thank teachers.  I came up with these gifts for my daughter's Sunday school teachers at our church.  There are 8 teachers and helpers that rotate throughout the year so I wanted to get something small and budget friendly for all of them.  These would be perfect for your child to give to a teacher with the "Thanks for helping me grow" version.  You could also use this idea and the included tags to thank parapros, secretaries, custodians, specials teachers, volunteers or anyone who has helped your students if you use the "Thanks for helping us grow" tags.

To make these gifts, I bought 6 inch clay pots from Home Depot for around $1 each.  I had my daughter help me paint them with acrylic paints that I had on hand.  It took several coats to get the color as dark as I wanted, so I did the rest of the coats after my daughter helped with the first one.

Luckily, this paint dries fast so I was able to paint multiple coats and get it done in one morning.  Once the bottoms were painted, I painted gold around the top a few times.

Next, I bought some succulents to add to the pots.  I bought a bunch of succulents last year for our garden and I love them since they survive on very little water.  I had it in my head that I wanted to use succulents for this project.  I didn't realize that these would be hard to find (5 stores) and would be around $5 for each plant.  Luckily, I found a multi pack that I split up and then bought  4 additional plants to help fill in the space.  The cost and availability might be different depending on where you live.  If you want to go with a cheaper and more colorful route, buy some flowers and plant them in the pots.

Once the pots were ready to go, I created little cards to go with them.  My daughter is just learning to write letters and words so I knew it was going to be a lot for her to write this on each card.  I figured I would just make a printable and she could add her name and I would write the teachers' names.  She also wanted to draw a picture for each teacher so I let her do that and we will add that with some washi tape right before we give them.  To attach the cards, I used skewer sticks that I had on hand and taped them to the back of the cards.

This is a super easy gift idea.  You can make it even easier by not painting the pots or by just tying a ribbon around the pot for some color.  You could also use cute washi tape and just tape the cards to the pot instead of using sticks.

If you want to try this out, I've included the cards (both the ME and the US versions) HERE for you to download.

If you use these cards and post on social media, I'd love to see what you pair them with.  Tag me (@sarajcreations) and The Primary Punchbowl (@theprimarypunchbowl) on Instagram.

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Parent Presents in the Classroom

Hello, again! I'm Erin, from Very Perry Classroom!

Do you have trouble thinking of what to have students make for their parents every holiday season? Are you breaking the bank trying to create something that shows parents at least an ounce of how valuable they are to you and your students? We at The Primary Punchbowl want to share a few ways we, and others we have found, are making parent presents. 

Up first is Jessica from Pride and Primary!!

She had her kiddos make some ADORABLE frame ornaments, and the good news is: they are relatively inexpensive and, she says, very easy! She began by taking her students' pictures holding a sign with their names and future occupation. How sweet is this girl!?! She then had students glue pasta pieces on a paper plate with a hole cut in the middle. She spray-painted the whole thing, punched a hole at the top, and looped a ribbon through the hole to hang it. Then, she added the printed picture, and has a super cute, easy, and inexpensive present to show parents appreciation!

Next up is Melinda, from Tales of the Sassy Teacher!

She made these adorable reindeer ornaments. She also let her students hang them on the class tree before she wraps them up and sends them home! Aren't these just a fun trip to the North Pole?

What you'll need per student is simple: a brown clothespin, 2 googly eyes, a red pom pom (for Rudolph), and brown pipe cleaners (for antlers). All you need to do to assemble is paint the clothespin brown, glue on the eyes, twist the pipe cleaners into antlers and glue on clothespin, and add the nose. I recommend using tacky glue, but if you want to assemble using a hot glue gun, PLEASE do not let students near it! :) 

In my class, we have been doing our project in stages. We have had a lot going on, as the rest of you have, as well, with Winter Song Fest practice, indoor recess, and more. So, we started with our blank canvases. ;) I made the same project with my students last year, so I scoped out Michael's for the same deal this year, and was able to get the canvases for 50% each pack, as well as my teacher discount. HUGE SCORE. This is what I got. I ended up spending LESS than $20 for 18 canvases, and they are a nice solid block to paint. First, we painted them blue:

Then, we added a white hand print. Once the hand print was dry, I had students draw snowman faces, hats, and noses using permanent markers (don't worry, they were supervised). Finally, they added stripes of paint for scarves. Every single block turns out different, but every single one turns out to be a treasure. 

I have to tell you, I got a new student last week, and was SO worried about what to do. I had most of the projects in the final stages when the kiddo arrived, so I took a look to see if they sold the canvas in single packs. No. Such. Luck.I didn't want the kid (or their parents) to feel left out, so I had to think of something!! This past May, I had a parent project I made with my students for promotion. I had 2 picture frames (from the dollar store) left, so I made the same project in a different way. I MAY just do this next year, if I don't find the canvas on sale when I need it next year. 

Tomorrow, my students will be stamping brown bags and wrapping up their presents. 

For our cards, we made these fingerprint lights:

Our caption will say, "You brighten up my life!" 

My students are OVER THE MOON excited, as most students are this week, to give their parents their OWN presents! 

Finally, we have our wonderful Laura, from Luv My Kinders...

These are actually last year's presents, but SO darn cute!! Take a look....

I found a few other fun ideas from Pinterest (surprise), and thought you may like the ideas as well. Click on each picture to be taken to the original post.

Framed silhouette

Simple, yet a treasure

A personalized candle!

Clay pot trees

What are your favorite parent present ideas? Happy Giving!

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